From Drudge;
Unrepentant: Judge sentences Lance to 75 years in prison for threats
http://ravallirepublic.com/news/loca...865e4de8c.html
John Fesler Lance II remained unrepentant Wednesday on his right to threaten anyone he finds on the Sweeney Creek ranch near Florence that he lost in a 1979 divorce.
“There’s no conceivable way that I’m guilty of anything,” Lance said at his sentencing hearing. “I own the ranch today. I’ll post my life on that.”
Ravalli County District Judge Jeffrey Langton responded by sentencing the 73-year-old to 75 years in the Montana State Prison.
Lance was convicted by a jury in February of felony intimidation and stalking charges after he attempted to reclaim his ranch last September. The couple who now own the property held Lance at gunpoint after he arrived on the scene riding a maroon-colored scooter.
Lance refused to participate at his February trial after being told that he wouldn’t be allowed to argue the merits of his case for the return of his ranch. He watched the proceedings from a detention cell.
On Wednesday, an emaciated Lance was back in the courtroom and serving as his own attorney at the sentencing hearing. He told the court he had been on a hunger strike for the past 10 days.
While waiting to be called before the judge, Lance folded his hands on a Bible in his lap and bowed his head in prayer.
When his turn came, Lance immediately asked Langton to grant a retrial on claims the prosecution had withheld evidence that he’d gathered about the petition filed for a restraining order that required him to stay away from the ranch property after his release from prison.
Lance served over 28 years in the Montana State Prison as a result of felony intimidation convictions in the three counties that were all tied to his single-minded pursuit of getting his ranch back.
During the course of Wednesday’s sentencing hearing, Lance took every opportunity to explain his reasoning behind how he was cheated out of the Bitterroot Valley ranch by his ex-wife, law enforcement and the court system.
Lance said all the subsequent owners of his former ranch were nothing more than squatters. He told the judge none had clear title to the property. And Lance said that Montana law gives people the right to confront anyone trespassing on their property, including a right to be armed when doing so.
Lance told the judge that if released from jail, he would go back and try to reclaim his property again.
“I’m waving my flag of ownership,” Lance said. “I’m waving it strong. I’m waving it hard to the very last day of my life.”
Langton called Lance’s case unique.
Up until 1979, Langton said Lance had no criminal record and appeared to be a successful businessman and rancher, but a divorce and subsequent loss of his Florence ranch set him on a course where Lance was “unwilling to accept reality” that his ranch was sold and no longer his.
The judge said he didn’t detect any signs of mental illness in his dealings with Lance.
“I’ve never seen any signs of that either, your honor,” Lance interjected.
At that point, Langton likened Lance’s case to the Greek mythological story of Sisyphus, the mythological king who was punished by the gods by being compelled to roll a gigantic boulder up a hill, only to watch it roll back to the bottom and then forced to repeat this action for all eternity.
“Essentially what that is is an eternity of useless effort and unending frustration,” Langton said. “The only difference here is that you’ve condemned yourself to that.”
Lance responded by saying that he was in the 10th day of a fast of no liquids or foods to protest the injustice of his case. He quoted Isaiah 58:6: “Is this not the kind of fasting I have chosen: to loose the chains of injustice and untie the cords of the yoke, to set the oppressed free and break every yoke?”
“Your honor, I’m here to break every yoke and give my life for it,” he said. “Thank you.”
Ravalli County Attorney Bill Fulbright recommended a 75- to 100-year commitment on each felony charge to run concurrently, and that Lance be designated a persistent felon.
“Mr. Lance refuses to follow the basic rules of society,” Fulbright said. “Given that, it’s our belief that the only recourse we’re left with is to put prison bars between this defendant and the community.”
Langton sentenced Lance to a 75-year commitment to the Montana State Prison on each of the two felony charges. Those sentences will run concurrently. The judge added six-month terms in the county jail for each of the two misdemeanor counts.
Lance will also be required to pay $16,129.35 in restitution.
Ravalli County Sheriff Chris Hoffman said he’s looking forward to the day that Lance goes back to the Montana State Prison.
Lance has gone on several hunger strikes in the time that he’s been housed in the Ravalli County Detention Center.
“He has cost the county a lot of money in terms of medical care,” Hoffman said. “We don’t have a final tally on that, but I think it will come in between $75,000 and $100,000. We have spent quite a bit of money on him.”
“We feel like the prison is a better place for him,” he said. “They are better equipped to take care of an inmate with his special needs.”
Site Information
About Us
- RonPaulForums.com is an independent grassroots outfit not officially connected to Ron Paul but dedicated to his mission. For more information see our Mission Statement.
Connect With Us