Marc Emery, Vancouver’s self-styled Prince of Pot, has tentatively agreed to a five-year prison term in a plea bargain over U.S. money laundering and marijuana seed-selling charges.
Facing an extradition hearing Jan. 21 and the all-but-certain prospect of delivery to American authorities, Emery has cut a deal with U.S. prosecutors to serve his sentence in Canada.
He also hopes it will save his two co-accused — Michelle Rainey and Greg Williams, who were his lieutenants for so much of the past decade. […]
If accepted by the courts in both countries, Emery said he will serve the full term and not be eligible for Canada’s lenient get-out-of-jail-early rules.
“I’m going to do more time than many violent, repeat offenders,” he complained. “There isn’t a single victim in my case, no one who can stand up and say, ‘I was hurt by Marc Emery.’ No one.”
Ian Mulgrew, the author of the article, goes on to editorialize pretty strongly that the Canadian government should step in…
It’s time for Justice Minister Rob Nicholson to step in and say, sorry, Uncle Sam, not today — not ever.
Update: This report tells a slightly different story:
Emery says his lawyers told him there was no hope to refute the U.S. allegations and the American offer also includes no jail time for his co-accused Greg Williams and Michelle Rainey.
He says the American’s have demanded a 10-year prison term, where he serves at least five years in custody, most of it in Canada. […]
Emery, who’s been a vocal advocate for decriminalizing pot, says if the federal government agrees to the plea deal he could be going to serve time in a U.S. prison within the next 60 days.
Still 5 years actually served, but with the idea of some of it in the U.S.
Interesting, if this is true. Probably having a little bit of time served in the U.S. is a way for the U.S. prosecutors to save face? — be able to say that they actually successfully extradited him, without taking the chance of Canada balking?
Hope the lawyers are doing their job well with the negotiations (dotting i’s, making sure there are witnesses to the terms, etc.). Call me cynical, but I can’t help imagining some additional charges magically surfacing once Emery’s in the U.S.
Of course, remember that these are still preliminary reports.
John Doe on Anti-marijuana quack Dave Weldon to take over CDC: “I strongly disagree with Servetus’ statement about Dave Weldon. His views on marijuana are not only outdated but also harmful…” Dec 17, 07:40
