I want to express my love & respect for Todd McCormick and Peter
McWilliams. As many of you know, they both pled guilty Friday to conspiring
to manufacture marijuana. I know that this was a difficult decision and I
support the choice that they have
made.
In an earlier hearing, their judge, Judge King, ruled that Peter and Todd
could not use medical necessity as a defense which took away their right to
a fair trial. They were prohibited from bringing up anything medical and
they could not even breathe a word about their own medical conditions. This
would mean that an uninformed jury would be making a ruling based on an
extremely limited amount of information, making Todd and Peter appear to be
drug dealers rather
than patients growing their own medicine and conducting
medical research.
Had Peter and Todd decided to go to trial anyway, they would have faced
extremely severe sentences. Due to the number of plants grown, they would
have had to serve 10 year mandatory minimum sentences or as seen in past
rulings in medical marijuana cases, even more. Both Todd and Peter could
have appealed this decision, but they would have to sit in jail several
years awaiting the outcome.
The US Attorney's Office and the Government Prosecutors offered Peter and
Todd a deal. They were told they could;
A) plead guilty to a certain kind of conspiracy charge that did not have a
mandatory minimum- a conspiracy with a sentence range of 0-5 years and at
sentencing, they could argue for the least sentence, while the Government
would argue for the greater sentence.
B) They could preserve their appeal rights by agreeing to a rigid 5 year
sentence, and if they lost the appeal they would have to serve that exact
amount of time..
Since the Government has taken away Peter's legal right to use medical
marijuana, his AIDS virus has worsened and he has virtually no immune system
left. If he were sent to prison and placed on the hospital floor in an
under-staffed, germ-infested environment with seriously inadequate medical
care and treatment, he is convinced that he would die shortly after
arriving.
So on Friday, November 19th, after being stripped of their right to a fair
trial by losing their medical necessity defense, having their medical
marijuana, which was the only medicine effective in alleviating their
suffering, taken away from them and being subjected to a tremendous amount
of pressure and coercion from the Government, McCormick and McWilliams pled
guilty.
Peter chose to waive his right to appeal (A) with the hope of getting a
lighter sentence, allowing him to live the remainder of his life in peace.
Todd, being in better health, refused to give up his appeal rights with the
hope of being granted bail while awaiting the decision. If Todd is granted
his appeal, he will finally be allowed to use his medical necessity defense
and have a chance to win his case. This would create a precedent for others
in the future.
I am very hopeful that Peter will not have to spend any time in jail. He
deserves to live the remainder of his life in peace. He is far more valuable
to himself and the movement as a vocal advocate, rather than a silent
martyr.
I am also very hopeful that Todd will be able to await his appeal on bail
rather than sitting in prison under what Amnesty International and the UN
have declared are seriously inadequate, cruel and inhumane conditions.
Peter and Todd are warriors who have dedicated much of their lives to
activism on behalf of medical marijuana. I honor what they have done for the
movement and I respect the decisions they have made. I will not give up hope
and I will continue to support Todd and Peter in their fight for freedom!
Their sentencing hearing is set for Feb. 28, 2000, at the Federal Court in
Downtown Los Angeles. I encourage everyone who can, to attend this hearing
and show their support.
Love & Light!
Renee Boje
rboje@hotmail.com
http://www.reneeboje.com/
Maury Mason
maurymason@hotmail.com
Renee Boje Legal Defense Team
P.O. Box 1557
Gibsons, BC
V0N 1V0
Ph. 604-886-3153
Donation Site
http://www.safesafe.com/reneeboje
