posted on December 10, 2002 04:58:21 AM new
SIOUX FALLS, South Dakota (AP) -- A man who made a remark about a "burning Bush" during the president's March 2001 trip to Sioux Falls was sentenced Friday to 37 months in prison.
Richard Humphreys of Portland, Oregon was convicted in September of threatening to kill or harm the president and said he plans to appeal. He has said the comment was a prophecy protected under his right to free speech.
Humphreys said he got into a barroom discussion in nearby Watertown with a truck driver. A bartender who overheard the conversation realized the president was to visit Sioux Falls the next day and told police Humphreys talked about a "burning Bush" and the possibility of someone pouring a flammable liquid on Bush and lighting it.
"I said God might speak to the world through a burning Bush," Humphreys testified during his trial. "I had said that before and I thought it was funny."
posted on December 10, 2002 06:04:45 AM new
Wonder how all the fundies feel now? Their guide for life, the bible, is now subversive literature.
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We call them our heroes...but we pay them like chumps
posted on December 10, 2002 09:37:45 PM new
an update on the story...
Humphreys told U.S. District Judge Lawrence Piersol that if he shows mercy in sentencing , God will show mercy to him. He added, that South Dakota's drought will worsen if he does not get credit for mistakes in his criminal record.
"It's not the evilness of the person before you but the county that was evil," Humphreys told Piersol. "I think you're a wise enough man to look at some of this and say this is church business." LOL
Humphreys said that because he is a prophet, South Dakota will suffer if he is persecuted.
"The Bible says that if you mistreat a prophet, you will have drought," he said.
Humphreys also said Piersol's eternity could be affected by the sentence. "God says what mercy you show will be showed toward you," he told the judge.
His lawyer told the judge that his client has mental illness and should not be punished.
posted on December 10, 2002 10:43:24 PM new
Prophets consider themselves divinely inspired and not subject to doubt. So, if you appear before a judge and identify yourself as the prophet of North Dakota, the judge will know right off the bat that you are as nutty as a fruitcake.
Then when you suggest that George Bush should be a burning Bush, the judge should send you straight to the nearest mental facility.
But it's a sign of the times that he will send you straight to jail and lock you up.
