"OK, Newman. Where's the mail?"
Posted on 01/07/2005 9:01:18 AM PST by Che Chihuahua
SAN FRANCISCO (News Frontiers) – The U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled that a man required to wear a signboard stating "I stole mail. This is my punishment," outside a San Francisco post office was unreasonably sanctioned.
The 9th Circuit overturned a lower federal court's order that required mail thief and activist George Soarass to wear the sign, noting the public humiliation was intended to "break" him of an illusion he had committed a “victimless” crime. Paired with requiring Soarass to write apologies and lecture at a high school, the "somewhat crude" condition he wear the signboard provided an opportunity to "cause his separation from society," the court ruled.
In its opinion, the 9th circuit court overturned the punishment given to Soarass as being inconsistent with the "...necessities of an orderly collectivist society and is per se a violation of the Eight Amendment prohibition against cruel and unusual punishment."
The court compared the alleged humiliation in this case with its rejection in John Al Kayda v U.S., 868 F3rd 1256 of the use by federal agents of "time-outs for terrorists." In that case the court ruled that the use of the "timeout" is "… [An] overtly humiliating interrogation technique" in which a "suspect is forced to go to a corner and be quiet." The Court extended its reasoning in Al Kayda, and concluded that the defendant Soarass was publicly humiliated and should be accorded the rights of “brave freedom fighters such as Hamas or Islamic Jihad."
The 9th Circuit Court also cited the recent "atrocities" at Abu Gharib as examples of "race-based forms of interrogation and punishment without due process of law. In the instant case, atrocity-like conduct is present." The court pointedly noted that, "However, flawed the legal process may seem, the fascist oppressors of the proletariat cannot be heard to complain because even a kangaroo appeals court is still a court."
They should make him wear a sign stating his laughable name instead.
He should go to prison.
Then his name would work.
"OK, Newman. Where's the mail?"
This has to be a parody report. George Soreass? Al Kayda? Not to mention the quote at the end referring to the "kangaroo court"?
Che, based on the URL for the link to this "news" story, I suspect you wrote it yourself. Am I right?
Shouldn't posts like this--any parody post--be in General Interest/Chat? Some FReepers look at the News/Activism threads and expect to find news/activist articles. JMO
MY BAD!!! Off to get more coffee
Yes, this was a school project for an "Introduction to Multimedia" class at San Diego City college.
Soreass?
#8, dear. FReegards!
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