Civil Liberties

Brickbat: Have a Coke and a Smile

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Melissa Jones, 17, and a friend stopped at Liverpool, England, store to buy some Coca-Cola. That's where they were attacked by another customer who was drunk and angry that the store refused to serve her. But when the police arrived, they arrested Jones for being drunk and disorderly, even though she hadn't had a drink. When she refused to accept her guilt and pay a fine, they took her to jail, fingerprinted her and took a DNA sample. She stayed in jail 10 hours. It took eight months and one court appearance for authorities to drop the charge.