Pubdate: Thu, 17 Jan 2002
Source: Athens Banner-Herald (GA)
Copyright: 2002 Athens Newspapers Inc
Contact:  http://www.onlineathens.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1535
Author: Mark Knick
Referenced: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v02/n044/a02.html
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/af.htm (Asset Forfeiture)

WHERE'S THE JUSTICE IN TAKING WOMAN'S HOME WITHOUT A TRIAL

I am writing in response to an article in Friday's paper, "A-C police seize 
home in drug raid." I would just like to ask how, in a supposedly free 
country, an 82-year-old woman can have her home taken as punishment for a 
crime her son supposedly committed and neither of them have ever even been 
to court? Where was the jury of her peers?

Wake up America! The Constitution is now null and void and has been for 
years due to this great excuse called "the war on drugs," which is used for 
everything from seizing private land to banning books the authorities deem 
inappropriate. While our schools are filling up with armed policemen and 
search dogs, little old ladies are being seized by the policemen who are 
sworn to serve and protect. Everyone is blind to the fact that we are 
losing more freedom each day, and all I see the average American doing is 
putting flag stickers on their cars and going to sporting events just like 
they were told to.

There is one more thing you probably really don't care about either. If the 
son of the 82-year-old woman whose home was taken goes to court and is 
found innocent, do you think she gets her home back? Not without putting up 
10 percent of the property's value in court where she still has to prove 
the suspect property wasn't bought with drug money even though the courts 
said there was no crime. Not only do you have to prove yourself not guilty, 
you also have to prove your property is not guilty either. Now that's 
justice the American way.

Mark Knick, Jefferson
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MAP posted-by: Richard Lake