Rev Phelps/Westboro Church fined $11 Million

[LaWood]

BALTIMORE, Maryland (AP) -- A grieving father won a nearly $11 million verdict Wednesday against a fundamentalist Kansas church that pickets military funerals in the belief that the war in Iraq is a punishment for the nation's tolerance of homosexuality.

Albert Snyder of York, Pennsylvania, sued the Westboro Baptist Church for unspecified damages after members demonstrated at the March 2006 funeral of his son, Lance Cpl. Matthew Snyder, who was killed in Iraq.

The jury first awarded $2.9 million in compensatory damages. It returned later in the afternoon with its decision to award $6 million in punitive damages for invasion of privacy and $2 million for causing emotional distress.

U.S. District Judge Richard Bennett noted the size of the award for compensating damages "far exceeds the net worth of the defendants," according to financial statements filed with the court.
http://www.cnn.com/2007/US/law/10/31/fu ... index.html

[Barbara Fitzpatrick]

Phelps was a good civil rights lawyer who went absolutely nuts somewhere around 1980 (God - or whoever - only knows why. Bad acid trip or something.) He decided to be a Dem when Gore spoke out against a "Homosexuals Bill of Rights" in Congress (not Congress' business is what Al actually said), and ran for Governor of KS - several times - on the "Good Ol' Boy" ticket - years later the few who voted for him said they never would have if they'd known what he stood for (KS will never learn). The problem is, of course, where do you draw the line on free speech - and in this guy's case, freedom of religion? He's a total whacko and a nasty one at that. My own opinion is that this is where the "peace bond" comes in - you can't get close enough to your "prey" to hurt them - and that includes close enough for them to hear your saying/screaming nasty things about their dead kids. But then, us liberals always do have the problem of how do you protect yourself and respect their rights at the same time.