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Faces of Overcriminalization (From the President)
By Jim E. Lavine
Krister Evertson never had so much as a parking ticket prior to his arrest on May 27, 2004.1
A National Honor Society member, science whiz, clean energy inventor,
and small business entrepreneur, Krister is now a felon. The nightmare
that took two years of his freedom and hundreds of thousands of dollars
in invention materials began when he made a simple error: he failed to
put a “ground” sticker on a package that he shipped. Despite his clear
intention to ship by ground — as evidenced by his selection of “ground”
on the shipment form and payment for “ground” shipping — the government
prosecuted him for this error anyway. When the jury acquitted Krister,
the government charged him again, this time for his alleged abandonment
of toxic materials. Krister had securely and safely stored his valuable
research materials in stainless steel drums, at a storage facility,
while he fought for his freedom in trial over the missing shipping
sticker. He ultimately spent t
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