The Heather Ellis Case

The Heather Ellis Case
This has to be one of the most bizarre cases I have read in a few years. Heather Ellis is an honor student at Xavier University in Louisiana. While home on winter break she and her 15 cousin go to the local Wal-Mart and each choose a separate line for checkout. The idea behind this was whoever got to the cashier first the other would hop in line. Well the associates at Wal-Mart claimed that Heather had cut the line and the cops were called. When the officer arrived he placed Heather under arrest. The odd thing is the cop release Heather without charging her with a crime the following month she was charged with a misdemeanor, disturbing the peace. The initial charges were dropped in December; however, in January 2008, new charges, including two felony counts for assaulting a police officer were filed and a warrant for Heather arrest was issued.
We see how a small situation can be blown out of proportion. We have an officer who released Heather then the state decides to pick up the charges. Then Heather has to wait three years to go to trial. Any reasonable DA would have looked at this case and weighed the facts. The facts are Heather has never been in trouble, she is attending college. What type of threat does she pose to society? The answer is none. Here we have an example of a prosecutor who is over zealous. This is a great example of social control. We have powerful man in a position of authority dictating the future of smaller people.