Lonzie Cox – 5/17/06

This page was last updated on May 18, 2006.

Make Rush do the perp walk; Lonzie Cox, Jr.; Beaver County Times; May 17, 2006. I am not related to Mr. Cox.

Below is a detailed critique of the subject letter.

“Rush Limbaugh should have been arrested on the air and led past the cameras in handcuffs. A large part of punishment for ‘crime’ is how one is arrested.”

[RWC] This letter is based on a lie. First, Rush Limbaugh wasn’t arrested at all. As you will read below, Limbaugh was charged but not arrested.

For those of you who don’t know the story, here’s a refresher. I don’t know when it began, but Limbaugh experienced severe back pain and his doctors prescribed painkillers. It’s not clear whether the painkillers were prescribed for post-surgery pain or in an attempt to avoid surgery. At some point, Limbaugh became addicted to the painkillers. In late 2003, a former housekeeper told The National Enquirer Limbaugh abused prescription painkillers. Shortly thereafter, Limbaugh publicly acknowledged his addiction and checked himself into five weeks of rehab.

“Most drug possessors are dragged from their homes or cars with media cameras recording all.”

[RWC] Second, Rush Limbaugh wasn’t charged with drug possession. According to the AP, Limbaugh was charged with “doctor shopping” to acquire 40 pills. In Florida, doctor shopping is defined as getting a doctor to prescribe medication and not telling him if another doctor has prescribed the same medication within the last 30 days. Limbaugh asserts there was no doctor shopping.

“I repeat: Rush Limbaugh should have been arrested on the air and led past the cameras in handcuffs. Humiliation is a very effective punishment because everyone feels the pain of embarrassment.”

[RWC] After nearly three years of investigation, the West Palm Beach state’s attorney apparently didn’t have enough evidence to take the case to trial. According to the deal, Limbaugh pled “not guilty” and the charges will be dismissed after 18 months as long as Limbaugh continues to do what he has been doing since he acknowledged his addiction.

After three years of investigation, I believe it’s fair to assume the DA would have taken the case to trial if he thought he had a good chance of winning.

If Limbaugh was innocent, why did he take the deal? According to Limbaugh, he made the deal for the following reasons. First, he gets to maintain his innocence and plead not guilty. Second, the charges will be dismissed after 18 months for doing nothing more than he’s been doing. His only “punishment” is paying about $30,000 to help defray the cost of the DA’s investigation. Third, this affair had already consumed nearly three years and he had already incurred millions of dollars of legal fees. Since he could maintain his innocence, Limbaugh just wanted the mess over with.

Did you notice Mr. Cox didn’t say anything about Rep. Patrick Kennedy (D-RI)? In case you missed it, Mr. Kennedy, son of Sen. Edward “Chappaquiddick” Kennedy (D-MA), crashed his car into a barrier outside the Capitol Building at about 3 a.m. The Capitol police officers on the scene noted Mr. Kennedy was not walking steadily and said his breath smelled of alcohol. Two Capitol police supervisors came on the scene and whisked Mr. Kennedy away and took him home before the would-be arresting officers could administer a sobriety test. After telling various conflicting stories, Mr. Kennedy alleged he was addicted to prescription drugs and checked himself into the Mayo Clinic.