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Goose Lake Trial

Goose Lake Trial image
Parent Issue
Day
26
Month
November
Year
1971
OCR Text

GOOSE LAKE TRIAL

Richard Songer, owner of Goose Lake Park and promoter of the Goose Lake Rock Festival, which brought 200,000 of our people together for three days, has been indicted for aiding and abetting the sale and control of heroin and marijuana. Prosecutor Bruce Barton, of Jackson Co. said he would prove that "the sale and easy availability of drugs" were an integral part of the festival and that "Richard Songer planned it that way." If convicted on all counts, Songer could get 30 years in prison.

The trail so far has produced testimony from police and some young people who attended the festival. Twenty-five photographs of alleged drug sales were also admitted. However, four reels of film were not allowed as evidence. They were ruled as "immaterial, irrelevant, and inflammatory." The judge indicated however that the films may be cut and spliced and portions of them may be used as evidence. The trial is a very important example of cultural imperialism, and we will tell you more about it in the next issue of the SUN. There will also be a detailed analysis of the trial, Goose Lake, and the whole festival scene.

Mike Minnich, RPP