Really, We do need to protect citizens against false positives. But a $180,000 payment to a kid stupid enough to bring flour filled condom home to mama is still outrageous. The ingredients are like 11 cents. Make them at home. Free condoms from most student health organizations and the bakers know how much flour costs.
I hope she donates most of the money back to the nonprofits who took up her cause. Or to any organization that has a track record for defending the falsely accused. Best! Liz On Tue, 09 Jan 2007 22:32:42 -0500 [EMAIL PROTECTED] writes: > Please keep on trying to mold your assumptions into a logical point. > So now you're saying flour filled condoms should have been > erroneously ID'ed as bomb materials if she perhaps was wearing a > head covering and looked "Arab?" And that if that were the case, > you'd criticize her for being so stupid as to cause officials to > make a mistake. Oh, and by the way, David Oh is not some tall > building fat cat lawyer. In fact, he lives more in Craig's territory > than UC. > > And please don't forget Wen Ho Lee, who's eyes and lawyers did not > suffice to keep him out of isolation, without bail, as a bona fide > national security threat for nothing. It was pretty apparent that > his being Asian was a key piece of evidence against him. > > And did you note the equally off base comment to the blog saying > the inflexible city solicitor would not settle anytime soon? So did > that person retract? > > To be on target, you have to go after the city first, really. > > -----Original Message----- > From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > Cc: [email protected] > Sent: Tue, 9 Jan 2007 10:15 PM > Subject: Re: [UC] We're Paying This Loopy Bryn Mawr Student > $180,000??? > > She is of the Asian persuasion -- (see story below). My point is > and was that if she had looked anything like an Arab, Homeland > Security would have whisked her off to Gitmo without further ado. > The issue was not so much that she might have been carrying drugs as > that she might have been carrying bomb materials. But those > hotsy-totsy princesses with the Mongolian eyefolds and expensive > lawyers who go to Bryn Mawr get special treatment. I still say she > should apologize and give back the money. "Stress bag" and "hall > tea" my ass. > December 29, 2005 A Philadelphia Story posted by Dave Hoffman > This story from the Philadelphia Inquirer caught my eye. (And gave > me an opportunity to steal a picture from Dan's airline screening > playset post.) Janet Lee, a Bryn Mawr student, was on her way home > from the holidays. At the Philadelphia Int'l Airport, she was > arrested because her checked bags contained condoms full of flour, > which the police mistakenly identified in two field tests as cocaine > and amphetamines. According to Lee, she and hall-mates had created > the bags as stress balls as an exam-time gag. The system held Lee in > jail for three weeks on $500,000 bail: Lee acted tough to protect > herself. She did modern-dance moves to keep limber. Inmates saw this > and gossiped: "Everyone thought I knew karate because I'm Asian." > She certainly didn't discourage the stereotype. Inmates saw the high > volume of visitors and figured she was important. Again, she did not > discourage the notion. She did not tell her cell mates that the > visitors were actually volunteers from Catholic chu! > rches in Philadelphia who had taken up her cause. > The volunteers helped her hire [a lawyer, and former prosecutor, > named David] Oh. "I believed her story because things just didn't > add up," Oh said. For one thing, Oh said, the field tests were odd > because they detected the presence of not one drug but three. > "People don't mix drugs like that," Oh said. First, Oh contacted > Bryn Mawr and confirmed that Lee's dorm mates had, in fact, made the > condoms together during a pre-exam session they call a "hall tea." > Then, Oh said, he called Assistant District Attorney Charles > Ehrlich, who agreed to expedite laboratory tests. Ehrlich also > agreed to help seek reduced bail, Oh said. A day after the new test > came back and confirmed that the substance was flour, Lee was > released. She flew home first class. There are a few notable things > about this story. The draconian D.A.'s office (all considered) gave > Lee a huge break because of her connections - a social capital that > most defendants do not have. It is also surprising (and heartening) > t! > hat Philadelphia Airport is screening luggage well enough to catch > this (potential contraband). I also wonder about the remarkably high > bail set for a college student who had no prior record that we know > about, and the jail authorities apparent decision not to put her > into protective custody. On the other hand, I'm not surprised at all > at the error with the tests. I wonder if the police department has > studied the false positive rate carefully. Needless to say, Lee has > now filed a civil rights claim against the police (and probably a > claim against the city for their poor drug-testing training). Given > her story, the City should settle. But knowing the City Solicitor's > inflexible litigation strategy, I doubt they will anytime soon. > Posted by Dave Hoffman at December 29, 2005 11:20 AM Trackback Pings > TrackBack URL for this entry: > http://www.concurringopinions.com/movabletype/mt-tb.cgi/381 > Comments Maybe she was held with such a high bail because her story > is so stupid. I understand that I've been out of college for awhile, > but I find it strange that college women would put flour in condoms > to make "stress balls" and then be so enamored with them that they > packed some to take home for the holidays. Would we be so > sympathetic of a different defendant held for having a homemade > non-bomb in his suitcase that looked a lot like a homemade bomb? Why > do you think she should have been put in protective custoday? > Because she's a college girl? If all defendants held in jail are > presumed innocent, why would some be more presumed than others? > Posted by: Christine at December 29, 2005 01:11 PM > > > > http://www.concurringopinions.com/archives/2005/12/a_philadelphia.html > > On 1/9/07, [EMAIL PROTECTED] < [EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: Well, > that may well be true, but my point was we should proceed from > facts, not assumptions. And please don't forget the really erroneous > assumption was that made by the police. As you no doubt know very > well, people make lots of stupid mistakes that trigger more stupid > police mistakes, except the police are the ones with the badges, > guns and cuffs. So the question is, even if someone makes a "stupid" > mistake, do you go after her for being stupid (and doing nothing > illegal), or the cops for making a bad bust (or worse)? > > If I had a choice between criticizing a civilian for being naive vs > a police department and DA for getting the facts wrong, I wouldn't > go after the civilian first. > > For all you know, she is Black and that is why they didn't believe > her. > > -----Original Message----- > From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > To: [email protected] > Sent: Tue, 9 Jan 2007 2:47 PM > Subject: RE: [UC] We're Paying This Loopy Bryn Mawr Student > $180,000??? > > I think the point of the complexion remark was that had she been > Black she would still be incarcerated and we would not have heard > her story. And as far as income: if the cross section of gender and > income are obvious, then it is obvious that it is something that you > don't have to think about in your daily life. As a AFAM woman I > would have never taken a chance like that, that my life might not > have recovered and in addition have been rewarded for my own > stupidity. Wendy -----Original Message----- > From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto: > [EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of [EMAIL PROTECTED] > Sent: Tuesday, January 09, 2007 2:22 PM > To: [email protected] > Subject: Fwd: [UC] We're Paying This Loopy Bryn Mawr Student > $180,000??? At the risk of taking a Ross message seriously when > it's not: > > 1. Your city's police lab erroneously thought flour was coke, and > has yet to explain how they messed that up, which as I understand it > is why she was held that long in custody. Maybe the police chemist > was the one who was stealing drugs from the cops. > 2. She's a Bryn Mawr student from California, which really tells > you nothing about how privileged she is, at least in conventional > usage. > 3. How did you figure out her complexion? > > Paul > -----Original Message----- > From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > Cc: [email protected] > Sent: Tue, 9 Jan 2007 9:49 AM > Subject: Re: [UC] We're Paying This Loopy Bryn Mawr Student > $180,000??? On 1/8/07, Frank <[EMAIL PROTECTED] > wrote: > Remember when you had to be smart to get into college? Well > it's not just that. It's the idea of MY city paying money we > desperately need to some overprivileged Main Line floozyette with an > expensive lawyer who, had she been the wrong complexion, would now > be spending time in Gitmo for pulling a trick like that. > > > -- > Ross Bender > http://rossbender.org Check out the new AOL. Most > comprehensive set of free safety and security tools, free access to > millions of high-quality videos from across the web, free AOL Mail > and more. Check out the new AOL . Most comprehensive set of > free safety and security tools, free access to millions of > high-quality videos from across the web, free AOL Mail and more. > > > > -- > Ross Bender > http://rossbender.org > ________________________________________________________________________ > Check out the new AOL. Most comprehensive set of free safety and > security tools, free access to millions of high-quality videos from > across the web, free AOL Mail and more. Elizabeth Campion 215-790-5653 (Desk & VM), 215-880-2930 Cell www.PruFoxRoach.com PRUDENTIAL, FOX & ROACH REALTORS. LLC 215-546-0550 Main, 215-546-9781 Shared Fax ---- You are receiving this because you are subscribed to the list named "UnivCity." To unsubscribe or for archive information, see <http://www.purple.com/list.html>.
