The following statement is attributable to Ryan Kiesel, Executive Director:
“We’re pleased to see reports that District Attorney Greg Mashburn has dropped the remaining charges in his ridiculous multi-year assault on Norman’s Friendly Market. This decision comes in the wake of thoughtful people from around Oklahoma rising up to express their anger and frustration at Mashburn’s waste of taxpayer resources on this frivolous prosecution.
While we are pleased to see this development after two years of pushing this indefensible front in the failed war on drugs, this prosecution remains a symptom of a much larger problem. Mashburn’s continued insistence that the racist, demoralizing, and draconian war on drugs is a reasonable use of time or resources indicates a clear disconnect between reality and the fiction to which DA’s too often cling. Many issues related to this prosecution remain unresolved, not the least of which are the thousands of dollars worth of cash and property seized by DA Mashburn in this fruitless crusade as well as the patent falsehoods peddled by DA Mashburn about the true cost this and similar cases have for the taxpayers. So while today may be a victory, it is far from the victory that is demanded by justice and reason.”