Not guilty: Jurors acquit border aid volunteer Scott Warren on harboring charges

[G_j]

Source: Tucson.com

Federal court jurors in Tucson found border aid volunteer Scott Warren not guilty of harboring charges after just two and a half hours of deliberation Wednesday.

The case hinged on the difference between helping and harboring.

In closing arguments earlier Wednesday, defense lawyer Gregory Kuykendall said Warren only provided humanitarian aid to two Central American men who crossed the border illegally in January 2018.

"Being a good Samaritan is not against the law. Practicing the Golden Rule is not a felony," Kuykendall told the jury.

..more..

Read more: https://tucson.com/news/local/not-guilty-jurors-acquit-border-aid-volunteer-scott-warren-on/article_f5100171-c1ee-58d2-84b8-9ab85e98ecea.html?utm_medium=social&utm_source=facebook&utm_campaign=user-share

[LonePirate]

1. This is good news. He never should have been charged in the first place.

[CaliforniaPeggy]

2. Good for that jury! Prosecuting him was WRONG. n/t

[irisblue]

3. Jury Nullification

[ck4829]

4. Indeed. No matter how right wing they will try to make the courts, this will be an option

[diva77]

19. interesting thought!

[NurseJackie]

20. Really?

Jury nullification occurs when a jury returns a verdict of "Not Guilty" despite its belief that the defendant is guilty of the violation charged. The jury in effect nullifies a law that it believes is either immoral or wrongly applied to the defendant whose fate they are charged with deciding.

I do not think this applies It's unclear if the jury believed that the defendant was guilty.

[Sienna86]

5. Thank goodness. nt

[bluestarone]

6. good news! now

SUE the bastards

[SunSeeker]

7. Good. nt

[Karadeniz]

8. Great! Thanks for sharing!

[Canoe52]

9. Glad to hear!

[in2herbs]

10. Good news! nt

[riversedge]

11. In normal times. the act of helping those in need would not be a crime that was in a court.

[FuzzyRabbit]

12. The Golden Rule

Being a good Samaritan is not against the law. Practicing the Golden Rule is not a felony," Kuykendall told the jury.

It is if you are a Republican. If they believed in practicing the Golden Rule Warren would never have been charged.

[Kali]

13. as someone not belonging to an official organization,

who has helped a number of migrants over the years, I thank the jury and hope the precedence continues.

[iluvtennis]

14. Excellent news! I teach my kids to treat others as you would want to be treated. That's what HUMANS

do.

[wnylib]

15. It would have been very disturbing if a jury DiD

convict him. Disturbing enough that he was even charged.

So in spite of rhe insanity of Trumpists, there are st leasr 12 sane people in NM who are not buying into the BS.

[mahatmakanejeeves]

16. DOJ just now straight up lost the retrial. A rare jury acquittal.

IWantNothingHat Retweeted

Trump’s DOJ tried Warren for the crime of trying to make sure migrants in the desert didn’t die of thirst. (The specific charges were more technical, but that’s the real point.) First trial ended in a hung jury. DOJ just now straight up lost the retrial. A rare jury acquittal.

Link to tweet

[sinkingfeeling]

17. Wonderful news!

[burrowowl]

18. I am so glad

And it shows there are still good people out there! Cheers to the jury!

[Nitram]

21. Sometimes the jury system makes the right decision. This is one of those times.