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Originally posted by hotbakedtater
I support the right to write what you please. There should never be book bannings or censorship of written material.
In this case I think he was arrested because he failed to educate himself on the law, specifically FL obsenity law, which it seems was violated by the author selling his book to FL.
I disagree. It is not entrapment, the author willingly sold this book across state lines and failed to educate himself on the laws involved. He is very very stupid in that regard, and had he simply googled the FL laws, he would not be back in the news right now.
Originally posted by HomerinNC
Originally posted by hotbakedtater
I support the right to write what you please. There should never be book bannings or censorship of written material.
In this case I think he was arrested because he failed to educate himself on the law, specifically FL obsenity law, which it seems was violated by the author selling his book to FL.
...Violated because the sheriff ordered the book, I think the sheriff entrapped him and should be on charges as well for ordering & receiving obscene materials
The guy was in no way under investigation in florida, for ANY CRIME, therefore the "its evidence" couldnt be used as evidence in a trial
The sheriff needed it sent so he could have the man arrested. He admits as much.
Originally posted by HomerinNC
tell me, what was the reason the sheriff NEEDED the book sent?
"This is another attempt by Sheriff Judd to impose his personal views – not only on Polk County, Florida, but now on the Nation as a whole, by misusing obscenity laws," Walters wrote on the blog LawOfSex. "Mr. Greaves resided in Colorado, not Florida. Polk County detectives ASKED Greaves to autograph and send them his book. Now they’re going to extradite him from his home state of Colorado, to face obscenity charges here in Florida, because Sheriff Judd doesn’t like his book."
Judd's problem is that the statute requires that the charged work "depict a minor," and the U.S. Supreme Court held in Ashcroft v. Free Speech Coalition—the Child Pornography Prevention Act case—that such "depiction" must be of an actual minor; a living, breathing individual. None appear in Greaves' book.
The distinction apparently is lost on Judd.
"There may be nothing that the other 49 states can do, but there is something that the state of Florida can do," Judd told CNN. "That's to make sure we prosecute Philip Greaves for his manifesto."
But prosecuting anyone for their "manifesto" fits squarely into George Orwell's definition of a "thoughtcrime" as explained in his best-known work, Nineteen Eighty-Four.
"The message is very clear, if you write a book , if you sell that book, if you transmit that book to anyone in our jurisdiction, then we will investigate you and arrest, because our goal is protect the children," Judd further said.
"There is real crime in Mr. Judd’s jurisdiction," Walters observed. "Meth labs, rape, gangs, etc. What a waste of law enforcement resources going after an author with whom he disagrees. Sure, Greaves’ book was thrust into the national spotlight when Amazon stopped selling it. But is that a justification for an interstate extradition on obscenity charges? Sounds like somebody has been missing the media spotlight for too long. I’m sure Sheriff Judd will get some headlines for this. Maybe his attention will be diverted long enough for some bank robbers to pull off a heist, or for some scammers to set up a Ponzi scheme."
"I suppose as long as Sheriffs are popularly elected in Florida, we’ll have to put up with these kinds of hijinks," Walters continued. "But the First Amendment has taken another hit by Polk County law enforcement. Hopefully, Mr. Greaves has the fortitude to fight back, despite what will certainly be a difficult battle, and a lack of popular support."
BARTOW, Fla. - The public defender for pedophilia book author Philip Greaves II told a Polk County judge Wednesday his client cannot afford the $15,000 bail that would allow him to go free while he awaits his next court appearance.
Judge John Kirkland would not lower the amount which means, for now, that Greaves will likely remain behind bars until his next hearing in late January.
The court-appointed attorney also said that personnel at the Polk County Jail have yet to give Greaves the required psycotropic drugs he needs.
Philip Greaves was arrested in Colorado on Monday after sending a signed copy of “The Pedophile’s Guide to Love and Pleasure” to undercover Polk detectives.
Sheriff Grady Judd said Greaves violated Florida's obscenity law, a third-degree felony.