Slashdot Mirror
Philly Court Convicts 2600 Staffer on Minor Counts
McGuckin was held in August for a week on a half-million dollars bond. The four charges that were dropped include the infamous accusation that his cell phone was an instrument of crime. The two counts he was convicted of were disorderly conduct and obstructing a highway.
His sentence is three months' probation and a fine of $135.50. He says he will appeal.
According to 2600, despite having a great deal of videotape, the prosecution used none of it, and convicted McGuckin entirely on the testimony of one police detective. Detective Angelo Parisi says he saw McGuckin talk on his cell phone, then point in a particular direction. A small group of people then moved in that direction to block an intersection for about twenty minutes.
Though Parisi was walking through the city capturing video of protesters' activities, this action was not caught on video.
Ironically, the protesters demonstrating to block the intersection "dispersed after getting a warning from police," with no arrests, says 2600.
Another protester arrested at the same demonstration was John Sellers, an environmental activist who was described in court as sowing "violence and mayhem." According to the Philadelphia Inquirer, "prosecutor Martelli spoke ominously of the massive dossier that federal and local authorities had built against Sellers."
Because of such comments, Sellers was held on $1 million bond, which is unheard of for misdemeanor charges. He was released Tuesday because, according to the prosecutor, there was no evidence against him. The same police detective who testified against McGuckin had been observing Sellers.
In summary: were his lawyers incompetent, or did he have something to hide? Yes, yes, I know that US law is supposed to be "innocent until proven guilty". In the real world, it's "guilty unless you have money and/or look respectable". It sounds like he didn't present much of a defense.
My friend and roommate had har puppets and artwork destroyed by Philidelphia's police. She was building puppets and artwork for a political protest.
Their group was infiltrated by police detectives posing as activists. On August 1st, the warehouse was raided by the Philidelphia police (the police called her pupets weapons and considered the paints bomb-making materials). She was arrested along with 80 others in the warehouse (which was legimately rented).
Rather than roll over for the DA and take their slap-on-the-wrist plea bargin, she (and many others) have opted to go to court to not only clear their names, but flood the "justice" system which has so wrongfully screwed them.
This represents a major injustice -- the Philly DA publicly congratulated the police department for so efficently sweeping the undesirables under the rug for the duration of the Republican convention, effectively criminilizing orginization and peaceful protest (and I know this girl -- she's peaceful).
In any case, this is just the short of it, please visit this site for more information.
You can also contact the Philly DA and mayor here to tell them how much this sucks.:
Mayor John Street
City Hall
Philidelphia, PA
(215) 686-2181
District Attourney Lynn Abraham
1421 Arch St.
Philidelphia, PA
(215)686-8701
-Turkey
Today's Edition of Democracy Now (democracynow.org) covers this case, check it out.
They also have an amusing interview with president clinton from nov 8, in they're archives.
now ask yourselves whys its important to have an independent media.
Papa Smurf Says "When You Live In A Mushroom Everyone Looks Blue"
The problem is that the cops can claim anything that they want and then it's your word over theirs. I had the very same problem about 10 years ago. What really sucks is when they claim that your pocket-knife is a criminal tool just to make you look worse.
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Wooden armaments to battle your imaginary foes!
- I wrote an article for Hackedtobits.com (the "Home of Irresponsible Journalism") about my personal experiences in Philly. A draft of this article was posted on Slashdot (Danger in the Big Blue Room). You can see the entire piece here
Sincerely,
Vergil
Insects and Grafitti Photos
One readers comments stated that he was convicted by a randomly chosen jury of morons? How many jury summons have we, as geeks, tried to avoid? I know I have, but I have also been selected as part of a jury. These people aren't always morons. They make judgements made solely by comments made in the courtroom. They usually do not have access to the media's representation after the fact. So, in response to that, do your civic duty. be the one non-moron on the jury. exercise your right to be a voice of reason, and stop your whining.
"Before the wreck, I never knew how to type with my face."
This is relevant to Slashdot readers for several reasons. The first being that Shapeshifter, who helps with 2600, was arrested and charged with FELONIES for simply being on the street with a cell phone. Another good reason is that some of us who were involved in the Philadelphia protests are regular Slashdot readers. The police affidavit that was used to justify the police raid on the puppet warehouse cited two geek media sources: IndyMedia and my site, Mid-Atlantic Infoshop. No surprise, the cops are using alternative media website to glean information about activists.
Finally, and most importantly, everybody who visits this site should be concerned with how the Philly cops took their anti-activist intimidation and violence to a new level. If you aren't mad about the cops holding activists on million dollar bails because they were talking on a cell phone, you should be outraged that they raided a PUPPET-MAKING WAREHOUSE and arrested everybody inside for "blocking a highway." Most of the arrests in Philadelphia weren't for ACTUAL LAWBREAKING, they were pre-emptive arrests deisgned to strike fear into activists and anybody who might be thinking of joining them.
On a lighter note, the police affidavit also said that we were getting money from the Soviet Union. I'd say that the Philly cops need to buy a wall map that was made in the 1990s.
news like this makes me glad I live in Canada.
Here in Toronto, rather than be held for days with a huge bond, the cops just take you to the boonies, beat you up, and take your shoes.
Going on means going far
Going far means returning
Going on means going far
Going far means returning
And just because this guy is with 2600, does not mean he's in the right.
True. However, that still doesn't automatically mean he was in the wrong, as some people seem to believe whenever the name "2600" comes up.
Every American has a right to peaceable assemble. They don't, however, have a right to block intersections, and so forth.
...oh, I'm sorry, I thought you were talking about Shapeshifter for a moment, not people who were actually seen blocking the intersections.
From the 2600 article:
[The cop] claimed to have seen McGuckin in a crowd of people talking on a cell phone. The officer claimed he saw the defendant point in a certain direction and that the 10-15 people in his group moved in that direction. However, the officer failed to capture any of this on his video camera. (my italics) He claimed that McGuckin then proceeded to the corner of 12th and Arch where he again spoke on his cell phone.
At this point, Parisi described a demonstration on 13th and Arch where protestors blocked an intersection for around 20 minutes. The implication was that McGuckin was coordinating this demonstration, even though he was never even seen by the officer at this intersection nor was he overheard saying anything to anyone. (again, my italics)
That's worth $500 000 bail? Remind me never to litter in Philadelphia; they might shoot me on the spot.
There is absolutely no evidence ShapeShifter blocked a road, nor any that he actually co-ordinated any protests. A cop only saw him speak on a cell phone, then point in a direction. None of this was captured on the video camera the cop was using.
Also, seeing that he DID make bail, it obviously wasn't an impossible hardship.
That was never mentioned anywhere.
Neither this AP story nor this/a& gt; Philly.com story mention the videotape angle, and why the prosecution didn't use any of it that showed Shifter (a single shot of him walking down a sidewalk).
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Someday, you're going to die. Get over it.
In summary: were his lawyers incompetent, or did he have something to hide?
Neither. It is a commonly known rule of thumb (which several lawyers I know tend to follow) that if you are innocent you generally prefer to have a judge presiding, while if you are guilty you generally prefer a jury trial. This isn't hard and fast, obviously, but more often than not that is the gist of one's choice.
He may have had an incompetent lawyer. He may also have had a biased or corrupt judge (remember Kaplan?). Or he may in fact have been guilty.
The latter is unlikely though -- police routinely lie in court, under oath, and obtain false convictions, and in many cases would whether or not the defendent chose a jury trial.
The only thing we can know for certain is that the outcome of this case has all the clarity of the American Presidential Election, i.e. none to speak of.
The Future of Human Evolution: Autonomy
Frankly, I don't need the cops to keep me and my little family home with relative safety any night of the week. First of all, they can be out there taking bullets all they want. I seriously doubt that any police are going to get to my home in any amount of time even remotely resembling that amount of time needed to take a bullet that would otherwise be threatening me or my little family.
If I'm lucky, I'll be able to call 911 as I lie bleeding in the living room from the home invasion, angry neighbor with a rake, or stray bullet from a drive-by. The police may be able to track down the assailant after the fact-- but that will not make me safe.
These are the same police who, at least in my state, consistently support anti-gun initiatives that deprive me of any real right to defend myself. So, you know, thanks, but no thanks.
I currently sit at home with relative safety because the majority of my neighbors are busy watching TV, or mowing the lawn, or playing Milton Bradley brand board games on "Family Night"-- Americans (and most humans) are basically good people who generally leave other people alone, and prefer peaceful living to constant warfare. So spare me your fear-mongering slippery slope attempts to justify a heavily armed force patrolling my neighborhood, who are given the blind faith of the citizenry because they are supposedly there for "my own safety".
I do not have a signature