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Hawai`i Marijuana Minister Sentenced 30 Days in Jail
Hawai'i News Daily Friday 04 Nov 2011 Circuit Court Judge Glenn Hara gave Harris two years, then suspended all but one month of that sentence. Hara also ordered fines and 10 years of probation. Harris said that she was appealing the conviction. Judge Hara later stayed the entire sentence pending Harris' appeal. On September 2, a Hilo jury convicted Harris of commercial promotion of marijuana, promotion of a detrimental drug and possession of drug paraphernalia. On that day, the prosecutor in the case, Deputy District Attorney Rick Damerville, told Judge Glenn Hara that he would seek only probation in the case against Harris — but not jail time. Damerville later backtracked on that statement, and asked Hara for a 75-day sentence. In an interview with Hawaii News Daily, Harris said that she hoped the court will appoint Hilo attorney Gary Zamber to represent the appeal. "Gary Zamber is … my first choice of attorneys to handle the appeal, because he is already familiar with the Constitutional issues that were raised in pretrial hearings, and he did an excellent job of several motions at that time." Harris feels confident she will win on appeal. "We are working for the Almighty," Harris said. "And we will be receiving Divine assistance. If I am incarcerated, I have pledged to spend the time teaching women to read (or the equivalent in mathematics, to the extent allowed by the institution at which I am housed." Financially destitute, Harris does not know how she would be able to pay the fines imposed by the court in the event she loses the appeal. Prosecutors have so far not placed her home — which is church property — under threat of civil forfeiture. "The stay of sentence was a small victory," said Harris. "But it is truly the answer to our prayers. Now I will be able to pursue my appeal while free." "This has been very costly to me in many ways," she said of the conviction. "I have been in a great amount of pain. But I have faith that it is all part of the Almighty's plan." Before sentencing, Harris made a long statement to the court. The following is an extended excerpt: I have made mistakes. If there is one thing that every single person in this room agrees about, it is the fact that I have made mistakes. I blame no one but myself. I did what I believed the Almighty called me to do, and that obedience has progressed into a chain of events that ultimately brought me into this courtroom to be sentenced. How could I have persisted in fighting this case? What on earth could have motivated me to reject such a favorable plea offer? No matter what the sentence, it cannot be as severe, or as destructive to me, as if I had failed to do my duty to the Almighty, for the consequence of that would be separation from all that is good, all that is right, and all that is holy. At least, as I face the probability of incarceration, I know that the Almighty Jah will be with me, that I shall be comforted and led in the path of righteousness though I must walk through the valley of the shadow of death. Of course, in an ordered society, even one that values free exercise of religion, there must be limits. A religion that requires human sacrifice, for example, could not be accepted, for the freedom of one person to exercise his religion could not supersede the freedom of another to his life. So there must be a limit. What is that limit? Threat to public health and safety. One’s religion cannot threaten another's well being, or the well being of the community. I fervently believed that my religion did not threaten the health and safety of even one human being. This belief was not blind faith, but has been corroborated by science and by the ruling of the appropriate fact-finder, the DEA's own Administrative Law Judge Francis L. Young. He said that marijuana is "the safest therapeutically active substance known to man." He said that it is safer than potatoes. He said that it would be "unconscionable, arbitrary and capricious" not to make this medicine available. I have gone to great lengths to inform the court of this ruling. I filed documents for judicial notice. I attempted on several occasions to introduce this ruling into evidence. It has been attached to our moving papers and quoted within them. The court can not possibly be unaware Judge Young's ruling. The court must know that I deeply and sincerely believed my actions to be of a nature that was both harmless and legal. Yet this court has ruled, and the jury confirmed, that my religious practice is illegal, and that I have committed a crime. In my heart, I do not believe that I have committed a crime. I have not done anything that presents a threat to public health and safety. However, in my heart I also have great respect for the court, for the judicial process, and for the agreement between human beings that allows us to live together, the Constitution. And my actions have been ruled to be criminal. Consequently, as a result of these proceedings, I have ceased to practice my religion. My church no longer functions as a church at this time. Specifically, I no longer partake of our sacrament, cannabis. I no longer grow cannabis. Sacred Truth Mission no longer grows cannabis. We no longer hold services. I no longer wear the hat that signifies my dedication to Jah above all others. My activities on behalf of my church and our sacrament are now restricted to exercise of my First Amendment FREE SPEECH rights only. Although I will continue to advocate (to the extent permitted by this court) for my right to practice my religion, I am now restricting, and will continue in the future to restrict, this advocacy to those activities recognized as legal by this court. For what has happened, I blame no one but myself. I hold no bitterness toward and I do not blame … Because of this, and because after the jury verdict, I was really frightened, I spent quite some time in reflection and prayer. I felt that something good must come out of this. So I pledged, to myself and to the Almighty, that for every month that I am to be incarcerated I will do everything within my power to teach one woman to read, or the mathematical equivalent. CORRECTION: The article originally stated that Circuit Court Judge Glenn Hara gave Harris two years, but stayed 23 months of that sentence. In fact, the judge STAYED the entire sentence pending the appeal.
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