Court tosses conviction of man who endorsed Bush's death

[Kadie]

Court tosses conviction of man who endorsed Bush's death


By DAVID KRAVETS
AP Legal Affairs Writer

April 08, 2005

Mailing a letter to the White House supporting President Bush's death at the hands of terrorists is not illegal, a federal appeals court ruled Friday.

The decision overturns the conviction and 18-month sentence given last year to an Oregon inmate who sent a rambling, poorly written letter to the president. It read, in part, "You will die too George W Bush real Soon they Promised That you would Long Live Bin Laden."

Corrections officials intercepted the letter from Oregon State Penitentiary prisoner Jonathan Lincoln, who later was charged under federal law with threatening the president. Lincoln, who was serving a 46-month sentence for robbery, argued on appeal that his letter, written two weeks after the Sept. 11 terror attacks, was protected under the First Amendment.

A unanimous three-judge panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals agreed, ruling Friday the letter was "Lincoln's crude and offensive method of stating a political opposition to the president, and such political hyperbole does not constitute a 'threat.'"

more...
http://www.tuscaloosanews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050408/APN/504081100&cachetime=3&template=dateline

[despairing optimist]

1. Those activist judges are at it again. Time for the torches and pitchforks

Oops. Someone please go back and get the crucifixes.

[kohodog]

2. If they convicted this guy they'd need to go after DeLay and Cornyn

for threatening judges. Timing is everything. The feds are desperately trying to convict a terrorist under the Patriot Act. How cool would it be if they ended up having the first conviction being DeLay or some other lame reactionary politician under Patriot Act rules?