Caught in a gross miscarriage of justice, Assistant Prosecutor Avery Weiswaser agreed on June 9 to reverse Pigpen’s conviction and 90-day sentence on contempt of flag charges.
Pigpen, also called Alan Barber, was convicted on May 21 without benefit of a jury or a lawyer. He had been picked up on May 19 because a cop found a piece of red, white and blue bunting which had been folded up in his pocket for six months.
Weiswasser stated that Pigpen’s sentence was, “Like using a sledgehammer to drive in a tack. The people will move to confess error. The people will move to dismiss the charge, cancel the bond, and discharge the defendant.”
A 16-page brief filed in Pigpen’s defense by his lawyer, Sol Plafkin, was completely ignored in the speedy hearing before Recorder’s Court Judge John R. Murphy. The brief had noted:
- Mere possession of a strip of flag does not violate the law.
- That the 90-day sentence was cruel and unusual punishment.
- That the court had no right to punish Pigpen for his political beliefs.
- That the cop had searched Pigpen illegally.
After the trial Pigpen said, “They’ve done the right thing by me now but I wish they’d done it before they sent me to jail and I got my hair cut off.”