Victims of the Drug War Are Forced to Resort to Bizarre Legal Defenses Vítimas do Drug War são forçados a recorrer a bizarrices Legal defesas
By Por Kevin Carey Kevin Carey | On November 16, 2005, Willie “Bo” Mitchell and three co-defendants — Shelton “Little Rock” Harris, Shelly “Wayne” Martin, and Shawn Earl Gardner — appeared for a hearing in the modern federal courthouse in downtown Baltimore, Maryland. | Em 16 de novembro de 2005, Willie "Bo" Mitchell e três co-réus - Shelton "Little Rock" Harris, Shelly "Wayne" Martin, e Shawn Earl Gardner - apareceu para uma audiência no tribunal federal moderno na baixa de Baltimore, Maryland . The four African American men were facing federal charges of racketeering, weapons possession, drug dealing, and five counts of first-degree murder. Os quatro homens foram African American federais enfrentam acusações de extorsão, armas posse, tráfico de drogas, e cinco contagens de assassinato de primeiro grau. For nearly two years the prosecutors had been methodically building their case, with the aim of putting the defendants to death. Durante quase dois anos, os procuradores tinham sido metodicamente construir o seu caso, com o objectivo de colocar os réus à morte. In Baltimore, which has a murder rate eight times higher than that of New York City, such cases are depressingly commonplace. Em Baltimore, que tem uma taxa de homicídio oito vezes superior ao da cidade de Nova York, esses casos são depressingly comum.
A few minutes after 10 am, United States District Court Judge Andre M. Davis took his seat and began his introductory remarks. A poucos minutos após 10 horas, United States District Court Juiz Andre M. Davis tomou seu lugar e começou seu observações introdutórias. Suddenly, the leader of the defendants, Willie Mitchell, a short, unremarkable looking twenty-eight-yearold with close-cropped hair, leapt from his chair, grabbed a microphone, and launched into a bizarre soliloquy. De repente, o líder dos arguidos, Willie Mitchell, uma curta, procurando unremarkable vinte e oito-yearold a fechar-cabelo cortado, leapt de sua cadeira, sacada um microfone, e lançado em uma bizarra soliloquy.
“I am not a defendant,” Mitchell declared. "Eu não sou um réu", declarou Mitchell. “I do not have attorneys.” The court “lacks territorial jurisdiction over me,” he argued, to the amazement of his lawyers. "Eu não tenho advocatícios." O Tribunal "não tem jurisdição territorial sobre mim", argumentou ele, para o espanto de seus advogados. To support these contentions, he cited decades-old acts of Congress involving the abandonment of the gold standard and the creation of the Federal Reserve. Para apoiar essas alegações, ele já décadas de idade atos do Congresso que envolvem o abandono do padrão-ouro e da criação da Reserva Federal. Judge Davis, a Baltimore-born African American in his late fifties, tried to interrupt. Juiz Davis, um nascido em Baltimore-African American tarde, em seu fifties, tentou interromper. “I object,” Mitchell repeated robotically. "Eu objeto", Mitchell robotically repetida. Shelly Martin and Shelton Harris followed Mitchell to the microphone, giving the same speech verbatim. Shelly Martin e Shelton Harris Mitchell seguiu para o microfone, dando o mesmo discurso textualmente. Their attorneys tried to intervene, but when Harris’s lawyer leaned over to speak to him, Harris shoved him away. Os seus advogados tentaram intervir, mas quando o advogado da Harris leaned ao longo de falar com ele, ele Harris shoved distância.
Judge Davis ordered the three defendants to be removed from the court, and turned to Gardner, who had, until then, remained quiet. Davis juiz ordenou a três arguidos a ser retirado da quadra, e virou-se para Gardner, que havia, até então, manteve-se calada. But Gardner, too, intoned the same strange speech. Mas Gardner, também, intoned o mesmo discurso estranho. “I am Shawn Earl Gardner, live man, flesh and blood,” he proclaimed. "Eu sou Shawn Earl Gardner, vive o homem, carne e sangue", ele proclamou. Every time the judge referred to him as “the defendant” or “Mr. Cada vez que o juiz refere a ele como "o réu" ou "Mr. Gardner,” Gardner automatically interrupted: “My name is Shawn Earl Gardner , sir.” Davis tried to explain to Gardner that his behavior was putting his chances of acquittal or leniency at risk. Gardner, "Gardner interrompida automaticamente:" Meu nome é Shawn Earl Gardner, senhor. "Davis tentou explicar a Gardner que o seu comportamento era colocar as suas possibilidades de absolvição ou de clemência em risco. “Don’t throw your life away,” Davis pleaded. "Não jogue fora sua vida," Davis invocado. But Gardner wouldn’t stop. Mas Gardner não iria parar. Judge Davis concluded the hearing, determined to find out what was going on. Juiz Davis concluiu a audiência, determinados a descobrir o que se estava a passar.
As it turned out, he wasn’t alone. Assim que acontecer, ele não estava sozinho. In the previous year, nearly twenty defendants in other Baltimore cases had begun adopting what lawyers in the federal courthouse came to call “the flesh-and-blood defense.” The defense, such as it is, boils down to this: As officers of the court, all defense lawyers are really on the government’s side, having sworn an oath to uphold a vast, century-old conspiracy to conceal the fact that most aspects of the federal government are illegitimate, including the courts, which have no constitutional authority to bring people to trial. Em relação ao ano anterior, quase vinte arguidos em Baltimore outros casos, adoptando o que havia começado advogados no tribunal federal veio a chamar "a carne-e-sangue defesa." A defesa, tal como é, resume-se a isto: como oficiais de o tribunal, todos os advogados da defesa são realmente sobre o lado do governo, depois de ter empossado um juramento de defender uma vasta, século de conspiração para ocultar o fato de que a maioria dos aspectos do governo federal são ilegítimos, incluindo os tribunais, que não têm constitucional competente para levar as pessoas a julgamento. The defendants also believed that a legal distinction could be drawn between their name as written on their indictment and their true identity as a “flesh and blood man.” Os arguidos também acreditava que uma distinção legal poderia ser estabelecida entre o seu nome como escrito sobre a sua acusação e da sua verdadeira identidade como uma "carne e sangue humano."
Judge Davis and his law clerk pored over the case files, which led them to a series of strange Web sites. Juiz Davis eo seu direito escriturário poros ao longo do processo, que os levou a uma série de estranhos Web sites. The fleshand- blood defense, they discovered, came from a place far from Baltimore, from people as different from Willie Mitchell as people could possibly be. O sangue fleshand-defesa, eles descobriram, veio de um lugar longe de Baltimore, das pessoas como Willie Mitchell diferente de como as pessoas poderiam ser eventualmente. Its antecedents stretched back decades, involving religious zealots, gun nuts, tax protestors, and violent separatists driven by theories that had fueled delusions of Aryan supremacy and race war in gun-loaded compounds in the wilds of Montana and Idaho. Os seus antecedentes esticadas para trás décadas, envolvendo religiosos zealots, pistola frutos de casca rija, fiscal protestavam, violento e separatistas impulsionada por teorias que tinham alimentado delírios de Ariano supremacia racial e de guerra em arma-carregados compostos na selvagem de Montana e Idaho. Although Mitchell and his peers didn’t know it, they were inheriting the intellectual legacy of white supremacists who believe that America was irrevocably broken when the 14th Amendment provided equal rights to former slaves. Embora Mitchell e os seus pares não o sabia, eles foram herda o legado intelectual do branco supremacists que acreditam que a América estava irremediavelmente quebrado quando o 14o desde Alteração direitos iguais aos antigos escravos. It was the ideology that inspired the Oklahoma City bombing, the biggest act of domestic terrorism in the nation’s history, and now, a decade later, it had somehow sprouted in the crime-ridden ghettos of Baltimore. Foi a ideologia que inspirou o bombardeamento Oklahoma City, o maior acto de terrorismo doméstico na história da nação, e, agora, uma década depois, ele teve algum brotou no crime cheias de guetos de Baltimore.
The series of events that led to the prosecution of Willie Mitchell et al are as convoluted, tragic and intermittently absurd as an episode of HBO’s acclaimed Baltimore crime drama, The Wire . A série de acontecimentos que levou à instauração de processos por Willie Mitchell et al são tão complexa, trágica e intermitentemente absurdo como um episódio da HBO do aclamado drama crime Baltimore, The Wire. Mitchell and company came of age on the streets of West Baltimore, a few miles and a world away from the rejuvenated inner harbor and the tourist attractions near the federal courthouse. Mitchell e companhia vieram de idade nas ruas de West Baltimore, a poucos quilómetros e um mundo de distância da rejuvenescidos interior do porto e atrações turísticas perto do tribunal federal. According to prosecutors, the group began selling drugs together as teenagers in the mid-1990s, driving up I-95 to New York City, buying half kilos of cocaine in upper Manhattan and cooking it into crack to sell back home. Segundo a promotoria, o grupo começou a vender drogas em conjunto como adolescentes, em meados da década de 1990, dirigindo-se I-95 a cidade de Nova York, comprando meia quilos de cocaína em Manhattan superior e cozinhar em crack-lo a vender no país de origem. They added heroin to their repertoire a few years later, as well as robbing and killing other drug dealers. Eles acrescentou heroína para seu repertório alguns anos mais tarde, assim como roubar e matar outros traficantes de droga. By 2002, they were firmly established in what passes as normal enterprise in a hollowed-out economy like Baltimore, where the drug trade often provides more opportunity than legitimate work and the bedrock institutions of family and school have crumbled. Até 2002, eles foram firmemente estabelecida no qual passa em uma empresa como normal hollowed-out economia como Baltimore, onde o tráfico de estupefacientes, muitas vezes proporciona mais oportunidades do que legítimo trabalho e os alicerces da família e das instituições escolares têm crumbled. They had children out of wedlock with multiple women. Eles tinham filhos fora do casamento com várias mulheres. They were occasionally arrested, although they never served much time. Eles foram presos por vezes, se bem que nunca serviu muito tempo. It was an insular culture where a ruthless prohibition against “snitching” to the police was often more powerful than any law. Era uma cultura insular onde um implacável contra a proibição "snitching" para a polícia foi muitas vezes mais poderoso do que qualquer lei. Even as cities like New York saw the murder rate decline dramatically, drug killings in Baltimore continued at a steady clip. Mesmo as cidades como Nova York viu diminuir drasticamente a taxa de homicídio, drogas assassinatos em Baltimore continuou estável em um clipe.
According to the indictment, the end began on February 18, 2002, in a downtown Baltimore nightclub called Hammerjacks, where Mitchell got into a dispute and stabbed a fellow drug dealer in the back, seriously wounding him. Segundo a acusação, o termo começou em 18 de fevereiro de 2002, em uma boate chamada Hammerjacks baixa de Baltimore, onde começou a ter uma disputa Mitchell e stabbed um colega traficante de drogas, nas costas, ferindo-o seriamente. If Mitchell had hoped to get away with this attempted murder, he was swiftly and brutally set straight by the drug dealer’s associates. Se Mitchell tinham esperado para fugir a essa tentativa homicídio, ele foi rápida e brutalmente conjunto reta pelo traficante de drogas, da associados. When police on patrol found Mitchell later that evening, he was on a sidewalk with several men jumping on his head. Quando a polícia patrulha Mitchell encontrados mais tarde que a noite, ele estava em uma calçada com vários homens saltar sobre sua cabeça. Mitchell survived the assault, but he remained in serious trouble. Mitchell sobreviveram ao ataque, mas ele manteve-se em sérias dificuldades. The police had issued a warrant for his arrest; more ominously, his enemies had placed a $10,000 contract on his head. A polícia havia emitido um mandado de sua prisão; mais ominously, seus inimigos tinham colocado um contrato US $ 10000 na sua cabeça.
Mitchell probably didn’t know exactly what his enemies had in mind, but he was seasoned enough to realize that they wanted him killed. Mitchell provavelmente não sabia exatamente o que seus adversários tinham em mente, mas ele era experiente o suficiente para perceber que eles queriam ele matou. Ten days after the club incident, prosecutors allege, he made a phone call to an associate of the men who had beaten him up. Dez dias após o incidente clube, procuradores alegam, ele fez uma chamada telefónica para associar um dos dois homens que haviam espancado até ele. The associate was a drug dealer named Oliver “Woody” McCaffity. Foi associado a um traficante de drogas, chamado Oliver "woody" McCaffity. Mitchell proposed that the two men meet that evening for a drug deal. Mitchell propôs que os dois homens que cumprem noite para tratar uma droga.
Neither man came to the meeting alone. Nem o homem veio ao encontro sozinho. Mitchell brought a friend, Shelton Harris. Mitchell trouxe um amigo, Shelton Harris. McCaffity brought his sometime girlfriend, Lisa Brown. McCaffity trouxe algum momento sua namorada, Lisa Brown. Brown was a pastor’s daughter, a computer systems analyst and mother of three. Brown foi um pastor da filha, um analista de sistemas informáticos e mãe de três. Her parents told reporters that she had broken up with McCaffity after learning of his involvement with drugs. Seus pais disse aos jornalistas que tinha quebrado até McCaffity após a aprendizagem do seu envolvimento com drogas. But when he called and invited her to the movies, she decided to go along. Mas quando ele chamou e convidou-a para o cinema, ela decidiu ir junto.
The two parties drove to the Park Heights section of Northwest Baltimore. As duas partes fizeram para o Park Heights seção do Noroeste Baltimore. It was a quick meeting. Foi um encontro rápido. Mitchell and Harris climbed into the backseat of McCaffity’s Infiniti Q-45. Mitchell e Harris em escalou o Backseat de McCaffity da Infiniti Q-45. Then they shot McCaffity through the head and fired through Brown’s raised right hand into her left temple, where police later found a .357 caliber bullet. Então eles McCaffity através tiro na cabeça e disparou Brown através da mão direita levantada em seu templo à esquerda, onde mais tarde polícia encontrou uma bala calibre .357. The bodies of McCaffity and Brown were left in the car, which rolled downhill and rammed into a nearby tree at the dead-end of the street. Os organismos de McCaffity e Brown foram deixados no carro, que rammed laminados e descidas em uma árvore nas proximidades, no beco sem saída da rua. Police found it two hours later. Polícia viu-se duas horas mais tarde. A palm print on the car window was later matched to Harris, and McCaffity’s cell phone records revealed calls that night to Mitchell’s phone. A palma imprimir a janela do carro foi posteriormente adaptada às Harris, e McCaffity do telefone celular registros revelaram que a noite para chamadas de telefone do Mitchell. Mitchell, suspecting that McCaffity’s associates were going to try to kill him, had apparently decided to kill first. Mitchell, suspeitar que associa McCaffity's eram para tentar matá-lo, aparentemente, tinha decidido a matar em primeiro lugar. The murder would probably not have attracted much attention, except for the fact that McCaffity’s Infiniti was owned by Hasim Rahman, the recently dethroned heavyweight boxing champion of the world. O assassinato provavelmente não teriam atraído muita atenção, exceto para o fato de que McCaffity da Infiniti era detida por Hasim Rahman, o recentemente dethroned boxe peso pesado campeão do mundo. McCaffity was a friend and business associate of Rahman, causing the ex-champ to quickly call a press conference denying any involvement in the crimes. McCaffity era um amigo e associado de negócio Rahman, causando o ex-campeão rapidamente a chamada numa conferência de imprensa negando qualquer envolvimento nos crimes. (Police have never alleged otherwise.) (Polícia nunca tenham alegado em contrário.)
If the killing of McCaffity and Brown had been a successful preemptive strike, Mitchell was also prepared to kill for more mundane reasons. Se o assassinato de McCaffity e Brown tinha sido um sucesso preempção greve, Mitchell também foi preparado para matar por motivos mais banais. On March 24, a few weeks after the Mc- Caffity murder, Mitchell allegedly called a former high school classmate named Darryl Wyche and offered to buy some heroin and cocaine from him. Em 24 de março de algumas semanas após o assassinato Mc-Caffity, Mitchell supostamente chamado um ex-colega chamado ensino médio Darryl Wyche e ofereceu-se para comprar cerca de heroína e cocaína ele. Darryl, excited by the prospect of a big sale, agreed. Darryl, animado com a perspectiva de uma grande venda, concordou. The two made plans to meet in a nearby industrial park around midnight. Os dois planos feitos para reunir em um parque industrial em torno de meia-noite nas proximidades.
Again, neither party came alone. Mais uma vez, nenhuma das partes chegou sozinho. Wyche brought his younger brother Tony, who had reluctantly agreed to drive. Wyche trouxe seu irmão mais novo Tony, que tinha acordado com relutância a conduzir. Mitchell brought Harris again, as well as two more friends: Shelly Martin and Shawn Gardner. Mitchell Harris trouxe de novo, assim como mais dois amigos: Shelly Martin e Shawn Gardner.
The Wyche brothers opened the back door of their Honda to let Mitchell and his men into the back seat. Os irmãos Wyche abriu a porta das traseiras da sua Honda para deixar Mitchell e os seus homens de volta para o banco. Then each received a bullet in the side of the head. Em seguida, cada um recebeu uma bala no lado da cabeça. The next morning the police found the bodies, seat belts still on. Na manhã seguinte, a polícia encontrou o corpo, cintos de segurança ainda mais. (Mitchell appears to have seen Wyche as an easy source of drugs and cash.) (Mitchell Wyche parece ter encarado como uma simples fonte de drogas e dinheiro.)
But Mitchell’s luck was about to end. Mas Mitchell's sorte estava prestes a acabar. When Baltimore homicide detectives found the bodies of the Wyche brothers, they assumed they had come across another hard-to-solve drug killing. Quando Baltimore homicídio detectives encontrados os corpos dos irmãos Wyche, eles tinham assumido encontrar outro difíceis de resolver droga matar. Then they received an unexpected phone call. Em seguida, eles receberam um telefonema inesperado. It was from Darryl Wyche’s mother-in-law, who reported finding a strange message on her phone. Foi a partir de Darryl Wyche da mãe-de-lei, que relatou encontrar uma estranha mensagem no seu telefone. Recorded at 12:43 am, the message was four and a half minutes of a group of men with names like “Wayne” and “Shorty” saying things like “Bup-bup-bup-bup-bup, yo, they both fucked.” The call had come from the cellphone of Darryl Wyche. Gravado em 12:43 am, a mensagem foi quatro minutos e meio de um grupo de homens com nomes como "Wayne" e "Shorty" dizendo coisas como "Bup-bup-bup-bup-bup, yo, ambos fucked. "A chamada foi originada a partir do telemóvel de Darryl Wyche.
Wyche’s family and the police soon figured out what had happened: One of the murderers had stolen Darryl Wyche’s phone and forgotten to turn it off. Wyche da família e da polícia em breve figurava o que tinha acontecido: Um dos assassinos havia roubado Darryl Wyche de telefone e esqueceu de desligá-lo. While the killers were driving away, one of them had accidentally pressed the phone’s speed dial button, calling Darryl’s mother-in-law and producing a most unusual piece of evidence: a voicemail confession. Enquanto os assassinos foram condução de distância, um deles tinha acidentalmente pressionado o botão do telefone marcação rápida, chamando Darryl da mãe-em-lei e da produção de uma peça mais invulgares de provas: uma mensagem de voz confissão. With considerable understatement, a lieutenant in the city homicide unit reflected on his good fortune to the Baltimore Sun . Com grande sobriedade, um tenente na cidade homicídio unidade reflectiu sobre a sua sorte de Baltimore Sun. “We got lucky,” he said. "Tivemos sorte", disse ele. Willie Mitchell and Shelly Martin were soon rounded up and put in jail. Willie Mitchell e Shelly Martin logo foram arredondados e ponha na cadeia.
What would become the fifth and final murder charge in the case of Willie Mitchell and his cohorts took place two months later. O que passaria a ser o quinto e último assassinato cargo, no caso de Willie Mitchell e seu coortes teve lugar dois meses mais tarde. This time, only Mitchell’s friend Shawn Gardner was directly involved. Desta vez, só Mitchell's amigo Shawn Gardner esteve directamente envolvido. It began with a man named Darius Spence, who had found out that his wife, Tanya, was cheating on him with a local drug dealer everyone called “Momma.” Iniciou-se com um homem chamado Darius Spence, que tinha descoberto que a sua mulher, Tanya, ele foi batota em locais com um traficante de drogas, todos chamados "Momma".
Spence decided to have Momma beaten up severely. Spence decidida a ter espancado até Momma severamente. To accomplish this, he negotiated with another drug dealer named Willie Montgomery. Para conseguir isso, ele negociou com outro traficante de drogas, chamado Willie Montgomery. Would Montgomery be willing to beat up Momma in exchange for money? Montgomery iria estar disposta a bater em Momma em troca de dinheiro? But Montgomery had another proposition altogether. Mas havia uma outra proposição Montgomery totalmente. Beating Momma up didn’t make sense, Montgomery argued, because then Momma would undoubtedly try to kill Montgomery. Momma batendo-se não fazer sentido, defendeu Montgomery, porque então Momma, sem dúvida, tentar matar Montgomery. It was better just to kill Momma outright, and for five thousand dollars, Montgomery would be glad to do the job. Era melhor só para matar Momma título definitivo, e por um período de cinco mil dólares, Montgomery teria todo o prazer em fazer o trabalho. Spence said he’d think it over. Spence disse ele pensa que ela acabou.
Unfortunately for Darius Spence, Montgomery wasn’t interested in waiting around for an answer. Infelizmente para Darius Spence, Montgomery não estava interessado em cerca de espera por uma resposta. Instead, sensing opportunity, Montgomery decided to tell Momma about the hit. Em vez disso, sensoriamento oportunidade, Montgomery decidiu a dizer sobre o acerto Momma. If I turn down the deal, Montgomery explained, then Spence will probably just hire someone else to kill you. Se eu desligar o negócio, explicou Montgomery e, em seguida, Spence irá provavelmente apenas contratar alguém para matá-lo. Therefore, Montgomery reasoned, you should hire me to kill Spence first. Por isso, Montgomery fundamentado, você deve contratar-me para matar Spence primeiro. Momma was persuaded. Momma foi persuadido. (As Montgomery later explained to the prosecutors, “I guess he like that idea better than Darius Spence’s idea.”) (Montgomery Como explicou mais tarde ao Ministério Público, "Eu acho que ele gostou idéia melhor do que Darius Spence da idéia.")
To execute the hit on Spence, Montgomery recruited two associates, one of whom was Shawn Gardner. Para executar o acerto com Spence, Montgomery recrutados dois sócios, um dos quais foi Shawn Gardner. For the next two months, the three men staked out Spence’s apartment. Para os próximos dois meses, os três homens vedaram os Spence seu apartamento. The plan was for Shawn Gardner and his associate to invade from the basement and carry out the killing, and then run to a nearby getaway car, which was to be driven by Montgomery. O plano era para Shawn Gardner e sua associar a invadir a partir da cave e executar o assassinato e, em seguida, execute um próximas férias de carro, que estava a ser conduzido por Montgomery. Special care was to be taken not to harm Tanya, and they would cover her eyes with duct tape to prevent her from identifying them. Especial atenção foi a de ser tomadas para não prejudicar Tanya, e eles iriam cobrir seus olhos com fita adesiva para evitar a sua identificação a partir deles. Still, Montgomery warned Momma that he couldn’t guarantee Tanya’s safety. Ainda assim, Montgomery Momma advertiu que não poderia garantir a segurança do Tanya. “If it’s up to me, she won’t be hurt,” Montgomery told Momma, “but some things could go wrong.” Momma’s reply was to the point: “Do what you do.” "Se cabe a mim, ela não será ferido", disse Montgomery Momma ", mas algumas coisas podem correr mal." Momma's foi a resposta ao ponto: "Faça o que você faz."
On June 7, 2002, the three men drove to the Spence apartment, a worn red brick building at the end of a cul-de-sac a few miles from Baltimore city. Em 7 de junho de 2002, os três homens levaram para o apartamento Spence, um gasto tijolo vermelho construção, no final de uma cul-de-sac a alguns quilómetros da cidade de Baltimore. But the hit didn’t go as planned. Mas o acerto não fez como previsto. Darius Spence wasn’t in the apartment, and they didn’t manage to blindfold Tanya. Darius Spence não estava no apartamento, e eles não conseguem blindfold Tanya. As children played outside the Spence apartment, Tanya burst through the kitchen door on the third floor, screaming, “No! Tal como as crianças jogado fora do apartamento Spence, Tanya rebentamento através da cozinha porta no terceiro andar, gritando: "Não! No!” Lifting one leg over the balcony, she tried to climb down to the floor below but lost her grip and fell fifteen feet to the ground, landing a few feet from the children. Não! "Uma perna de elevação ao longo da varanda, ela tentou escalar para baixo para o piso inferior, mas perdeu a aderência e caiu quinze pés no chão, a poucos metros do desembarque das crianças. Gasping for breath, she motioned for them to run away before crawling under the first floor balcony. Gasping para a respiração, ela motioned para eles a fugir antes de rastreamento no âmbito do primeiro andar varanda. Moments later, the two killers emerged from the Spence apartment, ran down the steps and stopped a few feet from Tanya, now lying in the fetal position in the dirt and begging for her life. Momentos depois, os dois assassinos surgiu a partir do apartamento Spence, decorreu estabelece as etapas e parou a poucos metros de Tanya, agora situada na posição fetal na sujeira e implorando para sua vida. One pulled out a large caliber revolver and fired two shots into Tanya’s chest as the children watched. Um puxado para fora um grande revólver calibre e disparou dois tiros em Tanya do peito como as crianças vigiadas. Then both men ran away. Em seguida, os dois homens fugiu.
Unfortunately for the killers, Montgomery wasn’t where they thought he’d be. Infelizmente para os assassinos, Montgomery não foi onde ele pensava ser. Somehow the meeting place had gotten confused, and the getaway failed. De alguma forma o encontro teve lugar obtido confuso, e as férias falhou. Police quickly apprehended Shawn Gardner and his associate. Polícia rapidamente detido Shawn Gardner e seus associados. Eventually, the law caught up to Montgomery, too. Eventualmente, a lei capturado até Montgomery, também.
Gardner was tried, convicted, and sentenced in state court to life in prison without the possibility of parole for the murder of Tanya Spence. Gardner foi julgado, condenado e sentenciado no tribunal estadual para a vida na prisão sem possibilidade de liberdade condicional pelo assassinato de Tanya Spence. Meanwhile, Willie Mitchell and Shelly Martin were charged by the state with the Wyche brothers’ killings and sat in prison for the next year and a half as police and prosecutors assembled their case. Entretanto, Willie Mitchell e Shelly Martin foram cobrados pelo Estado com o Wyche irmãos "assassinatos e sentou na prisão para o próximo ano e meio como polícias e magistrados do Ministério Público montados seu caso.
Then, on January 22, 2004 — nearly two years after the first four murders — the word came down from the office of US Attorney Thomas DiBiagio: the Willie Mitchell case was going federal, and the government was seeking the death penalty. Em seguida, em 22 de janeiro de 2004 - quase dois anos após os primeiros quatro assassinatos - a palavra veio a partir do escritório do procurador E.U. Thomas DiBiagio: o Willie Mitchell caso iria federal, eo governo foi procurar a pena de morte. The Justice Department, DiBiagio explained, was going after “individuals responsible for making life hell in Baltimore.” O Ministério da Justiça, DiBiagio explicou, estava indo depois de "pessoas responsáveis para fazer a vida em Baltimore inferno".
For Mitchell and company, this was bad news. Mitchell e para a sociedade, esta era má notícia. Instead of jurors selected from the city pool, Mitchell would likely be judged by an all-white panel of citizens from places like Maryland’s westernmost rural counties or the far reaches of the Eastern Shore. Em vez de jurados selecionados a partir da cidade piscina, Mitchell iria provavelmente ser julgados por um painel de todos os cidadãos-branco de lugares como Maryland's ocidental ou dos condados rurais longe de atingir a costa oriental. He would face better-funded prosecutors, and was far more likely to get the death penalty. Ele iria enfrentar melhor-financiado por procuradores, e era muito mais probabilidades de obter a pena de morte. Maryland has only executed five people in the last thirty years, but in 2005, then-Attorney General John Ashcroft was aggressively seeking death sentences. Maryland tem apenas cinco pessoas executadas nos últimos trinta anos, mas, em 2005, então Procurador-Geral John Ashcroft estava procurando agressivamente de penas de morte. In fact, the Justice Department was even retrying cases in order to win death penalties for crimes like the Spence murder, for which Shawn Gardner was already serving life without parole. Na realidade, o Ministério da Justiça foi mesmo repetindo casos, a fim de vencer a morte penas para crimes como o homicídio Spence, para a qual já foi Shawn Gardner servindo vida sem liberdade condicional.
DiBiagio’s office also added a raft of conspiracy charges to the indictment, filed under the federal Racketeering Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act. DiBiagio do gabinete acrescentou também uma série de acusações de conspiração a acusação, apresentado sob a federal Racketeering Influenciado e corruptos Organizações (RICO) Act. By alleging that the defendants were part of an organized conspiracy — the so-called “Willie Mitchell organization” — prosecutors could hold all four defendants responsible for any of the crimes the others had committed. Por alegando que os arguidos eram parte de uma conspiração organizada - o chamado "Willie Mitchell organização" - promotoria poderá realizar todos os quatro arguidos responsável por qualquer dos outros tinham cometido os crimes. That’s why Shelton Harris, who wasn’t originally arrested for the Wyche or the McCaffity and Brown murders, was pulled off the street and charged with the full slate of crimes. É por isso que Shelton Harris, que inicialmente não estava preso pelo Wyche ou o McCaffity Brown e assassinatos, foi puxado para fora da rua e com a plena praticados crimes de ardósia. It’s also why Mitchell and Harris were charged with the Spence murder, although they were already in jail when Shawn Gardner committed it. É também por isso que Mitchell e Harris, foram acusados de assassinar o Spence, embora eles já estavam na prisão quando Shawn Gardner é cometida. RICO is normally applied to members of the mafia and organized crime, and its use sent a clear message: the government was coming at Mitchell and company with everything it had. RICO é normalmente aplicado aos membros da máfia e ao crime organizado, e seu uso enviou uma mensagem clara: o governo estava próximo a empresa Mitchell e com tudo que tinha.
The prosecutors bolstered the conspiracy argument by noting that, unlike most Baltimore drug dealers, Mitchell and company had incorporated a legal entity for which they all worked and allegedly funneled proceeds of their drug business into: “Shake Down Entertainment, Ltd.” The group promoted rap CDs and concerts through the company, which even had its own record label, “Shystyville.” Soon, Shystyville CDs with titles like “Pure Shit” became evidence of not just the conspiracy but the crimes themselves, with prosecutors entering into the record lyrics like these: Os procuradores densificar a conspiração argumento por referir que, ao contrário da maior parte dos traficantes de droga Baltimore, Mitchell ea empresa tinha incorporado uma entidade jurídica para que todos trabalharam e alegadamente afunilada produto de sua empresa em droga: "Shake Down Entertainment, Ltd." O grupo promoveu rap CDs e shows através da empresa, que ainda tinha sua própria gravadora, "Shystyville." Brevemente, Shystyville CDs com títulos como "Pure Merda" se tornou não apenas as provas da conspiração, mas a si mesmos crimes, com procuradores entrar no registro letras como estas:
I watch ya brains fly all over on the bitch next to you I watch ya cérebros toda a voar sobre a cadela ao lado de você
Homeboy it’s up to you I could put this pup to you Homeboy cabe a você Eu poderia colocar esse cachorro para você
Then to pumpin’ you up like a innertube Depois de Pumpin 'você como um innertube
Send shots that’ll pump up the end of you Envie disparos bomba que vai até o final de você
Leave you all fat and bloated you know I keep Deixe-lhe todas as gorduras e avançadas sabem me mantenho
the Mac loaded then I like ta clack rollin’ o Mac carregado então eu gosto ta Clack Rollin '
That’s why Bo and Weez on lock now and every day on lock down É por isso que Bo e Weez a fechadura e agora todos os dias com cadeado para baixo
Niggas getting shot down for runnin’ they mouth clown Niggas ficar abatido para runnin 'eles boca palhaço
Tell me how it feels with a gun in ya mouth now Diga-me como é que se sente com uma pistola na boca agora ya
Prosecutors alleged that the “bitch next to you” was Lisa Brown, who was sitting beside Oliver McCaffity when he was shot through the head, that a “pup” is slang for the largecaliber revolver used in the killing, that the “Bo” on “lock now” was the imprisoned Willie “Bo” Mitchell, and that the reference to “Niggas getting shot for runnin’ they mouth” amounted to witness intimidation. Procuradores alegado que a "puta próxima a você" foi Lisa Brown, que estava sentada ao lado de Oliver McCaffity quando ele foi alvejado por meio da cabeça, do que um "cachorro" é gíria para o largecaliber revólver utilizado no assassinato, que o "Bo" na "Lock agora", foi preso o Willie "Bo" Mitchell, e que a referência a "Niggas recebendo tiros para runnin 'eles boca" elevou-se a testemunha intimidação. Faced with the prospect of an all-white jury hearing this music in the courtroom, the defense lawyers objected on the grounds that lots of songs have lyrics that “proudly refer to violent retaliation,” offering by way of example country star Toby Keith’s “Courtesy of the Red, White and Blue (The Angry American).” Confrontada com a perspectiva de um todo-branco júri ouvir essa música, no tribunal, os advogados da defesa opuseram com o argumento de que muitas das canções têm letra que "orgulhosamente referem-se a violentas represálias", oferecendo a título de exemplo país estrela Toby Keith's "Cortesia do vermelho, branco e azul (A Angry americano)."
Nearly two years passed. Quase dois anos se passaram. The wheels of justice were turning, slowly but surely. As rodas da justiça foram transformando, lenta mas seguramente. Then came the memorable hearing in which the defendants debuted the flesh-and-blood defense. Depois, veio a memorável audiência em que os arguidos estreou a carne-e-sangue defesa. After that, everything changed. Depois disso, tudo mudou.
A month after the hearing, Judge Davis took the unusual step of issuing a written opinion denying all of the defendant’s “unusual — if not bizarre” arguments. Um mês após a audiência, o Juiz Davis tomou a incomum etapa de emissão de um parecer escrito de todas as negando o réu é "incomum - se não bizarro" argumentos. “Perhaps they would even be humorous,” Davis wrote, “were the stakes not so high It is truly ironic that four African- American defendants here apparently rely on an ideology derived from a famously discredited notion: the illegitimacy of the Fourteenth Amendment.” One can understand his incredulity that four Baltimore drug dealers might invoke a racist argument that dates back to the nineteenth century. "Talvez eles iriam até ser bem-humorado," Davis escreveu, "a tomada de participações não foram tão elevadas É realmente irónico que Africano-Americano de quatro arguidos aqui aparentemente confiar em um derivado de uma ideologia desacreditada noção célebre frase: a ilegitimidade da Décima Quarta Emenda." Pode-se compreender que a sua incredulidade Baltimore quatro traficantes de droga pode invocar a tese racista que remonta ao século XIX. But as it turns out, that’s when the seeds of the flesh-and-blood defense were sown. Mas, como se constata, é aí que as sementes da carne-e-sangue defesa foram semeadas.
In 1878, southern Democrats pushed legislation through Congress limiting the ability of the federal government to marshal troops on US soil. Em 1878, sul-democratas empurrados através de legislação Congresso da limitação da capacidade do governo federal para as tropas fiscal sobre E.U. solo. Known as Posse Comitatus, (Latin for “power of the county”) the law’s authors hoped to constrain the government’s ability to protect black southerners from violence and discrimination. Conhecida como Posse Comitatus, (latim para "poder do concelho") o direito do autor esperava para constranger o governo tem capacidade para proteger preto southerners de violência e discriminação. The act symbolically marked the end of Reconstruction and the beginning of Jim Crow. O ato simbólico marcou o final de Reconstrução e o início de Jim Crow.
For the next eight decades, black Americans lived under the yoke of institutional racism. Para os próximos oito décadas, negros americanos viveram sob o jugo do racismo institucional. But by the late 1950s, the civil rights movement was growing in strength. Mas em finais dos anos 1950, o movimento dos direitos civis foi crescendo em força. In 1957, President Eisenhower sent 1,200 troops from the 101st Airborne Division to Little Rock, Arkansas, so that nine black students could safely enter a previously all-white high school. Em 1957, o presidente Eisenhower enviou tropas a partir de 1200 a 101a Divisão Aerotransportada para Little Rock, Arkansas, a fim de que nove estudantes negros poderiam seguramente um entra-branco previamente todas as escolas de ensino médio. The landmark Civil Rights Act followed in 1964. A Lei dos Direitos Civis marco seguido em 1964.
These developments horrified one William Gale, a World War II veteran, insurance salesman, self-styled minister of racist Christian Identity theology, and raving anti-Semite. Estes desenvolvimentos horrorizado um William Gale, um veterano da Segunda Guerra Mundial, vendedor de seguros, a auto-ministro de estilo racistas Identidade teologia cristã, e Raving anti-Semite. In 1971, he launched a movement whose impact would reverberate through the radical fringes of American society for decades to come. Em 1971, ele lançou um movimento cujo impacto se repercutem através do radical margem da sociedade americana durante as próximas décadas. He called it Posse Comitatus, named for the 1878 law he believed Eisenhower had violated by sending the troops to Little Rock. Ele é chamado Posse Comitatus, nomeado para o direito que ele acreditava 1878 Eisenhower tinha violado através do envio de tropas para a Little Rock. In a series of tapes and self-published pamphlets, Gale explained that county sheriffs were the supreme legal law enforcement officers in the land, and that county residents had the right to form a posse to enforce the Constitution — however they, as “sovereign citizens,” chose to interpret it. Em uma série de fitas de vídeo e de auto-publicado panfletos, Gale explicou que foram os concelhos sheriffs jurídico supremo das forças policiais na terra, e que o concelho residentes tinham o direito de posse uma forma de fazer cumprir a Constituição - no entanto que, como "soberano dos cidadãos ", Escolheu a interpretá-lo. Public officials who interfered, instructed Gale, should be “hung by the neck” at high noon. Funcionários públicos que interferiram, encarregou Gale, deveria ser "pendurado pelo pescoço" em alta meio-dia.
Gale’s racist beliefs were hardly unique. Gale's racistas crenças eram praticamente único. His singular innovation was to devise a “legal” philosophy that was enormously appealing to disaffected, alienated citizens. Sua singular inovação foi a conceber um "legal" filosofia que era extremamente atraente para desfavorecidas, alienados cidadãos. It was a promise of power, a means of asserting that they were the true inheritors of the founding fathers’ ideal, a dream they believed had been corrupted by a vast conspiracy that only they could see. Foi uma promessa de poder, um meio de afirmar que eles eram os verdadeiros herdeiros dos pais fundadores' ideal, um sonho que acreditavam ter sido corrompido por uma grande conspiração que só eles podiam ver. Gale’s ideas gave people on the paranoid edge of society a collective identity. Gale's pessoas deram ideias sobre a borda da sociedade paranóica uma identidade colectiva. It told them what they desperately wanted to hear: that the federal government was illegitimate, and that the legal weapons the state used to oppress them could be turned against the state. Ele disse-lhes aquilo que eles desesperadamente queria ouvir: que o governo federal foi ilegítima, e que as armas jurídicas utilizadas para oprimir o Estado lhes pode ser transformada contra o Estado.
Soon, Posses were sprouting across the country, attracting veterans of the 1960s-era tax protest movement, Second Amendment absolutists, Christian Identity adherents, and ardent anti-communists who had abandoned the John Birch Society because they felt the organization wasn’t extreme enough. Brevemente, Posses foram brotando em todo o país, atraindo veteranos da década de 1960-era imposto protesto movimento, Segunda Emenda absolutists, identidade cristã seguidores, e ardente anti-comunistas que tinham abandonado o John Birch Society, porque sentia a organização não foi suficiente extrema . Local groups would meet to share literature, listen to tapes of Gale’s sermons, and discuss preparations for the approaching End Times. Os grupos locais se reuniria a partilhar literatura, ouvir fitas de Gale's sermões, e discutir os preparativos para o Fim aproxima Times. This extremist stew produced exotic amalgamations of paranoia, such as when Posse members would explain the need for local militias to stockpile weapons in order to defend white Christians from blacks in the coming race war sparked by the inevitable economic collapse caused by the income tax and a cabal of international Jewish bankers bent on global dominance through one world government, for Satan. Este extremistas ensopado exóticos produzidos reagrupamentos de paranóia, tal como quando Posse membros seriam explicar a necessidade de milícias locais para armazenar armas, a fim de defender cristãos brancos de negros nos próximos corrida guerra provocada pelo inevitável o colapso económico causado pelo imposto de renda e de uma cabal dos banqueiros internacionais judaica empenhados na dominância através de um mundo global governo, por Satanás.
While local Posses would periodically confront law enforcement officials in the 1970s, (usually in property disputes), they were often incompetent, and few people were hurt. Enquanto local Posses iria confrontar periodicamente funcionários responsáveis pela aplicação da lei na década de 1970, (geralmente na propriedade litígios), que eram muitas vezes incompetentes, e poucas pessoas ficaram feridos. But things took a serious turn in 1978, when thousands of farmers rallied in Washington DC seeking relief from low commodity prices, high interest rates, and farm debt. Mas as coisas tomaram um sério sua vez, em 1978, quando milhares de agricultores mobilizaram em Washington DC que procuram alívio de baixa dos preços, taxas de juro elevadas, ea exploração da dívida. When Congressional relief attempts failed, some farmers became susceptible to peddlers of the Posse ideology, which preached that the farm crisis had been brought on by the international Jewish banking conspiracy, abandonment of the gold standard and a malevolent Federal Reserve. Ao Congresso alívio tentativas fracassaram, alguns agricultores se tornaram sensíveis à peddlers Posse da ideologia, que pregava que a fazenda tinha sido levado a crise pela banca internacional judaico conspiração, abandono do padrão-ouro e um maléficos Federal Reserve.
By 1982, Bill Gale had flown to Kansas to conduct paramilitary training and indoctrination for splinter groups of disaffected farmers. Até 1982, Bill Gale tinha voado para Kansas para conduzir paramilitares de formação e de doutrinação de lasca de grupos de agricultores desfavorecidas. At night, a country music station in Dodge City broadcast tapes of Gale’s sermons. À noite, um país estação música em Dodge City difundidos fitas de Gale's sermões. “You’re either going to get back to the Constitution of the United States in your government,” he intoned, “or officials are gonna hang by the neck until they’re dead Arise and fight! "Você está indo quer voltar para a Constituição dos Estados Unidos em seu governo", ele intoned ", ou os funcionários estão indo pendurar pelo pescoço até que eles estão mortos Arise e luta! If a Jew comes near you, run a sword through him.” As Posse ideology rippled across the distressed farm belt, violence followed. Se um judeu chega perto de você, uma espada executado através dele. "Como Posse ideologia rippled em toda a fazenda cinto angustiados, seguidos violência. Several deadly confrontations between Posse adherents and law enforcement made national headlines; Geraldo Rivera descended on Nebraska to document the “Seeds of Hate” in America’s heartland. Vários mortal confrontos entre adeptos e Posse da aplicação da lei nacional efectuadas manchetes; Geraldo Rivera descia em Nebraska para o documento "Sementes de Ódio", no coração da América. By 1987, Gale’s rhetoric had escalated further. Até 1987, Gale escalada da retórica tinha ainda mais. He told his followers that “You’ve got an enemy government running around its source and its location is Washington, DC, and the federal buildings they’ve built with your tax money all over the cities in this land.” Ele disse que seus seguidores "Você tem um inimigo governo executando em torno de sua origem e sua localização é Washington, DC, e os edifícios federais foi ele quem construiu com o seu dinheiro todos os impostos sobre as cidades nesta terra."
Hucksters and charlatans prowled the Midwest as the farm crisis deepened, selling desperate farmers expensive seminars and prepackaged legal defenses “guaranteed” to cancel debts and forestall foreclosure. Hucksters e charlatães prowled a Midwest como a crise aprofundou fazenda, vendendo caro agricultores desesperados seminários e pré-legal defesas "garantidos" para cancelar dívidas e evitar encerramento. Since the gold standard had been abandoned in 1933, they argued, money had no inherent value, and so neither did their debts. Uma vez que o padrão ouro tinha sido abandonada em 1933, eles defenderam, o dinheiro não tinha qualquer valor inerente e, por isso, nem fez as suas dívidas. All they had to do, farmers were told, was opt out of the system by sending a letter to the appropriate authorities renouncing their driver’s license, birth certificate, and social security number. Todos eles tinham que fazer, os agricultores tinham dito, era optar por sair do sistema através do envio de uma carta às autoridades competentes renunciando a sua carteira de motorista, certidão de nascimento, número e da segurança social. That number was allegedly tied to a secret government account held in a secure subterranean facility in lower Manhattan, where citizens are used as collateral against international debts issued by the Fed and everyone’s name is on a master list, spelled in capital letters — the very same capital letters used in the official court documents detailing foreclosure and other actions against them. Esse número foi supostamente vinculados a um governo conta secreta realizada em uma instalação segura subterrâneo em baixa Manhattan, onde os cidadãos sejam usados como garantia contra as dívidas internacionais emitidas pelo Fed e toda a gente está em um nome da lista principal, escritas em letras maiúsculas - o muito mesmas letras maiúsculas utilizados no encerramento oficial detalhando os documentos judiciais e outras ações contra eles. The capital letter name was nothing but an artificial construct, they were told, a legal “straw man.” It wasn’t them — natural, live, flesh and blood men. A letra maiúscula nome era nada mais que um construto artificial, eles foram informados, uma pessoa colectiva de "palha o homem." Não foi-lhes - natural, vivos, carne e sangue homens.
Bill Gale died on April 28, 1988, three months after being sentenced in federal court for conspiracy, tax crimes, and mailing death threats to the Internal Revenue Service. Bill Gale, que morreu em 28 de abril de 1988, três meses depois de ser condenado em tribunal federal de conspiração, crimes fiscais, ea morte de ameaças para a mailing-Internal Revenue Service. By that time, the farm crisis had begun to recede. Nessa altura, a crise fazenda tinha começado a diminuir. Posse ideology simmered for the next few years, morphing into the “Christian Patriot” movement, which sanded down some of the roughest racist and anti-Semitic edges while retaining the core beliefs of Constitutional fundamentalism. Posse ideologia surgido para os próximos anos, em morphing o "Patriot cristã" circulação, que estabelece polida alguns dos roughest racista e anti-semita bordas mantendo ao mesmo tempo o núcleo de crenças Constitucional fundamentalismo. The patriots saw themselves as “sovereign citizens,” unlike the “federal citizens” who had been created by the 14th Amendment’s guarantee of equal protection under the law. Os patriotas viu a si próprios como "soberano dos cidadãos", ao contrário dos "cidadãos federal" que tinha sido criado pelo 14a Alteração da garantia da igualdade de protecção ao abrigo da lei.
The deadly confrontations between federal agents and extremists at Ruby Ridge in 1992 and Waco, Texas in 1993 brought latent anger with the federal government back to a boil. Os confrontos mortais entre agentes federais e extremistas em Ruby Ridge em 1992 e em Waco, Texas, em 1993 trouxe latentes raiva com o governo federal de volta para uma fervura. The militia movement of the 1990s built on Posse tenets of county- based, self-organized paramilitary groups led by citizens expressing their basic Constitutional rights. A milícia movimento da década de 1990 construída sobre Posse fundamentais do concelho de base, auto-organizados grupos paramilitares liderados por expressar os seus cidadãos básicos direitos constitucionais. Most groups stuck with conducting survivalist training camps and filing bogus liens against houses owned by local judges. A maioria dos grupos ficou preso em campos de formação e condução survivalist depósito falso privilégios contra casas propriedade de juízes locais. But a few did much more. Mas alguns fez muito mais.
In 1993, a Michigan farmer and survivalist named James Nichols was pulled over for speeding. Em 1993, um agricultor e Michigan survivalist chamado James Nichols foi puxado por excesso de velocidade ao longo. Instead of simply paying the fine, he argued in court that his “sovereign citizen” status made him immune to prosecution. Em vez de simplesmente pagar a multa, ele alegou em tribunal que o seu "soberano cidadão" status imune à acusação feita ele. That same year, James’ brother Terry tried to pay off a $17,000 debt with a fake check issued by a radical “family farm preservation” group run by Posse adherents. Nesse mesmo ano, James' irmão Terry tentou pagar uma dívida US $ 17000 com uma falsa cheque emitido por um radical "exploração agrícola familiar preservação" grupo executado por Posse seguidores. Two years later, Terry Nichols helped to bring the Posse’s anti-government hatred to its ultimate fruition. Dois anos mais tarde, Terry Nichols ajudou a trazer a Posse do ódio anti-governamentais para a sua derradeira frutos. On April 18, 1995, he and a friend named Timothy McVeigh loaded 108 fifty-pound bags of ammonium nitrate fertilizer into a Ryder truck. Em 18 de abril de 1995, ele e um amigo chamado Timothy McVeigh carregados 108 cinquenta libra-sacos de nitrato de amónio, um fertilizante em Ryder caminhão. The next day, McVeigh bombed the Murrah federal building in Oklahoma City, killing 168 people on the second anniversary of Waco. No dia seguinte, McVeigh bombardeado o edifício federal Murrah em Oklahoma City, matando 168 pessoas sobre o segundo aniversário de Waco.
After the attack, the Feds began cracking down on white supremacist groups, including one called the “Montana Freemen,” who were, in the words of hate-group expert Daniel Levitas, “the direct ideological descendants of the Posse Comitatus.” (Levitas’ book, The Terrorist Next Door, contains the definitive account of Bill Gale and the Posse.) The Freemen were arrested in their isolated compound after a threemonth standoff with the FBI. Após o atentado, os Feds começou o combate em branco supremacist grupos, incluindo um chamado de "Montana Freemen", que foram, nas palavras de ódio-grupo de peritos Daniel Levinas, "os descendentes directos ideológica da Posse Comitatus." (Levinas O livro, o terrorista Next Door, contém a conta de Bill definitivo Gale e da Posse.) O Freemen foram presos em seus compostos isolados depois de três meses standoff com o FBI. At trial, they filed an array of bizarre documents citing the Fed, the gold standard, the 14th Amendment, and the Uniform Commercial Code, but to no avail. No julgamento, que apresentaram uma série de documentos bizarro citando o Fed, o padrão-ouro, a 14 ª alteração, e do Código Comercial Uniforme, mas em vão. They were sent to the maximum security “Supermax” federal prison in Florence, Colorado, where they remain today. Eles foram enviados para o máximo de segurança "Supermax" prisão federal, em Florença, Colorado, onde permanecem hoje.
But the appeal of their anti-government dogma didn’t disappear. Mas o apelo do seu anti-governamental dogma não desapareceram. The Freemen continued to attract sympathizers outside Supermax walls. O Freemen continuou a atrair simpatizantes fora Supermax paredes. Some collected the documents the Freemen filed during their trial and began offering them for sale via adver tisements in “America’s Bulletin,” a newsletter espousing Posse- style anti-government theories that is widely distributed throughout the prison system by white supremacists. Alguns dos documentos recolhidos durante o Freemen depositado seu julgamento e começou a oferecer para venda através de publicidade em tisements "America's Boletim", um boletim informativo espousing Posse de estilo anti-governamental teorias que é amplamente distribuído ao longo de todo o sistema prisional em branco supremacists.
In October 2004, a prisoner named Michael Burpee arrived at the Maryland Correctional Adjustment Center in downtown Baltimore. Em outubro de 2004, um prisioneiro chamado Michael Burpee chegou à Maryland Ajustamento Correctional Center, em baixa de Baltimore. Burpee had recently been convicted in Florida of trafficking PCP to Maryland. Burpee recentemente tinha sido condenado na Flórida PCP para o tráfico de Maryland. Hoping for leniency, he pled guilty, only to receive a twenty seven-year prison sentence dictated by harsh federal sentencing guidelines. Na esperança de imunidade, ele pled culpados, apenas para receber um vinte sete anos de prisão ditada pelas duras penas diretrizes federais. Desperate for a way out, he began listening to someone — presumably a fellow prisoner — who explained how the charges were all part of a secret government conspiracy against him. Desesperada de uma saída, ele começou a ouvir alguém - presumivelmente um colega preso - que explica a forma como a todas as acusações eram parte de uma conspiração contra ele segredo governamental. Then Burpee was brought up on new federal drug charges in Maryland, and shipped north. Depois Burpee foi levantada na nova droga encargos federais em Maryland, e expedidos Norte. He carried with him a pile of documents that were remarkably similar to those that had been filed by the Montana Freemen. Ele procedeu com ele uma pilha de documentos que eram muito semelhantes às que tinham sido arquivados pelas Montana Freemen.
In Baltimore, Burpee found a group of inmates at the margins of society, people like Willie Mitchell and company who were staring at the full force of the federal government. Em Baltimore, Burpee encontrado um grupo de reclusos nas margens da sociedade, pessoas como Willie Mitchell e que foram staring empresa em toda a força do governo federal. As one defense attorney representing a flesh-and-blood defendant put it, they “saw a freight train coming and felt three feet tall.” Soon the unorthodox legal filings and courtroom outbursts began to multiply. Como um advogado representando uma defesa carne-e-sangue requerido colocá-lo, eles "viram um comboio de mercadorias e de sentir próximos três pés de altura." Pouco a unorthodox legais e limalha tribunal surtos começaram a multiplicar. It was, one public defender later explained, “like an infection that was invading our client population of pre-trial detainees.” Burpee appears to have been patient zero in the epidemic. Foi, um defensor público explicou mais tarde, "como uma infecção que era a nossa invadindo cliente população de reclusos em prisão preventiva." Burpee parece ter sido paciente em zero a epidemia. For over a year, he harangued his lawyers and judge about the conspiracy and spread the word in the Baltimore lockup. Ao longo de mais de um ano, ele harangued seus advogados eo juiz sobre a conspiração e espalhar a palavra no Baltimore travamento. Then, in a stroke of bad luck for the public defender’s office, the US Attorney’s office decided to drop the charges against Burpee — perhaps reasoning that he wasn’t worth the hassle considering that he had already been sentenced to twenty-seven years. Então, em um golpe de má sorte para o defensor público do escritório, os E.U. procurador do gabinete decidido a largar as acusações contra Burpee - talvez raciocínio que ele não era o aborrecimento vale considerar que ele já tinha sido condenado a vinte e sete anos. For Burpee’s peers, the decision imbued the flesh-and-blood defense with legitimacy and the hope of freedom. Para Burpee's pares, a decisão impregnada a carne-e-sangue defesa com a esperança de legitimidade e de liberdade.
Before long, the relatives of the defendants were scanning Web sites like www.redemptionservice.com, which offers maps showing how Satanic runes were secretly incorporated into the street plan of Washington, DC, and a deluxe package of instructions for renouncing one’s social security number for only $3,900, payable by check or money order. Pouco tempo depois, os familiares dos arguidos foram varredura Web sites como www.redemptionservice.com, que oferece mapas mostrando como Satânicos Runes secretamente foram incorporadas no plano da rua Washington, DC, e um pacote de luxo instruções para uma social da renunciando número de segurança, por apenas US $ 3900, a pagar por cheque ou dinheiro.
Like the Midwestern farmers before them, the Baltimore inmates were susceptible to the notion that the federal government was engaged in a massive, historic plot to deprive them of life, liberty, and property. Tal como o Midwestern agricultores, antes deles, os detentos eram susceptíveis à Baltimore a noção de que o governo federal foi envolvido em um grande e histórico enredo para privá-los da vida, a liberdade ea propriedade. Such suspicions are prevalent in certain pockets of the black community — that year, a study from the Rand Corporation found that over 25 percent of African Americans surveyed believed the AIDS virus was developed by the government, and 12 percent thought it was released into the population by the CIA. Essas suspeitas são predominantes em certos bolsos da comunidade negra - naquele ano, um estudo da Rand Corporation revelou que mais de 25 por cento dos inquiridos acreditavam Africano americanos o vírus da SIDA foi desenvolvido pelo governo, e de 12 por cento pensa que foi liberado na população pela CIA. And black separatist groups like the Nation of Islam — also fond of conspiracy theories — have long cultivated members through the prison system; some of these groups have explicitly adopted the language of constitutional fundamentalists. Given these developments, Levitas told me, “I’m surprised this didn’t happen sooner.”
This, then, was how Willie Mitchell came to draw on the accumulated layers of three decades of right-wing paranoia and demand that his case be dismissed “in accord with House Joint Resolution 192, and Public Law 73-10″ — laws that involved the abandonment of the gold standard and the Federal Reserve. And it explained why Shawn Gardner kept insisting that he be addressed as “Shawn-Earl: Gardner,” rather than the capital-letter SHAWN GARDNER printed on the indictment: he thought that if he could convince the court to call him by his “natural” name, it would be tantamount to admitting that the charges had been filed against someone else.
On the morning of January 10, 2006, two months after the first flesh-and-blood hearing, Gardner returned to Judge Davis’s courtroom. Moments after Davis arrived, Gardner stood up. “I object,” he said, over and over, until Judge Davis had finally had enough. “Do you know what you’re doing?” he asked Gardner. “You are committing suicide in broad daylight. There are public suicides in this country far too often. People jump off the Golden Gate Bridge, the Brooklyn Bridge. People walk into their workplaces with a gun and put the gun up to their head and pull the trigger. People slash their wrists. I don’t want you to join that community, but that’s what you’re doing, sir.”
Gardner tried to argue that the court had no power over him under “common law.” “At common law,” Judge Davis replied, “you were property. You were bought and sold just like those Timberlands on your feet today can be bought and sold. That’s what your ancestors were, some of them, and that is what my ancestors were, some of them.”
“You have invoked ideas formulated and advanced by people who think less of you than they think of dirt,” Davis continued. “The extremists who have concocted these ideas that you are now advancing in this courtroom are laughing their heads off. You are giving them everything they ever wished for. They should be paying you to do what you are doing. They are going to make you the poster child for their movement. When you complete this suicide, they will honor you because you are doing their work, better and more effectively than any of them ever dreamed they could do. Some of them — ” “I object,” said Gardner, interrupting. “The government wants to do the same thing anyway. So what’s the difference?”
Gardner, unrepentant, was escorted from the courtroom. And so the tenets of Posse Comitatus continued their long, strange journey, from the racist, hate-filled mind of William Gale to four black defendants on trial for their life in Baltimore federal court.
A little more than a year after the November 2005 hearing, the flesh-and-blood phenomenon took another twist. A key part of the conspiracy indictment against Mitchell et al was the allegation that the defendants acted together in pursuit of criminal goals. The seemingly choreographed speeches and the identical filings, all submitted on the same day and mailed by the same person, suggested that the four defendants were going to great lengths to coordinate their actions, despite being housed in separate prison facilities and having no obvious means of communication. Ergo, evidence that the conspiracy was continuing in jail. The US Attorney’s office also added new charges of felony obstruction of justice, citing the disruptive nature of the fleshand- blood defense. The prosecutors weren’t just rejecting the defense as an argument for innocence. They were saying that it was, itself, a crime.
Undaunted, Mitchell and company continued making courtroom speeches and filing more nonsensical motions. One, for instance, claimed that Judge Davis’ court only had jurisdiction over crimes committed in federally owned “forts, magazines, arsenals, dockyards, and enclaves.”
None of these arguments had a prayer of overturning the charges. But they had an impact nonetheless. They made a long, complex trial longer and more complex still. Seeking the death penalty is rightfully arduous — it requires legal justifications for the penalty itself, enhanced scrutiny over jury selection, an additional penalty phase after a conviction, and so on. Conspiracy charges create further legal burdens. And the way Mitchell et al chose to deal with their attorneys — not dismissing them outright, but asking them to sign a peculiar “contract” that would essentially prohibit them from mounting a defense — created more problems. If the defendants weren’t dealt with carefully, they might be able to appeal by claiming that they had been inadequately represented. The last thing Judge Davis wanted was for an appellate court to throw out a verdict and send the case back to Baltimore to start all over again. According to a source close to the court, dealing with the flesh and blood defense has been “one of the greatest challenges Davis has faced in twenty years as a judge, by far.”
By mid-2007, the federal prosecutors were starting to run low on a vital resource: time. As years go by, memories fade, police officers retire or transfer, informants change their mind, and juries wonder, why, if the case is so straightforward, it took so long to make. On September 6, 2007, prosecutors withdrew the death penalty for all four defendants.
Nobody in the Baltimore federal courthouse is willing to state, or even speculate on the record, that Mitchell and his cohorts may have averted death with the flesh-and-blood defense. There are other possibilities involving evidence, witnesses, and Justice Department policy. But the elaborate processes of federal capital cases weren’t built to accommodate farcical pro se filings and challenges. Traffic offenses, tax cases — even farm foreclosures — are one thing. When the end goal is execution, even the most ludicrous defenses are taken seriously.
On January 8, 2008, the case of United States of America v. Willie Mitchell et al convened once again in the main courtroom of the federal courthouse. The lawyers arrived first, chatting in the manner of people who had spent nearly four years and counting on the odyssey of this case. The defendants came next. While Shawn Gardner wore the blue work shirt of a lifer in state prison, Willie Mitchell sported comfortable baggy jeans and a stylish black shirt. Mitchell sauntered to his table, and spied the lone spectator in the courtroom’s auditorium-style gallery of one hundred- plus seats, a slender black woman who looked to be in her late twenties. His eyes lit up as he smiled and mouthed “How are you?” “I’m good, I’m good” she murmured. “Your new lawyer — get his card!”
Judge Davis arrived last, emerging from a wooden door behind the bench, beneath oil portraits of judges from days gone by. The hearing will be short, he said; the purpose is to establish a schedule for future motions, and ultimately the trial. Davis and the lawyers spent the next twenty minutes trying find eight weeks of available courtroom time for ten busy lawyers plus the judge. Then, apropos of nothing, Shelton Harris stood up. “Good morning your honor,” he began. Davis saw where this was going and cut him off. “I haven’t recognized you yet, Mr. Harris. You’ll have time to talk later,” he said. “I accept your offer,” Harris replied softly, and sat down.
The scheduling discussion continued; Mitchell rested his head in his arms as though bored. Finally, Judge Davis allowed Harris to speak. Harris launched into the now familiar oration — “I request you, the judge, close the accounts” He spoke rapidly in a low, gravelly voice, as if he’d worked hard to memorize the speech and didn’t want to leave anything out.
Harris finished, sat, and Judge Davis turned to the defendants. The speech you just gave has no legal meaning whatsoever, he said sternly. They were words in the English language, but they have no meaning as a matter of law. If, in future proceedings, you persist — even politely — in making these speeches, you face a severe risk of being expelled from the courtroom. The court also may conclude that you are waiving your right to appointed counsel, in which case you would have to represent yourself. That would be a sad day. “We are in recess,” Davis said. He turned back toward the door to leave.
Then several things happened at once. Shawn Gardner, handcuffed, slumped in the arms of the federal marshals, who seized him beneath his armpits and dragged him across the courtroom toward the door. Willie Mitchell raised his right hand to speak, intent on giving his version of Harris’ speech, but the marshals grabbed his arm and forced it down behind his back toward his left wrist, which was already cuffed. Mitchell struggled and yelled at his lawyer, “They got my arm in a chicken wing!” The marshals forcibly moved Martin and Harris toward the door. Judge Davis watched with consternation as they were dragged from his court.
Willie Mitchell and company won’t go on trial until September, if then, and they won’t face the death penalty, even though they probably deserve it if anyone does. But they will probably be convicted and spend the rest of their lives in federal prison, never to be heard from again, because in the end, the flesh-and-blood defense is no defense at all. The 14th Amendment didn’t revoke Shawn Gardner’s natural citizenship — it gave him protection under the law, and paved the way for another black man to judge his case. There’s no international cabal of Jewish bankers conspiring against him — one of his lawyers, a professor at Howard University Law School, is Jewish. The secret histories and grand conspiracies that have fueled decades of right-wing paranoia, morphing to accommodate one doomed cause after another until finding an unlikely temporary home in a Baltimore lockup, are lies and nothing more.
As the marshals shoved the four men toward the courtroom door, back to the prison they’ll never leave, they shook their heads and looked at each other smiling, as if to say right, right, isn’t it always just like this? One of them let out a chuckle that rose above the din. Judge Davis turned to the court reporter. “Let the record show,” he said, “that Mr. Harris is laughing.”
Have Your Say: Victims of the Drug War Are Forced to Resort to Bizarre Legal Defenses
Please read our posting guidelines before posting .
Alternatively you can discuss this report here .
This entry was posted on Tuesday, August 19th, 2008 at 12:08 am and is filed under Culture . You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response , or trackback from your own site.
Translations
Loading ... Related News
- New Hampshire Recount a “Criminal Enterprise”
- Antiwar activists seek expanded police probe
- CIA misled judges in Moussaoui case
- Big Brother Keeping Tabs On Students
- Students Denied Legal Aid
Email This Page To A Friend
Latest Headlines
- US pledges to support new government
- Iraq wants to put torturers on trial
- Passengers test new face scanners
- The Secret Deal For Iraq’s Oil
- Children as Big Pharma Guinea Pigs
- Blackwater guards face prosecution over killing of 17 Iraqi civilians
- Greg Palast: Chewing the Buddha Bush at the Olympics
- Teachers concerned over CCTV in schools
- ID card ‘propaganda’ backfires as students revolt
- Journalist says US target was Al-Jazeera
More Mais Breaking News
Archive
- August 2008 Agosto 2008
- July 2008 Julho 2008
- June 2008
- May 2008
- April 2008 Abril 2008
- March 2008 Março 2008
- February 2008 Fevereiro 2008
- January 2008
- December 2007
- November 2007
- October 2007 Oct 2007
- September 2007 Setembro 2007
- August 2007 Agosto 2007
- July 2007 Julho 2007
- June 2007 Junho 2007
- May 2007
- April 2007
- March 2007
