Friday, July 27, 1973

TH SUM0MER DAILY

Pae Nn

Friday, July 27, 1973 THE SUMMER DAILY Page Ning

DENY EXTORTION
Pun, Craig take stand

Rape laws present
distressing choices

(Continued from Page 3)
EMPHASIS IN the trial has
apparently shifted toward a fo-
cus on alleged threats made to
Wagner by P l a m o n d o n and
Blazier.
Wagner has accused the two of
threatening him with a knife and
a pistol. However, the prosecu-
tion's other witness, Bruce Pet-
erson, contradicts this point.
Another question which might
be a major issue in Circuit Court
Judge William Peterson's deci-
sion is a threat of exposure both
in the Ann Arbor Sun and to the
police authorities which the de-
fendants allegedly made to
Wagner.
BLAZMER HAS admitted he
told Wagner that "his creditors
were really mad" and were
"talking about icepacks and bat-
tery acid."
The two defendants also testi-
fied yesterday that Wagner him-
self first suggested they remove
his personal possessions as se-
curity on his debt.
Peterson must decide whether
the RPP members' actions, as
described in testimony, constitute
extortion.
THE DEFENDANTS contended
yesterday that w h a t Wagner
termed 'threats" were not in
reference to the debt but to
"death culture drugs" Plamon-
don claims to have found in
Wagner's possession.
"I got rather upset with him,"
Plamondon said yesterday, add-
ing that Wagner had talked about
giving morphine to some girls
in Traverse City "like it was
candy for a baby."
The defense is expected to con-
tend today in its final arguments
that the visit was made in order
to prevent violence and try to
heal the split in the community,
rather than to commit extortion.
PLAMONDON C A L L E D "a
promise and not a threat" his
statement to Wagner at the time
of the incident that he would be
exposed as a "rip-off" hard drug
dealer in the Sun.
Wagner, under his alias "Wheel-
er," had in fact already been
exposed in the Sun a week priar
to the visit.

The defendants, particularly
Blazier, poured out their version
of the events with little prompt-
ing from their attorney Hugh
"Buck" Davis.
"I NEVER sold him (Wagne")
marijuana," Blazier said. "It's
a standing rule of our house that
no one sells reefer out of there.
It's just too dangerous and ex-
pensive to get busted."
Wagner has testified that he
bought quantities of marijuana
repeatedly from Blazier at the
RPP's address at 1520 Hill St. in
Ann Arbor.
But Blazier swore under oath
that he had merely introduced
Wagner to a drug source and
had only intervened when the
third party later told -him Wfg-
ner had not paid the $3,000 for
25 pounds of marijuana.
BOTH DEFENDANTS testified
that Wagner had originally been
only Blazier's concern, and that
Plamondon had come along on
the visit only for a ride to his
home town of Traverse City.

"Uwe didn't seem to have a
grasp of what Craig was say-
ing," said Plamondon. "He was
confused and incoherent, literally
babbling. He just kept running on
about how he'd been ripped off,
how he hadn't ripped anyone off,
and how he didn't owe anyone
any money."
Plamondon then described how
midway through the visit Wagner
"flip-flopped" and agreed to pay
the debt.
ACCORDING TO the defense,
Wagner developed a wide repu-
tation in Traverse City for dis-
honesty in his drug dealings. He
has admitted selling incense as
opium.
A brief cross-examination of
Blazier by prosecutor John Wil-
son concentrated on $270 which
Blazier testified he removed from
Wagner's wallet. Blazier con-
tended that if Wagner "hadn't
wanted to give the money he
wouldn't have said so."
Wilson waived cross-examina-
tion of Plamondon eanrely.

(Continued from Page 3)
THIS MEDICAL exam may not
yield anything if the victim un-
intentionally destroys the evi-
dence by b a t h i n g after the
assault.
Following police investigation,
the case is handed over to the
prosecutor. There is a prelimi-
nary hearing to determine if a
crime has been committed. The
case then goes before a grand
jury which determines if the case
against the accused rapist war-
rants a trial. The trial-itself can
occur as late as six months ~f er
the rape.
This lengthy procedure is often
a fruitless traumatic exercise
for the victim. The rape law
makes a conviction nearly impos-
sible.
BRIEFLY, THE law states,
"any person who shall carnally
know a female of the age of 16
or more by force or against her
will shall be guilty of a felony."
Carnal knowledge is defined as
"s e x u a l penetration, however

slight," to be proven via the
medical exam.
To prove the act was against
the victim's will, she must have
resisted "to the utmost." Ac-
cording to one rape victim, rc-
sisting to the utmost means bhoig0
"bloody, bruised and damned
near dead."
OBVIOUSLY, women in fear
for their lives may not risk
battling their assailants. Assist-
ant county prosecutor John Salen
said a woman who doesn't physi-
cally resist has a drastically
weaker case. Salen questions the
validity of the standard itself:
"I don't think a woman should
be put in fear of her life to prove
she said no."
The resistance standard is cri-
tical to the defense, says a local
defense attorney who did not wish
to be named. The majori:y of
rapes occur in circumstances
similar to intercourse with con-
sent, he remarks.
"Remember, a man's life is on
the line and he may be convicted
for a misunderstanding. Rape is
the only crime that I know of
where from just what's in a per-
son's mind intercourse changes
from a consensual, enjoyable act
to a crime against a woman's
person," the attorney says.
SOME CRITICS say the rape
law is too stringent. Otherswise a
man could easily be framed. Jan
BenDor of the Women's Crisis
Center says frame-ups are very
rare. Krasny says, "You get a
call from a woman who's been
promised great things, and when
the green stuff isn't left behind
she gets mad. It happens all the
time."
A model revised penal code
now before the state legislature's
judiciary committee would break
rape down into a degree system,
modify the resistance standard
and lastly make it possible for a
woman to be a rapist. The revi-
sion has been sitting in Lansing
for almost a year and Salen pre-
dicts it will be a long time before
a new code becomes law.

Record 'Phase 24' tuition
increase: Read it and weep

(Continued from Page 1)
ALAN SMITH, vice president
for a c a d e m i c affairs, said
Wednesday that the increase
would cover other items besides
the estimated $2.5 million reve-
nue loss created by the high court
decision on voiding the old resi-
dency requirement.
The new fees, Smith said, will
not only absorb the $2.5 million
but also generate a six per cent
increase in overall University
revenue.
He explained that the extra
cash will cover salary increases,
inflation, and student financial
aid.
FLEMING AND SMITH refer-
red to the June findings of the
Carnegie Commission on Higher
Education for an explanation of

the split created between fresh-
man - sophomore and upperclass-
men's fees.
The commission recommended,
among other things, that state
college tuition reflect the higher
cost of education for juniors and
seniors but "maintain a relative-
ly low-tuition policy" 'for under-
classmen.
"The staggering of rates fol-
lows the theory that once you get
'em here, they'll stay," Smith
commented.
BUT THE VICE president took
a cautious "wait-and-see" atti-
tude about the theory's possible
success.
He pinned the skyrocketing of
in-state graduate rates on the
likelihood that graduates would
be most likely to qualify for res-

idency under the new rules,
which favor students who estab-
lish a "Michigan domicile" and
have in-state financial sources.
The tuition boost easily outdis-
tances fee hikes at other state
universities and reaffirm's Michi-
gan s status as the most expen-
sive state school in the midwest.
RICHARD KENNEDY, secre-
tary to the University, bemoaned
the increase Wednesday as he"
polled the Regents for their ap-
proval.
"This is really a very painful
thing for the Regents," he said,
"and for the rest of us as well."
The student body agreed.


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