Wednesday, April 25, 2012
Politics Free Basil!
Posted by Jonathan Meador on Wed, Apr 25, 2012 at 6:00 AM
That's Basil, with a capital "B," as in "the most entertaining gubernatorial candidate in Tennessee state history."
According to WSMV, Marceaux went into Hulk mode during a court appearance for a traffic violation in Hamilton County Court in front of Judge Rebecca Stern.
According to Basil's wife, Marceaux was arguing with the judge over a traffic violation when he told the judge that she was "out of order."He also told the judge that she was "going down," when he gets elected. The judge sentenced him to 10 days in jail.
James Crenshaw, former Marceaux campaign coordinator, has launched a blog, Free Basil, in which he implores the good people of Tennessee to demand Basil's release, saying he "is now serving a 10-day sentence for contempt simply for speaking his mind; truly free speech is a thing of the past as far as the Tennessee courts are concerned."
Crenshaw goes on:
Basil was in no way threatening or disruptive, he was merely expressing his moral objections to the way in which the government levies unjust taxation upon it’s citizens through nickel and diming them for minor traffic infractions. A citizen had asked Basil to represent him as a third party in a civil case held in criminal court for a minor traffic infraction before Judge Rebecca Stern in Hamilton County Court. Mr. Marceaux was first recognized by the court, he then argued that the criminal court system was no place for such a minor traffic infraction, and Judge Stern dismissed him and then asked him to leave. As Mr. Marceaux was exiting the courtroom he made the statement that once he was elected “(Judge Stern) was going down” – Judge Stern then had Basil arrested for ten days for contempt. The judge found it necessary to silence him trough a harsh incarceration sentence instead of merely ejecting him, but this is not where this story ends.According to his wife of 38 years, Basil has suffered a heart attack a week prior to this incarceration, and is in poor health. He may not be receiving his heart medication while he is incarcerated, and we implore all supporters of Mr. Marceaux to contact the courts in protest of this unfair incarceration. Basil should be released immediately for the betterment of his health and wellbeing, especially taking into consideration that he is not only an upstanding member of the community, but a former Recon Force Marine serving in the Viet Nam War. This is not how we treat our veterans in their times of poor health in America. We do not silence them in court, and lock them away when they object to our government’s oppressive policies.
Please write and email the courts and demand that Basil is released in good health. Jail is no place for a man who has recently had a heart attack, who has never been a danger to society, and who has spent the vast majority of his life trying to better his community and country. If we do not take a stand, then it could be any of us who are next thrown into the bowels of the jails for speaking our minds when we are speaking in a “fair trial” for the most trivial of offenses.
Pith will keep an eye on new developments in Marceaux's ongoing legal saga. For now, a remembrance of Basil's past ...
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