NATIONAL ORGANIZATION FOR
THE REFORM OF MARIJUANA LAWS
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... a weekly service for the media on news items related to Marijuana Prohibition.
July 13, 1995
Not All Marijuana Law Victims Are Arrested:
Police Officer Who Fatally Shot Suspected Marijuana User Cleared
Of Criminal Charges
July 6, 1995, Beaver Dam, WI:
According to a lengthy article in the Madison Isthmus, Detective
Robert Neuman -- the police officer who on April 28 fatally shot
suspected marijuana user Scott Bryant in his home -- has been
recently cleared of criminal charges by a Sheboygan County
District Attorney.
Officer Neuman shot and killed twenty-nine year old Scott Bryant
on April 28 when he and three other police officers barged into
Bryant's mobile home executing a no knock/no announce warrant.
Bryant was unarmed and did not resist arrest; his seven year old
son, Colton, was present during the shooting. A total of
less than one ounce of marijuana was found in the apartment.
District Attorney Wells concluded that, "The shooting of
Scott Bryant was not in any form justified." However,
he also determined that the shooting was
"unintentional," and thus, could not file homicide
charges. Wells theorizes that, "[Officer Neuman's]
hand may have clenched either as he jerked his weapon toward the
noise and struck the door, or in 'sympathetic physical reaction'
to his other hand, which was also grasping." A
gun-maker of the Beretta used by Neuman finds such an occurrence
to be unlikely since the Beretta's double action draw length
"helps reduce the chance of ... inadvertent
discharges." Neuman claims that he has "no
recollection of pulling the trigger."
Wells also ruled out charges of criminal recklessness in the
Neuman shooting, claiming that the detective "could not have
had a 'conscious, subjective awareness' that his gun handling
created a grave risk, since his partner was in the line of
fire." The Isthmus article further adds that
because of the employment of an "outdated legal
definition," Wells also cleared Neuman of the charge of criminal
recklessness. As a result, Officer Neuman can return to
regular active duty.
The fatal shooting of Scott Bryant by law enforcement officials
is yet another example of the government's continued war against
marijuana users. In a similar instance, disabled Vietnam veteran
Gary Shepard was shot and killed by police in August of 1992 as
he and his family stood on the front porch of his home in rural
Kentucky. Shepard had been engaged in a day-long standoff
with law enforcement officials after he refused to let police cut
down the marijuana plants growing on his property. Perhaps
even more shocking was the October 2, 1993 fatal shooting of millionaire
rancher Donald Scott. Scott was killed when law enforcement
officials raided his Malibu property searching for 40 pounds of
marijuana. No marijuana was ever found.
Number Of Jail Inmates Experiences Third Largest Increase Since 1983
According to the most recent Census of Jails
and Annual Survey of Jails report, the jail population of the
United States rose by 30,638 inmates between July 1, 1993, and
June 30,1994. This growth marks the third largest annual
increase recorded since 1983.
Even more striking were the report's findings that: "Since
1983 the jail inmate population has nearly doubled on a per
capita basis. During this period the number of jail inmates
per 100,000 residents rose from 96 to 188."
Consequently, the report estimates that about 1 in every 398
adult residents (and 1 in every 212 men) are in a local jail.
Not surprisingly, the largest source of growth among inmates in
local jails was drug law violators. Because of increased
law enforcement and stiffer penalties under the "War on
Drugs," the number of jail inmates charged or convicted of
drug offenses increased from 20,800 in 1983 to 91,000 in
1989. Subsequently, the percentage of inmates serving time
in jail for drug offenses has skyrocketed from 10% in 1983 to
nearly 25% in 1989. This figure accounts for more than 40%
of the total increase in jail population.
Counting Down: The Ten Millionth Marijuana Arrest Since 1965 Will Take Place On July 20. It Could Be You!
--End--
ALMOST 10 MILLION MARIJUANA ARRESTS SINCE 1965 ... ANOTHER EVERY 90 SECONDS!