Ohio Amish Buggy Buggy Amish
On the morning of June 30 2017, a federal judge
sentenced an Amish man to six years in prison. His crimes:
making and selling herbal health products that were not
“adequately labeled”, and obstructing a federal agency.
According to TheDailySheeple.com,
the farmer, one Samuel A. Girod of Bath County in Kentucky,
was convicted last March 13 for growing, manufacturing, and
selling herbal supplements without approval from the U.S.
Food and Drug Administration(FDA). Moreover, Girod was
also charged for threatening a person who attempted to
provide relevant information regarding his illegal
activities to a grand jury.
Although he was only recently convicted, Girod first
gained the attention of the FDA in 2013. Because of the
nature of his Bath County business, Girod had been ordered
by a federal court in Missouri to stop distributing his
products until he allowed the FDA to inspect his operations,
among many other conditions. When two FDA agents attempted
to inspect Girod’s family farm, however, they were barred
from entering the premises by Girod and others before they
were made to leave.
Speaking to those gathered in the Kentucky courthouse,
Girod, who chose to represent himself, stated that FDA
regulations were not applicable to his products because they
were herbal remedies, not drugs. Girod added that, as a
member of the Old Order Amish faith, requiring the approval
of the FDA was a violation of his religious freedom.
Girod’s products include treatments for skin ailments and
sinus infections. As stated in an indictment, one particular
product, TO-MOR-GONE, is notable for having a corrosive,
caustic effect on human skin due to it containing bloodroot
extract. Another product by Girod is an extract that he
claimed could help cure cancer.
Jurors decided that TO-MOR-GONE lacked the appropriate
warnings regarding its usage, and that the dosage and manner
of use that is recommended on the package is hazardous to
health.
After serving his time of six years, Girod will be
subjected to three years of supervised release, during which
Girod must avoid producing and distributing his products.
Additionally, Girod must pay a restitution of $14,000 and
$1,300 in assessment fees.
Girod’s supporters, 75 of whom stood outside the
courthouse in downtown Lexington, expressed their
disappointment in the ruling. Speaking to Kentucky.com,
Arizona native Richard Mack called it a “national disgrace
and an outrage”, noting that he used Girod’s Chickweed
Healing Salve without experiencing any ill effects. The
former sheriff and political activist said that the judge
and jury had “created a felon today out of a good,
law-abiding citizen” and that Giron was “being punished for
being stubborn.”
This stubbornness, according to U.S. district judge Danny
Reeves, is what led to Girod’s conviction. The judge told Kentucky.com that
Girod brought all this onto himself “because he steadfastly
refused to follow the law.”
Michael Fox, standby attorney for Girod, said that the
punishment will deeply affect Girod. “Keep in mind that Sam
Girod is Amish. He does not live with electricity, phones,
concrete, steel. Those are not normal; those are not natural
in his life. An incarceration in a prison setting is going
to be more punishment for him than [for] a normal person,”
Fox stated.
http://www.healthfreedoms.org/amish-man-gets-six-year-prison-sentence-for-growing-and-selling-his-own-herbal-remedies/