PHILADELPHIA -- As friends and relatives wept, two Amish men were sentenced to one-year jail terms for buying cocaine from a motorcycle gang and selling it to young people in their community.
Abner Stoltzfus, 25, and Abner King Stoltzfus, 24, who are not related, were sentenced Wednesday as nearly 200 Amish packed the courtroom and hallway outside. All were clad in traditional Amish dress -- women in dark smocks and white bonnets, men in suspenders and straw hats. As the sentences were read, many cried or buried their faces in their hands.The two men are members of the Old Order Amish, the most conservative Anabaptist sect. They eschew automobiles, electricity, computers, fancy clothes and most other modern conveniences.
Both men apologized to the judge and said they have turned their lives around since their arrest in June 1998, returning to their religious roots and spreading the word in the Amish community about the dangers of drugs.
"When I was a teenager I got with the wrong crowd. I've changed my life around (and) gave my heart and soul to God," Abner Stoltzfus said. "I apologize deep from the bottom of my heart."
A sobbing Abner King Stoltzfus said only a few words before he was overcome with emotion. "We lived a terrible life for a while. We want to try to be better," he said.
U.S. District Judge Clarence Newcomer said he appreciated the men's cooperation with investigators, but he said he had to send a message about the severity of the men's actions.