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Tilted Cat Head
Administrator
Location: Manhattan, NY
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Tennessee teen jailed 9 days for burning flag
Quote:
Tennessee teen jailed 9 days for burning flag
Youth faces trial for what his parents say was a drunken indiscretion
LINK
The Associated Press
Updated: 5:04 p.m. ET July 15, 2005
A teenager was jailed for nine days after being accused of burning an American flag on the Fourth of July, and he faces trial next month.
While the case could test a state statute against flag burning — an act the U.S. Supreme Court says is protected under the First Amendment — prosecutors said Andrew Elisha Staley has yet to argue that he was exercising free speech rights.
“Bottom line is, the kid got drunk,” said Lisa Lee, his mother. “He’s never been in trouble before.”
Staley, 18, is accused of taking the flag from a residence and setting it on fire. His father said the teenager “has no reason for anger against the United States” and could easily have ignited a garbage can instead of a flag.
“He was brought up in church, and he knows right from wrong,” Doc Staley said.
Doc Staley said his son has been “floundering around” since dropping out of high school. “This is where the drinking came in. And he’s not very good at it,” the father said.
The teenager was released from jail Thursday on his own recognizance while he awaits his Aug. 2 trial on charges of desecrating a venerated object, underage drinking, littering, evading arrest, burning personal property and theft.
The Tennessee flag-burning statute makes the crime a misdemeanor, punishable by less than a year in jail and up to $2,500 fine.
© 2005 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
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Because he did not claim he was applying "freedom of speech" to this case he's being punished. Personally he's just a stupid and sloppy drunk, but can one recant his previous testimony and replead as "free speech"?
I personally think that while the application of "freedom of speech" is evident in cases like this, I would like to think that people and communities on their own decry these kinds of actions either politically or drunken motivated.
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