If you have not been following the story, Popcorn Sutton is a moonshiner from Haywood County (my part of the state). He was recently convicted for running a large (and illegal) moonshine operating and sentenced to 18 months in prison. Rather than go to jail, he took his own life yesterday. Its very sad. Me and my wife have a bit of his stuff. So we shared two moonshine cherries in honor of his memory. Here is the news article:

Quote :

"PARROTTSVILLE, Tenn. – Legendary Haywood County moonshiner Marvin “Popcorn” Sutton took his own life because he couldn’t stand the thought of going to prison, his wife said today. Pam Sutton said she found her husband Monday afternoon dead of carbon monoxide poisoning outside their home in Cocke County, Tenn. “He got his letter to report Friday, and he just couldn’t handle it,” she said. “We tried everything we could to leave him on house arrest, and they wouldn’t do it. So I thank the federal court for this."

http://www.citizen-times.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2009903170333

Anyone want to let it rip on whether Popcorn should have been convicted at all??? Who is the victim of the crime he was committing???

Let me just note (for those that may not know) it certainly isn't like he's been doing this in secret. He wrote a book on the subject and appeared on the history channel showing off how he made his liquor. So why arrest and convict now? And why sentence him to 18 months (a pretty damn long time considering he was in bad health anyways)?? Who was he hurting?



[Edited on March 17, 2009 at 2:32 PM. Reason : ``]

3/17/2009 2:28:36 PM

lol, I guess your thread was first...

other popcorn thread: message_topic.aspx?topic=561357
other moonshine thread: message_topic.aspx?topic=559104


From the book "Daddy Moonshine - The Story of Marvin 'Popcorn' Sutton":

Quote :

"Have you ever wondered what the best way to get an amphibian wasted is? Popcorn has the answer. He asks: ‘Do you know how to make a frog drunk? I bet you don't. But I do. I fired my pot up one morning and got it going real good. It had just started running high shots. That is what you call it when it first starts to come out. For so many jugs, then it turns to backins. Anyway here come hopping up to the still a damn big frog. I thought to myself ol' boy I'll make you drunk as hell. I had heard all my life that a frog will absorb things through its skin. So I got me a can lid and caught me some of that high shots and I dropped it slowly on the old frogs back. Real soon its throat started to swell up and then all at once that frog started singing like hell. When he stopped singing he flopped over in the leaves and didn't move till I got done running that likker. I guess he passed out. Anyway when I come back the next morning to sweeten it back he was not there. I guess one good damn drunk taught him a lesson.’"

Quote :

"Authorities who searched his home and a storage unit in Maggie Valley, N.C., said they found just under 1,700 gallons of moonshine, three stills capable of producing up to a thousand gallons of alcohol and large supplies of moonshine ingredients. They also found firearms and ammunition."

Quote :

"Who is the victim of the crime he was committing?....Who was he hurting?"

For real. This is a sad day.

3/17/2009 2:41:30 PM

Guy on my hall in Tucker Freshman year was from Haywood Co. and used to bring back moonshine for everyone on the hall.

I miss those days and Im sure Popcorn will be missed as well

3/17/2009 2:42:15 PM

1.) This is sad, obviously, but
2.) He didn't have to kill himself. You can't blame the courts for that
3.) Weapons charges. He wasn't just making shine.

Still, sad.

3/17/2009 2:52:05 PM

weapons charges my ass

sounds trumped up

(probably had a shotgun)

3/17/2009 2:59:03 PM

Quote :

"Weapons charges. He wasn't just making shine."

A moonshiner ain't worth a shit if he ain't got a way to keep the revenuers away!

3/17/2009 2:59:30 PM

Quote :

"weapons charges my ass sounds trumped up (probably had a shotgun)"

dude had weapons hidden all over his place

there was a video on youtube for a while of him showing off all his hiding places beofre it got taken down

3/17/2009 3:01:47 PM

*shrug*

so does everyone else in Haywood County

3/17/2009 3:02:30 PM

Moral of the story. Don't get in the way of the government and "their" money.

3/17/2009 3:17:30 PM

Terd- you from Haywood County too?

3/17/2009 3:22:06 PM

3/17/2009 3:40:42 PM

Seems like a cool old dude, and if he'd just been runnin' shine, I'd say he probably should have been left alone... but he had a stockpile of (probably unregistered) firearms.

3/17/2009 3:46:24 PM

^^ that's fucking awesome....

i have some friends up in Boone who have a still that they make a couple gallons a month from. They brought some raspberry-flavored moonshine to a wedding I went to last year. Shit will knock you on your ass


is this who caught 'em?


[Edited on March 17, 2009 at 3:49 PM. Reason : .]

3/17/2009 3:46:29 PM

Quote :

"dude had weapons hidden all over his place there was a video on youtube for a while of him showing off all his hiding places beofre it got taken down"

...and?

3/17/2009 3:49:05 PM

*so,* he was responding to this

Quote :

"weapons charges my ass sounds trumped up (probably had a shotgun)"

3/17/2009 3:52:55 PM

well, if it was mainly the weapons charges the feds should have to answer. firearms laws are unconstitutional.

3/17/2009 3:54:38 PM

3/17/2009 4:15:25 PM

all part of the regime change I suppose. Slap some harsh sentences on easy prey so it appears things are being done...

meanwhile the economy is still in the shitter.

3/17/2009 4:18:27 PM

Whatever dude, anyone with a stockpile of unregistered firearms needs to have something done, and my understanding is he'd been warned before.

3/17/2009 4:27:11 PM

I'd have to say that someone with a stockpile of unregistered firearms in the middle of the fucking Appalachian mountains really doesn't bother me.

In fact, people who feel bothered by that bother me far more than fucking hillbillies with unregistered guns. Note that the hillbilly does not want to impose anything on my life, while the gun control freak does.

3/17/2009 4:45:04 PM

My husband's 82 year old grandmother has enough unregistered weapons to arm her own milita .

3/17/2009 5:51:36 PM

I'm confused how a registered firearm is going to protect you against the government or the impending Apocalypse anyway...

3/17/2009 5:56:25 PM

Quote :

"Terd- you from Haywood County too? "

no, but a kid lived on my freshman hall in the dorms and was from Maggie Valley. I remember his stories about Popcorn and his Model A Ford, etc . . . . but I mostly remember the Shine he brought back, really my first experience with moonshine

3/17/2009 6:42:53 PM

Quote :

"so does everyone else in Haywood County"

Quote :

"...and?"

popcorn could have built his house out of loaded remingtons and shot them off every hour on the hour for all i care... it doesn't bother me

the point was he was on youtube talkin about how if the man tried to storm his house, he had it covered... so of course the heads back at phallic city headquarters can't have that on their watch

Quote :

"all part of the regime change I suppose. Slap some harsh sentences on easy prey so it appears things are being done..."

popcorn had been on the ATF's radar for a while now with the and of course the biggest beef Uncle Sam has with these people is tax evasion... the firearms part is for sensationalism's sake... but you're right... he definitely was easy prey, due to his high profile... he's all over the UNC-TV PBS documentaries about Appalachian dialect and life that Dr. Walt Wolfram makes

but honestly... regime change?

you guys know the feds chasing after white lightning has been going on since before prohibition... hell, it's a good chance if it wasn't for runners, nascar never would have been invented

btw

here's an excerpt from dr. wolfram's special featuring popcorn if anyone's interested



[Edited on March 17, 2009 at 6:45 PM. Reason : mountain talk]

3/17/2009 6:44:36 PM

Quote :

" Who is the victim of the crime he was committing???"

Idiots who think that moonshine is just like the liquor at the ABC store and not something dangerous to drink.

You can figure out for yourself whether or not you think that's a problem, or just natural selection at work.

3/17/2009 7:16:10 PM

ya seriously... I saw a video of this guy making it and I went from wanting to try moonshine to NEVER wanting to ever get near the shit... Seriously, he had a rubber garden hose and all kinds of nasty shit that he was running that alcohol through.... God only knows what kind of chemicals and metals were leaching into that liquor

3/17/2009 8:02:33 PM

^^ We ingest all sorts of shit on a daily basis that'll kill us. If a few people want to enjoy the process of slowly killing themselves, so be it. I do it with tobacco, some do it with moonshine, some do it by excessively high levels of stress.

:shrug:

[Edited on March 17, 2009 at 8:10 PM. Reason : ^^^ Excellent post.]

3/17/2009 8:06:32 PM

i'm not saying that moonshine should be illegal, just that its obviously loaded with chemical toxins

3/17/2009 8:12:10 PM

I don't get all this talk about unregistered firearms. In America it is not legal for the government to register firearms. Clinton and Reno tried a backdoor registration by illegally holding on to background check info. too long, but were ordered to destroy the records as required by law. Also, not all moonshine has chemical toxins. When made properly, it is pretty much the same way as commercial whisky that is made with pot stills.

3/17/2009 8:24:05 PM

You guys are hilarious

add "moonshining" to the laws that The Soap Box thinks its ok to break

honestly, just because the guys puts videos online and writes books doesn't make it legal

just like having a fancy expensive sportbike and a few years under yer belt doesn't make it legal to drive 120 mph (ever, anywhere)

you guys are hilarious

3/17/2009 8:34:14 PM

the only reason moonshine is illegal is that the greedy politicians aren't getting tax money off of it. That being said, I don't drink it. If I'm too broke to buy good liquor I'll quit drinking.

3/17/2009 8:40:48 PM

Quote :

"all part of the regime change I suppose"

Also hilarious

3/17/2009 8:40:51 PM

Quote :

"I don't get all this talk about unregistered firearms."

It has anything to do with registration. He was a convicted felon.

[Edited on March 17, 2009 at 8:45 PM. Reason : ]

3/17/2009 8:44:10 PM

Quote :

"greedy politicians aren't getting tax money off of it"

I know, right? Same thing with the FDA and USDA.

fucking greedy politicians with their "safety regulations" and "reasonable taxation for interstate commerce"

3/17/2009 8:54:00 PM

nevermind, my point was already covered.

[Edited on March 17, 2009 at 8:57 PM. Reason : ]

3/17/2009 8:55:49 PM

Quote :

"FYI, There IS NO REGISTRATION of firearms in NC. "

How about Tennessee?

3/17/2009 8:58:17 PM

There is also no registration in TN.

http://www.bradycampaign.org/legislation/state/viewstate.php?st=tn

Brady gives TN a score of 7/100.

Hell, you don't even need a permit to buy a pistol there.

[Edited on March 17, 2009 at 9:02 PM. Reason : ]

3/17/2009 9:00:56 PM

My liver was one of Popcorn's victims, but it refused to press charges.

3/17/2009 9:43:33 PM

Yup, the weapons charges are probably trumped up. The worst he could have had was a sawn-off shotgun.

3/17/2009 10:07:20 PM

Quote :

"You guys are hilarious add "moonshining" to the laws that The Soap Box thinks its ok to break honestly, just because the guys puts videos online and writes books doesn't make it legal"

who said it was ok to break the law?

I'm fairly certain folks were using this as another example of how the legal/law enforcement system is failing us.
How much of our tax dollars was wasted on this?
What good came out of investigating and prosecuting him?
How do moonshining laws benefit society?

3/17/2009 10:07:42 PM

Quote :

"Yup, the weapons charges are probably trumped up. The worst he could have had was a sawn-off shotgun."

As mentioned in the thread, the dude probably had a shit ton of guns. I don't have a problem with that. But he was convicted of

Quote :

"possessing a .380-caliber semi-automatic pistol and a .38-caliber revolver"

Which is all well and good if you aren't a convicted felon.

3/17/2009 10:11:13 PM

Quote :

"How do moonshining laws benefit society?"

They make sure that the government get its fair share of course.

3/17/2009 10:21:34 PM

Gov't leaders can sleep well tonight, another liberty-loving relic from the past is out of the way.

3/17/2009 10:23:51 PM

good god, guys..... you'd think he died on a cross

3/17/2009 10:27:58 PM

Quote :

"i'm not saying that moonshine should be illegal, just that its obviously loaded with chemical toxins"

You prolly don't know what is in half of the food you eat.

3/17/2009 10:30:21 PM

Quote :

"How do moonshining laws benefit society?"

how do restaurant inspections benefit society? how does the FDA requiring drugs be tested before going to market benefit society

honestly, i thought this would be a cut and dry one; but i guess you people are so blinded by TAX TAX TAX that you can't even consider why moonshining is illegal

Quote :

"What good came out of investigating and prosecuting him?"

one less criminal on the streets if you ask me
so what if he's charming and historic
he makes a living off of an illegal act right?

Quote :

"How much of our tax dollars was wasted on this?"

yeah i hate when the people i pay to do something actually do it

there are a lot of charming pot dealers out there, and someday maybe pot will be legal

but until then, those charming motherfuckers are breaking the law

3/17/2009 10:31:05 PM

Quote :

"how does the FDA requiring drugs be tested before going to market benefit society "

The FDA is responsible for thousands of preventable deaths by keeping life-saving drugs off the market (remember propranolol?).

Quote :

"those charming motherfuckers are breaking the law"

Of course this feeling also applies to those charming illegal aliens too, right?

3/17/2009 10:41:31 PM

Quote :

"The FDA is responsible for thousands of preventable deaths by keeping life-saving drugs off the market (remember propranolol?). "

i wonder how many millions of deaths have been prevented by keeping dangerous drugs off the market.

oh, right - i'm sure "the market" would work all that out. The companies can throw whatever garbage they want to the public, and when enough people die, it won't be yanked from the shelves, but people will just stop buying and refuse prescriptions from their doctors. yeah?

3/17/2009 10:44:03 PM

Quote :

"Of course this feeling also applies to those charming illegal aliens too, right?"

i mean

yes?

i honestly fail to see your point

3/17/2009 10:51:19 PM

Quote :

"Whatever dude, anyone with a stockpile of unregistered firearms needs to have something done"

I have unregistered firearms. Almost all firearms are registered. There's nothing illegal about it. I don't know what the situation is with this guy, but having unregistered firearms in general is by far the norm.

Quote :

"You guys are hilarious add "moonshining" to the laws that The Soap Box thinks its ok to break honestly, just because the guys puts videos online and writes books doesn't make it legal just like having a fancy expensive sportbike and a few years under yer belt doesn't make it legal to drive 120 mph (ever, anywhere) "

Who said anything about it being legal? Who said anything about speeding being legal? I went through this with you in the other thread, but I guess you still aren't getting it.

Quote :

"Hell, you don't even need a permit to buy a pistol there. "

Yep, same with VA.

Quote :

"how do restaurant inspections benefit society? how does the FDA requiring drugs be tested before going to market benefit society "

That isn't really a perfect analogy. Making, possessing, and consuming moonshine are all 100% legal. The government isn't concerned about it from a health perspective. It's illegal to SELL it...in other words, it's a money issue.

Now, granted, they might impose health-related regulations on it IOT sell it. I don't know what sort of regs distilleries are subject to. I do know that they have to pay taxes on it, and I suspect that it wouldn't be rocket surgery for a moonshiner (especially one with a sizeable operation) to comply with health regulations, if there are any. I mean, most of the big ones run all stainless steel and stuff, anyway...these guys aren't cooking up stuff in the bathtub.

Again, it's a $$$ issue. Other drugs are illegal to possess, use, grow, produce, etc. This one is just a case of the gov't getting pissed at not getting their cut. It's essentially tax evasion. If you want to get pissed at it for that reason, go for it, but let's frame the issue for what it is.



I almost get the sense that when people argue that a certain law is unjust and/or stupid, your counterpoint is that "it isn't stupid or unjust--it's the law."

I mean, just like the speeding thing--I'm not arguing that it isn't illegal. I'm not saying that I don't fully expect to have to pay up when I get caught. I'm saying that I don't care, and I'm not going to stop, and it doesn't make any difference, and it's a stupid, unjust law, and I just look at it as the fast driving tax and carry on with my business.

[Edited on March 17, 2009 at 11:53 PM. Reason : asfd]

3/17/2009 11:50:25 PM