A man who an Adams County prosecutor described as "basically homeless" faces up to a year in jail and a $2,500 fine for possessing a torn and dirty American flag. Robert S. Forrey, 57, was bound over for trial Wednesday at a preliminary hearing before Magisterial District Judge Tony Little. Forney had been in jail since his arrest June 4 near the intersection of routes 15 and 116 southeast of Gettysburg in Straban Township. Forrey has been charged with a third-degree misdemeanor; under Pennsylvania law it is a crime to show "disrespect" for an American flag. He was also cited for littering, a summary offense. Hanging from a small tree was a dirty flag which the trooper described as "defaced, torn, cut - it looked pretty bad." Asked by public defender Sean Mott to clarify in what way the flag was defaced, the officer replied, "By the way it was thrown ... it was not folded properly." In cases in 1989 and 1990, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that flag-desecration statutes were an unconstitutional infringement on free speech. "This is without question unconstitutional," Mott said after the hearing. "This is a statute that got forgotten about and unfortunately it sent a man to jail for a week and half." "We honor the flag by respecting the freedom it symbolizes, no matter how unpopular," Mott said, "not by imprisoning those who disagree with the State."
Posted on: Fri, 14 Jun 2013 22:26:00 +0000
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