Tenn. Teen Jailed for Burning U.S. Flag

[deadparrot]

MARYVILLE, Tenn. - 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.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20050715/ap_on_re_us/flag_burning

[SheepyMcSheepster]

1. what a great way to spend tax payers money! eom.

[meganmonkey]

2. Freedom of speech is just a threat to our...er... freedoms...

:freak:

[Cambist]

3. And The Fun Begins.

For a bunch of paranoid government hating assholes they sure do want the government to regulate every aspect of their opinions and bigotries. I want to move to somewhere progressive, but that would be giving up.

dlh

[merwin]

4. They will drop the desecration charge and go on with the rest.

That's my guess

[livinginphotographs]

5. His father:

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.

:rofl:

The dumb-ass should definitely be charged with the other things, but this is a really stupid case on which to test an anti-flag burning law.

:edited for grammar:

[bluestateguy]

6. From the looks of it

he took somebody else's private property, which happens to be a flag, without permission, and destroyed it. That would be grounds for prosecution, whether the object was a flag, a car or DVD. The specific flag burning statute is clearly unconstitutional, but existing statutes would seem to warrant prosecution for theft, destruction of private property and possible trespassing.

[arwalden]

8. You Got It!!

I think the flag-burning prohibitions are IDIOTIC, but this punk tresspassed and stole and destroyed someone else's personal property. THOSE laws that prohibit such things are laws that I do support.

[Roland99]

10. And this will be used by anti-flag-burning proponents as proof

that the law was needed.

[billyoc]

11. Exactly, there's no free speech protection for you

to burn *my* flag. :)

[Ian David]

23. Isn't arson when you destroy someone's property by fire? n/t

[K-W]

7. What a funny situation.

He broke a clearly unconstitutional law, but he wasnt exercising his constitutional rights at the time.

[evolved Anarchopunk]

9. this is the best case they could have hoped for...

if the kid didn't even have a ideological reason to do so ! He'll be so caught up in the "I'm sorry I'm sorry oooooh im so sorry dont do anything to me im so young and just had a sip of tequila" that he'll thank Jaysus when they let him off with only probation.

But that'll be it, the precedent will be set to make the act illegal.

disgusting.

[davidinalameda]

12. charged with "desecrating a venerated object"

doesn't that sound a bit religious in nature

[bennywhale]

13. I'm English and i find thios fucking astinishing. How can a teenage boy

be jailed for burning some material with some pattern on it.

The US pretends to be a free counbtry but this kind of jingoistic madness would not happen in Britain or europe.

its fucking madness stop it.

[kestrel91316]

22. Benny, we have NO SAY in this madness.

[cheeseit]

32. yup, this is crazy

As an aside when I was a teenage drunkard I myself once tried to burn a union jack. Unfortunately it turned out to be made of plastic, so it just sort of melted and gave off weird fumes. I'm sure if anyone saw it they just laughed at me for the dipstick I was.

[Piperay]

14. Underage drinking

what about that??? If he wasn't drunk he wouldn't of burned the flag, and who served someone underage alcohol...should be fined for that.

[Megahurtz]

15. Unreal. n/t

[Lorien]

16. Just a question

a few years ago a flag that I had flown in front of my home was looking dingy, so I washed it. The red ran from the stripes and turned the flag red, pink, and purple. I tried to wash the excess dye off, but it just kept looking worse. Finally, I asked for my mom's advice. "Burn it" she said "and get a new one" "But I live in the South-they won't put up with that down here. Should I just throw it out"? "Putting it in the garbage is too disrespectful" she replied" When I was a kid (the '40s and '50s) burning it was seen as the only respectful way of disposing of a damaged flag". My question; is this true? What DOES one do with a flag that looks a mess? For now, the sad thing is folded up in my garage. :shrug:

[TankLV]

17. Take it to the Elks, VFW, Scouts or some other similar organization.

They have special ceremonies and all for such a thing.

[okasha]

18. Burn or bury it.

Those are the only two options for respectful disposition of a worn flag under the etiquette that governs such things.

[cheeseit]

31. dunno, but your red-pink-purple flag sounds pretty cool to me....eom

[Joey Liberal]

19. Rove outs a CIA Agent and this kid is in jail?

What's wrong with this picture?????????

[WinkyDink]

20. I wonder

where that flag was manufactured.
China, mayhaps?

So is it illegal to burn a piece of Chinese cloth? Hmmmmm.....
Depends on whether they buy UNOCAL.

[VegasWolf]

21. Maryville!! I think the locals call it Mur-ville. I used to have these

fantastic meetings with this married secretary when I lived in Knoxville.

We used to sneak into the Knoxville World's Fair attractions and make out. Great memories. Sorry for disrupting this thread, it just brought back great memories.

[Kerrytravelers]

24. Tenn. Teen Jailed for Burning U.S. Flag

Tenn. Teen Jailed for Burning U.S. Flag
<http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20050715/ap_on_re_us/flag_burning>

MARYVILLE, Tenn. - 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.

<snip>

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.

<snip>

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.

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So, this has nothing to do with political dissent. So, why is it listed as a "flag burning case?" Please, someone make sense of this senseless world!!

Ok, Mr. kt and I are out of here for the evening. I need a break from the real world. We're going out in our blue city to be surrounded by libs in a blue environment!

Love to you all!

kt

[madeline_con]

25. This could have been an opportunity...

to challenge the Constitutionality of the amendment, buy what does Dad do? He starts talking about "anger against the United States" and "right from wrong". Way to go.

Astonishing note: I have relatives in that neck of the woods of the same name. I'll have to chech into this further... :blush:

[TahitiNut]

26. "desecrating a venerated object"???

Keeerist! :puke:

[WCGreen]

29. My old playboys were venerated objects

and my ex burned them just the same......

[Endangered Specie]

27. With all the crime and violence in the world...

dont you think wasting time over this is a bit overdone, they be better off spending their time ticketing redlight runners or something :eyes:

[silverweb]

28. He deserves punishment.

"...underage drinking, littering, evading arrest, burning personal property and theft."

If he'd burned his own flag on his own property, sober, then I'd get upset about his arrest and sentence. Minus the issue of the flag, he did several illegal, stupid things.

[Kerrytravelers]

30. "He was brought up in church, and he knows right from wrong,"

Better hope it was the "right" church, or it won't count.

What an asshole.

[VegasWolf]

33. Levictus 16:32.8 "he who burns US flag will fry for eternity in hell!" nt