11.17.11
The Georgia Ricin Beans Gang stays jailed
There’s not a defense lawyer in the US capable of arguing a client/defendant out of jail when ricin and accusations of terrorism planning are the central matters.
Never been done. Everyone has eventually gone to prison. And those in jail generally always stay there until trial.
Judges are not swayed once the word “ricin” is uttered. Juries pay no attention to arguments about the relative harmlessness of a handful of castor seeds.
From the Atlanta Journal Constitution:
Citing concerns that the four North Georgia men accused in a plot to bomb federal buildings and disperse the toxin ricin may still intend to harm federal authorities, U.S. Magistrate Court Judge Susan Cole denied bond to the defendants late Wednesday.
If she released them on bond, “I think there is a concern they would not be prevented access to instruments of harm,” Cole said. She also echoed prosecutors’ contention that their arrests are likely to have heightened the “ill-will” the men feel toward the government.
Defense attorneys for each of the men intend to appeal Cole’s decision, they said.
“It’s very disappointing. I thought we presented a good case and I don’t believe he’s a danger to the community,??? said Jeff Ertel, who is representing Thomas.
In a hearing that stretched over the course of three days, Assistant U.S. Attorney Robert McBurney said the men — two of whom are veterans of the U.S. military — may “love their country,??? but had demonstrated a “hatred??? of their government.
Defense attorneys argued that owning weapons or castor beans –- the key ingredient in ricin -– is not illegal.
Dan Summer, who is representing Crump, said recordings of his client speaking about how to make ricin depict an “aspirational” goal, not something Crump intended to do or was even capable of doing.
“It’s almost like an old man in the throes of the very early stages of senility,” he said.
Barry Lombardo, Adams’ attorney, said his client — who worked in horticulture for the U.S. Department of Agriculture — owned castor bean bushes for the same reasons many Georgians do: for mole control.
But McBurney said the men had taken concrete steps that crossed the line into illegality: purchasing a silencer, explosives activated by a cell phone, and the ingredients for making ricin.
“We’ve moved beyond the hypothetical to reality,??? he said.
During the hearing several family members and friends of the defendants were called to testify, helping paint a fuller portrait of the men at the center of the domestic terrorism case.
Adams’ daughter Melissa said her father is active in masonic organizations and has helped raise money for sick children through the Shriners. Crump’s twin daughters testified that their father, a retired electrician, often donated his services to people in need. Roberts’ wife Margaret said the couple is active in animal rescue and are currently caring for dozens of cats and dogs. And Thomas’ family described him as a peace-loving man who, with 30 years in the U.S. Navy, was dedicated to serving his country.
Both Thomas’ wife Charlotte and son Paul said last week that the 52 weapons found in his home were part of a gun collection. Federal authorities also seized about 30,000 rounds of ammunition, including ammunition compatible with silencers, in the raid.
There is regular discussion of use of castor seeds in “mole control.”
There is no evidence that it actually works.
However, castor seeds have been considered in pest control for many years.
From this blog, a couple years ago:
In the November 1941 issue of Timely Turf Topics, the association grapples with the problem of controlling mole crickets in southern golf courses.
“It is reported that turf in some sections of Georgia and Florida has just experienced the worst infestation of mole crickets in a number of years,??? reads the issue. “Attempts to eradicate them from turf by the use of well-known poison bait as well as by treatments with arsenate of lead, ground tobacco stems and castor meal have not been successful in several localities this fall.???
The point to be made is that people once worked with large quantities of the grind of castor seeds in this country without dropping like flies. Castor beans were considered a renewable resource, used as a source of lubricant and fertilizer. Even golf course gardeners worked with castor mash, noting that it wasn’t so hot as an insecticide, being ineffective against mole crickets.
The working wisdom, embedded during the last ten years, and repeated regularly in the newsmedia is that it is elementary to purify ricin from castor seeds.
It’s not. But from a legal standpoint in the US, this makes no difference. No one is capable of making a legal argument that would change things.