$11 Million Awarded in Funeral Protest Suit

The Washington Post:
A federal jury in Baltimore awarded nearly $11 million in damages yesterday to the family of a Marine from Maryland whose funeral was disrupted by members of a Kansas-based fundamentalist church. Fred Phelps, pastor of the Topeka-based Westboro Baptist Church, scoffed at the jury and the award. "It was a bunch of silly heads passing judgment on God," he said. "I don't believe anyone in the courtroom knows what the First Amendment is. Religious views are expressly protected by the First Amendment. You can't prosecute a preacher in civil law or in criminal law for what he preaches."

Posted by Editor at November 1, 2007 12:16 AM