The sign in the window read: "Evolution Is True. The Bible's a Lie. God's a Ghost." For this he was charged with violating the city ordinance against blasphemy. Because he was an atheist and therefore couldn't swear the court's religious oath to tell the truth, he wasn't permitted to testify in his own defense.
The judge then dismissed the original charge, replacing it with one of distributing obscene, slanderous, or scurrilous literature. Smith was convicted, fined $25, and served most of a twenty-six-day jail sentence. His high-profile fast while behind bars drew national media attention. Upon his release, he immediately resumed his atheist activities, was again charged with blasphemy, and this time the charge held. In his trial he was again denied the right to testify and was sentenced to ninety days in jail and a fine of $100. Released on $1,000 bail, Smith appealed the verdict. The case then dragged on for several years until it was finally dismissed. (Wiki)
The imagination paints the rest: the familiar visage of an obnoxious, sanctimonious, smug idiot doing his best of trying everyone's patience and taking pride in seeing people steering clear of him on sight. The evenings spent editing "The Truth Seeker" and dreaming of martyr's glory and the coming of freethinking paradise. A sweaty, hot summer noon in a Southern city; the lemonade stand near the courthouse; walnut trees seen from the window. An old, bespectacled judge trying to talk sense to the moron, so he can let him go and see him never, ever again. The passionate self-defense invoking the names of Bruno and Galileo and the great James Hervey Johnson before the jury thinking, oh, when this fool will finally finish, pay his $100, and let them go home. The fly walking across open pages of "On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection, or the Preservation of Favoured Races in the Struggle for Life." And then the repetition of the same.
This, ladies and gentlemen, is why the blasphemy laws are almost never enforced in the US of A. It is not because of logical, clever, and impregnable arguments of the constitutional lawyers and sagely, progressive justices. It is not due to the higher principles of universal good implemented in the Bill of Rights. It is not because of ACLU zealots, pride parades, or preachy presidents. It is not because of monkey trials, exploding heads of cartoon prophets, or televangelists caught with hookers. It is not for a myriad other reasons.
Title: The last U.S. conviction for blasphemy was of atheist activist Charles Lee Smith
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Rating: 100% based on 99998 ratings. 5 user reviews.
Post by 11:17 AM
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