

84-Year Old Nun sent to prison for 3 years for peace protest at US nuclear site - ck2
http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/USA-Update/2014/0218/Activist-nun-gets-35-month-prison-sentence-for-antinuclear-peace-protest

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thrill
They were not sent to prison for a peace protest. They were sent to prison for
breaking into a nuclear facility by cutting through three fences, bypassing
armed guards, and ignoring signs about the restrictions.

~~~
ergoproxy
The nun was convicted under the 1918 Federal Sabotage Act as amended by the
2001 PATRIOT act. Those laws were designed to deal with saboteurs, spies, and
bomb making terrorists. See 18 U.S. Code § 2155 - Destruction of national-
defense materials, national-defense premises, or national-defense utilities,
at
[http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/18/2155](http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/18/2155)

Note there must be "intent to injure, interfere with, or obstruct the national
defense of the United States." I don't think this nun's intention was injury,
interference or obstruction. Her actions were highly symbolic: Splashing human
blood, spray painting a Biblical verse, and defacing a building.

In any case, there is no "right to protest." The first amendment only
guarantees free speech, press, assembly, and petition for grievances. And even
these "freedoms" are quite limited. OWS got tear gassed, billy clubbed and
shot in the face with teargas canisters and rubber bullets for trying to
exercise them.

Christians have been willing to suffer this kind of persecution, go to jail,
and even die for their beliefs, ever since Jesus set the example for them.

Tougher laws and harsher sentences doesn't stop protest. The protests raging
in Kiev right now were started by a new, tough anti-protest law.

In my opinion, the nun should have been charged with trespassing, tampering
and vandalism (36 CFR 1002.31). _Overcharging_ with sabotage and terrorism
really just shows prosecutorial vindictiveness. Just laws and punishments are
_proportional_ to the crime.

> bypassing armed guards

Sounds like the guards should lose their jobs. The security contractor should
lose their contract, and maybe pay the taxpayers back whatever they were paid.
They clearly failed their mission in every conceivable way. What if this had
been a real terrorist instead of an 84-year old nun with a can of spraypaint,
some blood and a hammer?

~~~
gcb0
If the law was so badly applied, why no news outlet ever mention the judge
name or defense attorney? It is clearly a case of incompetence or negligence.

~~~
ergoproxy
News coverage tends to be topical, sensational, and lazy.

There's tons of detailed information about this case on this website:
[http://transformnowplowshares.wordpress.com/](http://transformnowplowshares.wordpress.com/)

That website includes PDFs of all the legal motions, memos, declarations and
arguments made in the case:
[http://transformnowplowshares.wordpress.com/legal-
arguments/](http://transformnowplowshares.wordpress.com/legal-arguments/)

Reviewing these documents, we see that the 3 defendants were initially
indicted for "malicious mischief" on 7-Aug-2012, under 18 U.S. Code § 1363.
But a superceding indictment filed on 4-Dec-2012 upgraded the charges to
"sabotage" under 18 U.S. Code § 2155.

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gcb0
" apparently strolling into what was previously thought to be one of the most
tightly guarded uranium processing plants in the US."

White hat nun?

