By Bob Plain in Rhode Island’s Future - See more at: http://www.rifuture.org/busted.html#sthash.yWYo5VP0.dpuf
There is no shame in
being shamed by Justin Katz, Doreen Costa and John DePetro.
It rather feels like a
badge of honor. Or at least a testament that the work we are doing at RI Future
matters for something.
If nothing else, we’re at least getting under the skin of the most mean-spirited minds in Rhode Island politics.
The irony is that they each probably oppose seat belt laws and marijuana prohibition, but why let principles get in the way of a good political smear.
If nothing else, we’re at least getting under the skin of the most mean-spirited minds in Rhode Island politics.
The irony is that they each probably oppose seat belt laws and marijuana prohibition, but why let principles get in the way of a good political smear.
Here’s some of my
favorite coverage:
- Providence Journal – It was honestly great fun listening to Kathy Gregg explain why I shouldn’t construe her interest in my arrest as any kind of validation that I existed to her in any way, shape or form.
- GoLocalProv – Latest GoLocal exclusive reveals I once got a ticket for an unleashed dog. (RIP, Jackie)
- This is what the Oregon blogoshere had to say about it.
Katz deserves credit
for breaking the story by tweeting a picture of the police log from The PendulumPendulum
The newspaper said I was arrested for marijuana, which I wasn’t, and it said car smelled like “burnt marijuana,” which it didn’t. The actual police report didn’t say anything like that and I’m not accused of such things. Whatever the reporter smelled, it wasn’t coming from my car.
The newspaper said I was arrested for marijuana, which I wasn’t, and it said car smelled like “burnt marijuana,” which it didn’t. The actual police report didn’t say anything like that and I’m not accused of such things. Whatever the reporter smelled, it wasn’t coming from my car.
I was given a ticket
for not wearing my seat belt and having a small amount of marijuana in the car.
I’m pretty embarrassed about not wearing my seat belt, because I think it’s
kinda dumb not to do so. The marijuana, on the other hand, was entirely legal:
my spouse has a medical marijuana card and we switch cars all the time.
I’ll probably have to
pay a fine for not wearing my seat belt and the judge will hopefully dismiss
the marijuana ticket. I’m hoping the misunderstanding might lead to some reform
in RI’s medical marijuana statutes: spouses shouldn’t be punished for
transporting their loved one’s medicine.
I also missed a court
appearance for having a suspended license because of an unpaid ticket. These
aren’t victimless actions, as they each cost the system, and thus my neighbors,
but it’s really more a comedy of errors than an actual crime. None-the-less,
judges don’t like to be blown off and getting caught missing a court date means
an automatic night in a jail cell.
If there was a silver
lining in any of this, it would be the eye-opening experience of getting to see
the very first layer of onion skin in our criminal justice system. I’m still
working on a separate post about that.
Bob Plain is the editor/publisher of Rhode
Island's Future. Previously, he's worked as a reporter for several different
news organizations both in Rhode Island and across the country.
