Laughing Boy wrote:
] janelane wrote:
] ] {snip}
] ] Found this the other day and thought the Memestreams
] audience
] ] should share the laugh. FYI: The stoning commences
] tomorrow.
]
] I cant help but wonder how many people have ever tried to
] plead "not guilty because the bible says so!" and quote
] chapter/verse in their criminal defense?
]

Well, the Scopes Monkey Trial was certainly a paramount of block-headed prosecution. CourtTV had this to say...

"Science had few native supporters in Dayton (TN). Judge John Raulston, who presided over the trial, carried a Bible with him into the courtroom, opened each day with a prayer, and only grudgingly removed a banner in the court reminding jurors to 'Read Your Bible.' Only one of twelve jurors was not a church member."

However, back to the Bible defense topic, I did learn that apparently repenting is still all the rage for the truly devout...

"He spoke of archangels, going back in time to shoot Nazis and believes he's dead, but a jury rejected those claims Wednesday when it found Michael "Mucko" McDermott guilty on all counts in the shooting deaths of his seven co-workers./Judge R. Malcolm Graham sentenced McDermott to seven consecutive life terms — one for each victim./The burly, bushy-haired defendant — who sat through much of the trial reading the Bible — showed no emotion as the verdict was read in a Cambridge courtroom."

Also in that vein there's this case (http://members.aol.com/TestOath/anarchist.htm) about anarchism which is just weird. Don't worry, AO-Hell can't get you just by reading the site. :-)

Finally, as much as I hate to admit it, I surfed over to http://www.fdp.dk/act/030418_fundamentalism.php (the anti-capital punishment people) and found this interesting tidbit when jurors admitted to consulting the Bible to determine the fate of a murderer/rapist/passerby-paralyzer. As much as I want the defendent to suffer the most gruesome death devisable (and we're talking Medieval stretchers and the like), I can't help but agree.

"During cross-examination, Taylor acknowledged knowing that having a Bible in the jury room could be grounds for having Harlan's death sentence thrown out."

Ooh! Maybe they could do that thing they did to Wesley in "The Princess Bride." If the scum is 25 years old, they could slowly increase the life-sucking for at least 10-20 years! Who's with me?!

RE: The West Wing