NON-RESIDENT BEING ASKED TO PLEAD GUILTY WHEN CLEARLY INNOCENT
GOAL WILL BE FUNDING HER DEFENSE.
GOAL previously reported on a non-resident being arrested and charged with felony unlawful possession of a firearm. https://www.goal.org/war-on-nonres
This case originates out of Palmer, Massachusetts and began with a traffic stop. Ms. Harris was found to be in possession of a loaded firearm. Under Chapter 135 there is now a specific exemption for this action:
Chapter 140, Section 129C : (k) A nonresident may carry a firearm on their person while in a vehicle lawfully traveling through the commonwealth; provided, however, that the firearm shall remain in the vehicle and if the firearm is outside its owner's direct control it shall be stored in the vehicle in accordance with section 131C.
Attorney on case.
After the arrest her attorney pointed this out to the prosecutor. Their response was not apologetic, but rather proposed that if she plead guilty to a misdemeanor, the felony would be dropped.
“It is unconscionable that a Massachusetts prosecutor would admit error and innocence, but still insist on a plea deal,” said Jim Wallace, Executive Director of GOAL. “This notion that an innocent person should plea to a lesser charge to avoid trial is Orwellian at best. But, as we have discovered this was the intention of Chapter 135 all along. The process itself has become the punishment.”
We are glad to report that Ms. Harris has rightly refused to plead guilty to crime she did not commit and her attorney will be filing a motion to dismiss.