Remember Eric Williamson? He was convicted

Remember Eric Williamson? He was the Fairfax, Virginia man arrested for making coffee while naked and alone in his own kitchen last October. Apparently, he was 'viewed' by a woman and her 7-year-old who were taking a shortcut near or through his property, which allowed them a clear view of Williamson's nudity through his own window. Rather than apologize, rather than knock on his door to complain or just shrug it off, the woman called the police to report a pervert and Williamson now faces a year in jail. Of course, the woman was the wife of a police officer so appealing to a gun-toting authority is probably what she does when a lightbulb needs changing.

According to CBS (12/21/09), a jury of his fully-clothed peers has convicted Williamson of indecent exposure because two women said they saw him naked while walking by the windows of his house in October. He received neither jail time nor a fine, but is appealing anyway, saying a larger principle is at stake. I don't know where the second woman came from; she certainly wasn't present in the initial arrest and, so, not necessary to the criminalization of drinking coffee naked in one's own kitchen. After Williamson's arrest garnered international attention, however, the hyper-defensive police did an intensive sweep of the neighborhood and their interviews may have turned up someone who had glimpsed some skin...or someone with a grudge. It would be 'nice' if the police gave rapes or other real crimes such attention.

The CBS article comments, If Williamson follows through on his plans to appeal, though, a circuit court judge could impose a tougher punishment, technically up to a year in jail. That's the kind of incentive defendants are given to drop complaints against the cops or the courts; there is almost always something the authorities can use to plea bargain or otherwise induce you into silence about abuse. Nevertheless, through hook-or-by-crook, the Va. police got their "guilty" verdict on the charge of "drinking coffee naked in your own home"...and this is what they desperately wanted -- the appearance of exoneration; the patina of a righteous arrest.

I hope the Men's Rights Movement champions this case on the basis of what I believe is a clear double standard. Williamson stated, "If I was looking in her window, I think we'd be having a whole different conversation." Of course, he would still have been arrested...this time as a peeping tom.

Original report here



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