Rap Artist With No Criminal Record Faces Life In Prison For Album Lyrics

[ZombieHorde]

The state of California has decided that freedom of speech is a privilege, not a right. Apparently, prosecutors believe that writing lyrics about crime is a crime itself – and one punishable by a life sentence in prison.

Brandon Duncan, also known as Tiny Doo, is in fact heading to trial, as a judge decided that there is legal grounds for prosecuting the man for his lyrics.

“We’re not just talking about a CD of anything, of love songs. We’re talking about a CD (cover) … there is a revolver with bullets,” Deputy District Attorney Anthony Campagna said, justifying his unConstitutional prosecution of the musician.

Duncan is charged with “gang conspiracy” because his “gang gained in status” from crimes, and this – prosecutors argue – allowed him to “sell more albums.”

http://countercurrentnews.com/2014/11/rap-artist-with-no-criminal-record-faces-life-in-prison-for-album-lyrics/#

In case you don't care for the source, here are a bunch of others...

https://www.google.com/search?hl=en&gl=us&tbm=nws&authuser=0&q=Brandon+Duncan&oq=Brandon+Duncan&gs_l=news-cc.12..43j43i53.7613.7613.0.10129.1.1.0.0.0.0.523.523.5-1.1.0...0.0...1ac.-CfxkwYtdYA

[CaliforniaPeggy]

1. Prosecuting him is WRONG. n/t

[merrily]

2. Good grief. How messed up is this?

Besides I thought only the looney left went for conspiracy theories.



Isn't that meme?

[ZombieHorde]

3. I hope the law is deemed unconstitutional.

If he is convicted, then holy shit. That would be a game changer for anyone in the arts.

[merrily]

4. The law itself doesn't need to be found unconstitutional.

It could be found unconstitutional as applied in this instance.

And, the jury could acquit, either because of jury nullification or because it finds that making a cd does not show "specific intent" to increase criminal activity.

What I really hope is that the prosecutor is laughed out of court.

[billhicks76]

9. Guilty For Being Black

AmeriKKKa.

[kelliekat44]

12. ++++1,00000000 nt

[merrily]

21. Let's hope he's not actually found guilty, but I agree.

A Hispanic male might have received similar treatment, but I very much doubt anything like this would have happened to Justin Timberlake, regardless of what his lyrics said or his album cover looked like.

It's shameful. Americas original sin is racism, racism to African Americans and to First Nations. And behind that was greed, greed for free labor, greed for land and then greed for oil. Racism and greed went hand in hand. It spread to other races, like the Chinese who built the railroads. Then, it spread to immigrants in general.

The racism and the greed. They never seem to stop.

[msongs]

5. how to generate increased sales of something one does not like.... nt

[Kalidurga]

6. And yet people with real bullets that kill real people

are allowed to roam the streets because they wear a uniform.

[L0oniX]

41. The inspiration for "Cop Killer" - Ice Tea

[Downwinder]

7. You can carry a gun with bullets but you can't picture one.

[billhicks76]

8. Wow...Feds Have Too Much Time On Their Hands

What about the bankers? I do not support violent gangs but aren't the Feds just the most dominant gang themselves? This is ridiculous. They waste taxpayer money and obviously have to many people on their payroll.

[Jim Lane]

16. It's not a federal prosecution.

Per the linked article, it's a county DA's office, bringing a prosecution under a California statute that was enacted in 2000 but "that has never been used in court until now."

[billhicks76]

18. My Bad...Sorry Feds

I knew this didn't sound like them. Too petty. They go after the big boys.

[merrily]

23. Then slap them or their companies with a relatively small fine.

The white collar big boys, anyway.

[BlueMTexpat]

10. It's too bad

that he didn't incorporate himself first.

After all, it's only human beings whose freedom of speech is curtailed.

[JonLP24]

11. Kinda reminds me of X-Raided's trial

Facts are very limited after all these years -- he's still releasing records somehow.

Prosecutors claimed the gun on the album cover was the murder weapon and played his lyrics in trial. The line "kicking down doors" and "killin' mommas."



http://articles.latimes.com/2002/nov/17/entertainment/ca-boucher17

According to the LA Times, the prosecutor & rapper became business partners as recent as 2002.

[druidity33]

17. that was an interesting article... nt.

[DeSwiss]

13. Thought Crime.

"The further a society drifts from Truth, the more it will hate those who speak it." ~George Orwell

K&R

[paper boy]

14. Wow. America has hit a new low.

[wyldwolf]

15. A young defense attorney could make their career on this case

[merrily]

25. I'd rather see an experienced one on this.

[Hari Seldon]

19. The First Amendment

The First Amendment as written does not deny the states the right to deny freedom of speech.

Congress shall make no law is very specific to CONGRESS, not to the STATES or to any other branch of Federal government.

Also, The courts have held that Freedom of Speech only stops Congress from PREVENTING speech, not from punishing speech after it has been made (IOW the government can't smash your printing press, but it can prosecute you for what you print after the fact)

Its amusing to watch people talk about something that we really don't have.

[merrily]

27. Cute that you italicized "as written," which indicates that you may know that the entire Bill of

Rights as written in 1789 applied only to the federal government, but that much of the Bill of Rights was made applicable to the states by the 14th amendment.

Also, The courts have held that Freedom of Speech only stops Congress from PREVENTING speech, not from punishing speech after it has been made (IOW the government can't smash your printing press, but it can prosecute you for what you print after the fact)

It can prosecute you, within the bounds of good faith, but that doesn't mean that punishing you for speech would automatically be constitutional. That's what appeals are for. And a prosecution that violates existing Supreme Court precedent about freedom of speech just might not pass the good faith prosecution standard.

Its amusing to watch people talk about something that we really don't have.

And exactly what might that be, in your opinion? Please be very specific.

[HappyMe]

20. This is seriously messed up.

The DA should be laughed out of court.

[Tommy_Carcetti]

22. This is literally unbelievable to me.

There has to be more to this story than just this. There just has to be.

If this story is true as reported, though, I'm speechless.

[jberryhill]

31. Several states have laws about profiting from books or media about actual crimes

The first point is that he's actually not being prevented from speaking, singing, performing or whatever. It's the commercial aspect which is at issue.

The case seems to be based on a CA law briefly described here:

http://news.hiphopearly.com/rapper-tiny-doo-faces-life-prison-cutting-gang-related-album/

"...in 2000 California voters passed a law that allows for the prosecution of gang members if they benefit from crimes committed by other gang members. The state is arguing that Duncan’s gang status helped him sell albums."

[L0oniX]

39. Better let Ice Tea know about that.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cop_Killer_(song)

[jberryhill]

45. Yes, I've listened to plenty of Ice Tea and Eazy E...

...what the state seems to be claiming here is that there is a demonstrable association between an actual crime and the profit made on this guy's media.

It sounds like a stretch, but the law seems to be specifically about the commercial aspect, not speech per se.

[L0oniX]

47. TV networks make money from crime news ...but that's another story.

[jberryhill]

48. still not the same thing

The point of laws like this - and many states have them - is to prevent criminals from profiting from accounts of their own crimes. They are directed to scenarios in which, say, Charles Manson could make money from publishing a book about the crimes for which he was convicted. It's not about the speech per se, but about the commerce.

The allegation here seems to be that he is profiting from accounts of crimes committed by gangs of which he is a member.

I'm not really aware of any TV networks which commit crimes, or conspire to commit crimes, and then report on those crimes for profit. Maybe the news works differently where you are. Yes, you can make money reporting or producing media about other people's crimes. Most network television entertainment seems to be about crime these days.

But in order to prove this case, the state is going to have to rely on tenuous evidence of associations.

[spanone]

24. prosecuting is criminal.

[Mike Nelson]

26. Wrong...

...I wouldn't be interested in hearing the CD, but people shouldn't be sent to prison for naughty lyrics. There's not enuf room in prison!

[Rex]

28. So much for free speech.

[KingCharlemagne]

29. Words of wisdom for the ages:

“If you're not careful, the newspapers will have you hating the people who are being oppressed, and loving the people who are doing the oppressing.”

~Malcolm X

[ctaylors6]

30. Sounds like a Son of Sam kind of 1st amend case

This issue comes up frequently with mob books. The issue being whether someone can profit from a crime. The supreme court case concerned Berkowitz wanting to sell his story rights. It would be irrelevant for 1st Amendment purposes whether the speech is a song or a book. The SCt unanimously struck down the NY law at issue, which was considered much, much too broadly worded.

I can't find many details about the allegations in this particular case. The facts seem very sketchy to even show that this particular singer committed a crime much less that he's trying to profit from his crime.

[jberryhill]

32. That's the type of case this is

It's about the commercial activity related to crimes with which the state is claiming he is somehow connected.

Seems to be a stretch.

[ctaylors6]

33. Those cases don't do well in courts

even when it's, you know, the actual son of sam.

And this is a criminal case. It makes no sense to me.

From what I read it doesn't seem like the law is about inciting imminent violence.

[gollygee]

34. But Ted Nugent can say whatever he wants

I wonder what the difference is.

[L0oniX]

38. Ice Tea tune - "Cop Killer" You'd think that would have brought some charges.

[Orrex]

35. Wasn't this already decided?

See Me So v. Horny, June 1990.

[L0oniX]

36. Record and book burners have become judges.

[muriel_volestrangler]

37. This is like charging Wagner's heirs with Nazi war crimes

Prosecutors are calling upon a state law put in place by voters in 2000 that has not been used until now. It allows for the prosecution of gang members if they benefit from crimes committed by other gang members.

Though Duncan hasn't been tied to the shootings, prosecutors argued that he benefited from the shootings because his gang gained in status, allowing him to sell more albums.

http://www.10news.com/news/rapper-tiny-doo-will-go-to-trial_

Wagner's music undoubtedly became more popular in Nazi Germany because the regime promoted it. Wagner was even anti-semitic. But that doesn't mean you can blame him or his heirs for what the Nazis did.

[Oktober]

40. Tiny Doo?

Guy named himself after a kindergarten level word for feces?

I'm sure he's quite fierce.

Free speech issues aside of course...

[diabeticman]

42. This is unreal

Welcome to our for-profit prison country...



I would normally have hope this would be laugh out of the courts but I have lost hope .

[dilby]

43. Is anyone shocked, he is black with no criminal record.

The State of California can't have a black man walking around without having a felony label attached to him. Ugh this story pisses me off to no end and I swear to God the Racist fuck Deputy District Attorney Anthony Campagna better be a Republican.

[Odin2005]

44. They are prosecuting him because he's black.

No other explanation.

[Bonx]

46. I'm glad they are pursuing this

So they can fail miserably, & hopefully will never try this again.