Liberty Minute April 18 2014

Ryan Holle never sold drugs, never stole anything, and certainly never killed anybody. He was asleep in his apartment when a friend to whom he had lent his car did all of those things. No evidence was ever provided that Holle ? who had lent his car to the same friend on several previous occasions ? knew what his friend had planned to do, let alone that he had any role in those crimes. Yet Holle was arrested and offered a plea bargain that would have resulted in a ten-year prison term.

Convinced that he had not committed a crime, Holle contested the charge in court. Acting with the vindictiveness that typifies his profession, the prosecutor charged him with first-degree murder  under Florida?s felony murder statute. A jury convicted him of that offense, and Holle was given a life sentence without the possibility of parole. He has served eleven years of that sentence.

Under the principle of collective guilt used to convict Holle, a citizen whose car is stolen and then used in a crime could be considered an accomplice. All that is necessary is a suitable case and a sufficiently depraved prosecutor.

Let us take back the liberty wherewith Christ has made us free.