Congress to fix law allowing North Geogia suspect to beat ricin rap

If ever there was an open-and-shut case, this appeared to be it.

In February 2017, William Christopher Gibbs showed up in a Fannin County emergency room seeking treatment for exposure to ricin, a powerful toxin derived from castor beans. According to authorities, a search of his car turned up a bottle that tested positive for the substance and federal authorities charged Gibbs, then 27, with illegal possession of a biological agent.

From the look of it, Gibbs seemed destined for federal prison, but last fall Gibb’s federal public defender noticed something. The federal law under which Gibbs had been charged relied on a list embedded in federal regulations of unlawful chemical, viruses and other deadly agents. That list did not include ricin.

Changes to federal law and regulations more than a decade ago created a disconnect and now the law points to the wrong regulation. Gibbs’s public defender discovered the discrepancy and U.S. District Court Judge Richard Story agreed to drop the charges. The prosecution objected, but Story said Congress had “ample opportunity” to correct the error and didn’t.

Read more: https://www.ajc.com/news/crime--law/congress-fix-law-allowing-north-suspect-beat-ricin-rap/fthKYsYt51ITwXCKsvzavM/