The following excerpts are taken from John Sinclair’s statement on the Court of Appeals decision, Feb. 17, 1971:
“Michigan Court of Appeals has denied my appeal in the marijuana case. The appeal, challenging the constitutionality of the marijuana laws, particularly that the 9-1/2 to 10-year sentence I received for possessing 2 marijuana cigarettes is cruel and unusual punishment, in violation of the Thirteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.
“Despite the fact that we have been aware of the political nature of my incarceration and conviction, we have maintained a policy of exhausting all legal means in order to expose the corrupt, reactionary ‘legal’ machinery in this state to the people. We submitted our case on appeal to the Court of Appeals, we submitted a 138-page brief in support of the appeal, we have argued the appeal just as any criminal appellant would, and we left it to S. Jerome Bronson, T. John Lesinski, and Carl Engel to rule on my appeal in accordance with the law.
“They have not done so. They have ruled as Colombo ruled, out of a reactionary, political stance which says that I must be kept off the streets and away from the people as long as possible, and by any means necessary.
“There is no doubt that my conviction will one day be reversed; if not by the corrupt judiciary in this state, then by the state legislature, which is somewhat more responsive to the will of the people than are the shoddy political opportunists like Bronson and Lesinski.
“A lot of people will be watching this case very closely as it goes to the Supreme Court of Michigan, starting with a new application for appeal bond on this ridiculous conviction.”
John Sinclair
Chairman, White Panther Party
Wayne County Jail