DEAth Sentence for Small-Time Crime

DdC · 04-02-2006, 12:37 PM

Tough Sentence is DEAth Sentence for Small-Time Crime By Susan Lampert Smith
Source: Wisconsin State Journal April 01, 2006

A woman who shared my name, Susan Lampert, died a month ago today and her death troubles me.

While we met only a few times - all at the Dane County Farmers' Market - our common name bonded us and we had at least one mutual friend. I wondered if she cringed when she would see me in the newspaper, shooting off my mouth.

I certainly cringed when I finally saw her in the newspaper.

It was last June, when a farm near Lodi was busted as a marijuana- growing operation. Actually, I heard about it because some of my competitors at a rival news organization mistakenly (and gleefully) thought I had been busted.

I hated to ruin their fun.

But the bust was no laughing matter for the other Susan Lampert, who was sent to federal prison for her role in the operation. It was a tragedy that ultimately led to her death at 57.

The last time I saw her, in the mid- 1990s, she was still healthy and working at a Madison research company.

Since then, according to family and friends, she had contracted lupus and also suffered chronic pain from a broken back and depression. She couldn't work and was living on Supplemental Security Income and was on the waiting list for a rent- subsidized apartment in Lodi.

She supplemented her income by selling flowers and vegetables at the Lodi Valley Farmers' Market.

Peg Zaemisch, managing editor of the Lodi Enterprise, wrote a warm tribute after Lampert's death, calling her "The Flower Lady," and describing her typical attire: a big straw hat and brace supporting her tiny body. Zaemisch questioned whether federal prison was too harsh a sentence for an ill woman who had no criminal record.

After an afternoon spent reading Lampert's file at the federal courthouse, I'm angry and sad.

Lampert's daughter, Casey Looze, said her mother moved in several years ago with a longtime family friend, Terrance Larson. She got free rent in exchange for cleaning the house and doing chores on the farm.

Those chores included watering Larson's marijuana seedlings, which Lampert cared for along with her own flower and vegetable seedlings.

"She knew about what was going on," Looze said, of Larson's marijuana dealing.

Her attorney told the court she had hoped to move out, and was afraid of Larson, sometimes spending the night in her car because she had nowhere else to go. continued...cannabis news/thread21703

"It breaks my heart that she went to federal prison," Looze said, adding that her mother's letters indicated she wasn't getting adequate medical care. "This lady was so sick, so frail. It just breaks my heart."

In the ultimate irony, on March 14, the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Chicago sided with Lampert and ordered her conviction vacated. On March 18, Shabaz followed the directive of the higher court and signed an order dismissing the indictment against her.

But by then, the gentle Earth Mother who shared my name had been dead for 16 days.

Complete Title: Tough Sentence is Death Sentence for Small-Time Crime
Published: April 1, 2006 Madison Newspapers, Inc.
Contact * Website

CannabisNews Justice Archives

U.S. District Judge "Maximum John" C. Shabaz

January 20, 2006: Stephen P. Sinnott, United States Attorney for the Western District of Wisconsin, announced that Terrance Larson, 53, of Lodi, Wisconsin, and Susan Lampert, 57, also of Lodi, were sentenced yesterday by U.S. District Judge John C. Shabaz. The charges against Larson and were the result of an investigation conducted by the Columbia County Sheriff's Department. Prosecution of the case has been handled by Assistant U.S. Attorney Elizabeth Altman.

NORML:USA * Wisconson * Madison

Is My Medicine Legal YET?

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The Drug War Refugees
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A Searing Portrait of Abuse By Colbert I. King
Washington Post November 25, 2005*Washington, D.C.
This is the 12th column to be written about Jonathan Magbie, a 27-year-old man who was paralyzed from the neck down at age 4 after being struck by a drunk driver. Magbie lived at home with his mother, needed private nursing care at least 20 hours a day and was totally dependent upon others because he couldn't use any of his limbs. He got around in a motorized wheelchair that he operated with his mouth, and his breathing was aided by a tracheotomy tube and an implanted diaphragmatic pacemaker.

US PA: The Informant, The Lies, The Injustice -and A Life Lost

The Lancet, vol 352, number 9140, November 14 1998:
"We.. say that on the medical evidence available, moderate indulgence in cannabis has little ill-effect on health, and that decisions to ban or legalise cannabis should be based on other considerations."

Rainbow Farm Massacre
Federal and state police kill owner of Rainbow Farm
On the Friday before Labor Day 2001, rather than face a bail revocation hearing for holding an unauthorized marijuana rally last August Grover "Tom" Crosslin and Rolland Rohm retreated to Rainbow Farm...

Tom Crosslin - Nov. 10, 1954 - Sept. 3, 2001
Rollie Rohm - Dec. 27, 1972 - Sept. 4, 2001

The Murder of Peter McWilliams
On 6/15, poet, publisher, Libertarian crusader, bestselling author of over 30 books (How to Heal Depression; Getting Over the Loss of a Loved One; The Personal Computer Book; Life 101; et al...), Peter McWilliams, died in his home, asphyxiated on vomit, for lack of medical marijuana. Remember Peter McWilliams the next time Drug Czar Walters claims the "drug war" is not really a "war." McWilliams had his computers siezed, his livelihood and works in progress destroyed, his finances frozen and bankrupted, his critical lifesaving anti-nausea medication- marijuana- denied, even his mother threatened with the loss of her bailbonded-home if Peter tested positive with one iota of THC in his system. The federal judge even denied McWilliams the right to use Marinol, "legal" synthetic THC available in pill form.

Peter McWilliams: 1950 – 2000

generic_hippie · 04-02-2006, 01:01 PM

Oh say can you see...

Land of the free my fat furry little ring hole.

Jimmy Coonan · 04-02-2006, 06:01 PM

I knew this kid in high school who was busted with a few pounds of weed. He was selling it, so he got a few years in prison for it. He was a scrawny little white kid, so of course he got raped. He got AIDS, and now he's dead. The prison system in this country is a disgrace, the only people who are safe in there are murderers and rapists who join gangs and are tough and sadistic enough to do what they want to who they want. It's the people in there for drug possession and breaking into cars who get the worst of it. I love my country but I fucking hate its legal system.

jkrane · 04-02-2006, 08:08 PM

the legal system devastates the innocent and does not adequately punish the real criminals. The legal system is such a tragedy.

I thought it was academic people and learned people who run for office, but instead it's drunken idiots who can't see the logic:

PROHIBITION OF A SUBSTANCE IN HIGH DEMAND PRODUCES A BLACK MARKET.

BLACK MARKET = ABSENCE OF GOVERNMENT REGULATION = CRIME

SIMPLE FUCKING LOGIC!!!!!!

Jimmy Coonan · 04-02-2006, 08:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jkrane

the legal system devastates the innocent and does not adequately punish the real criminals. The legal system is such a tragedy.

I thought it was academic people and learned people who run for office, but instead it's drunken idiots who can't see the logic:

PROHIBITION OF A SUBSTANCE IN HIGH DEMAND PRODUCES A BLACK MARKET.

BLACK MARKET = ABSENCE OF GOVERNMENT REGULATION = CRIME

SIMPLE FUCKING LOGIC!!!!!!

Exactly. President Bush use to sling a bit of coke in college, and Laura sold weed. You'd think they'd get it. Guess all the bourbon made them forget.

Pitfall · 04-02-2006, 09:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by lillarry518

Exactly. President Bush use to sling a bit of coke in college, and Laura sold weed. You'd think they'd get it. Guess all the bourbon made them forget.

they're just evil hypocrites... like, duh!

Guest · 04-02-2006, 10:12 PM

It's revolting.

Why aren't we?

Flipper · 04-03-2006, 07:00 AM

This wasn't a death sentence for marijuana. I totally think its wrong but don't exaggerate the article. She was sent to prison and got old. Getting old in prison does not equal death sentence. IF you want to complaina bout the prison system, or prohibition fine, but I got real angry at the government when I read this title and, after reading the article, felt screwed as she wasn't sentenced to death due to pot.

gangrene · 04-03-2006, 10:33 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by palmspringsbum

It's revolting.

Why aren't we?

Hey, you nabbed that line from Monty Python

04-02-2006, 12:37 PM	#1 (permalink)
DdC Decade Yahookan Join Date: Feb 1999 Location: Santa Cruz,CA,USA Posts: 2,117 Blog Entries: 5 Thanks: 51 Thanked 607 Times in 399 Posts	DEAth Sentence for Small-Time Crime Tough Sentence is DEAth Sentence for Small-Time Crime By Susan Lampert Smith Source: Wisconsin State Journal April 01, 2006 A woman who shared my name, Susan Lampert, died a month ago today and her death troubles me. While we met only a few times - all at the Dane County Farmers' Market - our common name bonded us and we had at least one mutual friend. I wondered if she cringed when she would see me in the newspaper, shooting off my mouth. I certainly cringed when I finally saw her in the newspaper. It was last June, when a farm near Lodi was busted as a marijuana- growing operation. Actually, I heard about it because some of my competitors at a rival news organization mistakenly (and gleefully) thought I had been busted. I hated to ruin their fun. But the bust was no laughing matter for the other Susan Lampert, who was sent to federal prison for her role in the operation. It was a tragedy that ultimately led to her death at 57. The last time I saw her, in the mid- 1990s, she was still healthy and working at a Madison research company. Since then, according to family and friends, she had contracted lupus and also suffered chronic pain from a broken back and depression. She couldn't work and was living on Supplemental Security Income and was on the waiting list for a rent- subsidized apartment in Lodi. She supplemented her income by selling flowers and vegetables at the Lodi Valley Farmers' Market. Peg Zaemisch, managing editor of the Lodi Enterprise, wrote a warm tribute after Lampert's death, calling her "The Flower Lady," and describing her typical attire: a big straw hat and brace supporting her tiny body. Zaemisch questioned whether federal prison was too harsh a sentence for an ill woman who had no criminal record. After an afternoon spent reading Lampert's file at the federal courthouse, I'm angry and sad. Lampert's daughter, Casey Looze, said her mother moved in several years ago with a longtime family friend, Terrance Larson. She got free rent in exchange for cleaning the house and doing chores on the farm. Those chores included watering Larson's marijuana seedlings, which Lampert cared for along with her own flower and vegetable seedlings. "She knew about what was going on," Looze said, of Larson's marijuana dealing. Her attorney told the court she had hoped to move out, and was afraid of Larson, sometimes spending the night in her car because she had nowhere else to go. continued...cannabis news/thread21703 "It breaks my heart that she went to federal prison," Looze said, adding that her mother's letters indicated she wasn't getting adequate medical care. "This lady was so sick, so frail. It just breaks my heart." In the ultimate irony, on March 14, the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Chicago sided with Lampert and ordered her conviction vacated. On March 18, Shabaz followed the directive of the higher court and signed an order dismissing the indictment against her. But by then, the gentle Earth Mother who shared my name had been dead for 16 days. Complete Title: Tough Sentence is Death Sentence for Small-Time Crime Published: April 1, 2006 Madison Newspapers, Inc. Contact * Website CannabisNews Justice Archives U.S. District Judge "Maximum John" C. Shabaz January 20, 2006: Stephen P. Sinnott, United States Attorney for the Western District of Wisconsin, announced that Terrance Larson, 53, of Lodi, Wisconsin, and Susan Lampert, 57, also of Lodi, were sentenced yesterday by U.S. District Judge John C. Shabaz. The charges against Larson and were the result of an investigation conducted by the Columbia County Sheriff's Department. Prosecution of the case has been handled by Assistant U.S. Attorney Elizabeth Altman. NORML:USA * Wisconson * Madison Is My Medicine Legal YET? NORML Brings Message To Aspen A three-day series of legal seminars in Aspen in early June, convening at The Gant condominiums. Jerry's Story The Drug War Refugees The Real Price of Prisons A Drug Warmongers Toll on the Americas A Searing Portrait of Abuse By Colbert I. King Washington Post November 25, 2005Washington, D.C. This is the 12th column to be written about Jonathan Magbie, a 27-year-old man who was paralyzed from the neck down at age 4 after being struck by a drunk driver. Magbie lived at home with his mother, needed private nursing care at least 20 hours a day and was totally dependent upon others because he couldn't use any of his limbs. He got around in a motorized wheelchair that he operated with his mouth, and his breathing was aided by a tracheotomy tube and an implanted diaphragmatic pacemaker. US PA: The Informant, The Lies, The Injustice -and A Life Lost The Lancet, vol 352, number 9140, November 14 1998: "We.. say that on the medical evidence available, moderate indulgence in cannabis has little ill-effect on health, and that decisions to ban or legalise cannabis should be based on other considerations." Rainbow Farm Massacre Federal and state police kill owner of Rainbow Farm On the Friday before Labor Day 2001, rather than face a bail revocation hearing for holding an unauthorized marijuana rally last August Grover "Tom" Crosslin and Rolland Rohm retreated to Rainbow Farm... Tom Crosslin - Nov. 10, 1954 - Sept. 3, 2001 Rollie Rohm - Dec. 27, 1972 - Sept. 4, 2001 The Murder of Peter McWilliams On 6/15, poet, publisher, Libertarian crusader, bestselling author of over 30 books (How to Heal Depression; Getting Over the Loss of a Loved One; The Personal Computer Book; Life 101; et al...), Peter McWilliams, died in his home, asphyxiated on vomit, for lack of medical marijuana. Remember Peter McWilliams the next time Drug Czar Walters claims the "drug war" is not really a "war." McWilliams had his computers siezed, his livelihood and works in progress destroyed, his finances frozen and bankrupted, his critical lifesaving anti-nausea medication- marijuana- denied, even his mother threatened with the loss of her bailbonded-home if Peter tested positive with one iota of THC in his system. The federal judge even denied McWilliams the right to use Marinol, "legal" synthetic THC available in pill form. Peter McWilliams: 1950 – 2000* __________________ Al Capone and Watergate were red herrings to divert the countries attention from the Fascist acts of eliminating competition. Booze/Ethanol then Ganja//Hemp.

04-02-2006, 01:01 PM	#2 (permalink)
generic_hippie question authority Join Date: May 2003 Location: 20 km's from Nimbin, Australia Posts: 3,972 Thanks: 121 Thanked 277 Times in 173 Posts	Oh say can you see... Land of the free my fat furry little ring hole. __________________ Love is my favourite DRUG...

04-02-2006, 08:08 PM	#4 (permalink)
jkrane ??? Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: right under your nose Posts: 991 Thanks: 1 Thanked 4 Times in 3 Posts	the legal system devastates the innocent and does not adequately punish the real criminals. The legal system is such a tragedy. I thought it was academic people and learned people who run for office, but instead it's drunken idiots who can't see the logic: PROHIBITION OF A SUBSTANCE IN HIGH DEMAND PRODUCES A BLACK MARKET. BLACK MARKET = ABSENCE OF GOVERNMENT REGULATION = CRIME SIMPLE FUCKING LOGIC!!!!!! __________________ Maximize efficiency, maximize your high. There'll be swingin' and swayin', reefers blazin', smoking in the street. Way down in L.A., everyday, smoking in the street.

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04-02-2006, 06:01 PM	#3 (permalink)
Jimmy Coonan Old School Join Date: Feb 2006 Posts: 4,843 Blog Entries: 1 Thanks: 81 Thanked 122 Times in 87 Posts	I knew this kid in high school who was busted with a few pounds of weed. He was selling it, so he got a few years in prison for it. He was a scrawny little white kid, so of course he got raped. He got AIDS, and now he's dead. The prison system in this country is a disgrace, the only people who are safe in there are murderers and rapists who join gangs and are tough and sadistic enough to do what they want to who they want. It's the people in there for drug possession and breaking into cars who get the worst of it. I love my country but I fucking hate its legal system.

04-02-2006, 10:12 PM	#7 (permalink)
Guest Guest Join Date: Feb 2006 Posts: 341 Thanks: 22 Thanked 31 Times in 25 Posts	It's revolting. Why aren't we?

04-03-2006, 07:00 AM	#8 (permalink)
Flipper Old School Join Date: Oct 2005 Location: Chicago Posts: 882 Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts	This wasn't a death sentence for marijuana. I totally think its wrong but don't exaggerate the article. She was sent to prison and got old. Getting old in prison does not equal death sentence. IF you want to complaina bout the prison system, or prohibition fine, but I got real angry at the government when I read this title and, after reading the article, felt screwed as she wasn't sentenced to death due to pot.

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