Mr. & Mrs. Smith

On a two-lane rural road in Lancaster sits a modest home on twenty-eight acres. Lined with a white rail fence, the property speaks a message of diligent labor, boasting a vegetable garden, cherry trees, bee hives, black berry bushes and an array of farm implements. The 1992 deed reveals Vernon & Juanita Smith as owners.

Mr. Smith, who turns 88 in July, stares out the living room window in easy reach of his nebulizer. He is a survivor, his childhood indelibly marked by the Great Depression. He worked in the coalmines of Letcher County earning paltry wages and the dreaded black lung disease.

His wife, Juanita, welcomes us with a smile, her words barely discernable, the effect of three strokes. The Smiths are no strangers to adversity having weathered many storms during their marriage. This Father’s Day, Mr. & Mrs Smith who require round the clock care, are enduring, yet another, tumultuous battle, their land and life savings at stake.

In August of 2007 men cradling machine guns invaded their family home. Panic-stricken, they reached for breathing devices, unable to fathom, nor stop, the intrusion. Held at gunpoint as unmasked strangers ransacked their belongings, Vernon was forced to navigate a flight of stairs to unlock the home safe.  With garbled words, Mrs. Smith offered her guests the watermelon on their kitchen table, unwilling to allow the bandits to confiscate her deeply rooted southern hospitality. An hour later, the watermelon  was untouched but the intruders helped themselves to the Smith's life-savings. In the ensuing four years  urgent medical care has been put on hold, their only income being the meager black lung and social security checks. Earlier this year, the Smith’s received a breath of hope when they hired a new attorney. The gang of thieves came to the bargaining table offering to settle. But, weren't willing to make full restitution. A different saga unfolds next door as Father’s Day approaches. His son, Mike, and grandson, Shaun, are under house arrest.

The metal entrance gate at the neighboring house has no button-pushing entry maneuvers nor announcements over an elaborate speakerphone broadcasting arrival, just a simple chain, easily accessible from either side. If you were expecting opulence you’ll be disappointed.  The breezeway hosts an array of rocking chairs, work boots and yard implements, convincing evidence that no snubbed-nose highfaluting city-slickers live in this stately, yet moderate, two-story home. These are down-home folks, the ones that invite you in the back door offering a glass of ice tea or lemonade. Inside the back door, a window air conditioner cools the kitchen, another thought provoking anomaly. The occupants, Mike and Cede Smith, along with their son, Shaun are facing a raging battle. The real war, you’ll discover, has more to do with honor and honesty, traits instilled in the Smiths for generations, than it does the court battle that has already robbed the family of seven years of their lives and mocked the unalienable rights of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness promised by our fore-fathers. The father-honoring character of three generations of Smiths is being challenged in an unimaginable way as Father’s Day draws near.

This Father’s Day four Smith men, spanning three generations, will contend for the Smith name, their character, and their liberty. Federal agents were the culprits who invaded Vernon Smith’s home four years ago. Vernon & Juanita Smith are the legal owners of both houses and the 28 acres of land, yet the search warrant had someone else's name.



Did they ask for identification? Did they verify the owner of the property? A signed statement by the Postal Inspector assured the warrant issuing judge of accurate information. But was it? A trip to the court house convinces us otherwise. Is anyone concerned that they, Vernon and Juanita, committed no crimes? Does the government have a right to seize an innocent couple's assets and include them as part of the plea deal for someone else? It's unimaginable but it's happening here right before our eyes in Kentucky. How can things like this be happening? When will it stop? Who will stand up against the injustice?

Do you believe it? Do you need more evidence?

Statement 
Of
 Nadine Strossen, President, 
American Civil Liberties Union 
On
 The Civil Asset Forfeiture Reform Act
 before The
 Committee on the Judiciary 
Of  The 
United States House of Representatives
 June 11, 1997

http://www.aclu.org/drug-law-reform/nadine-strossens-congressional-testimony-civil-asset-forfeiture-reform

 Will you lift your voice with us? Post your comments and pass this story on.

Do you know someone or some organization that we need to contact? Do you know someone fighting a similar battle? Please let us know. We will continue to tell the Smith's story until they RESTORE IT ALL! Otherwise, the American Dream may become the American Scream.

I'm asking you to forward this link to a minimum of twenty people on your address list. In three days, most people in The United States of America will have the message.  

This is more frightening than the 9/11 attacks where 3000 lives were lost on one day compared 5000 lives ruined every day through asset forfeiture. Which is more heinous? Does that make you want to scream? It should.  Join us in making a mighty noise across this land, "RESTORE IT ALL!"