CINDY SHEEHAN'S SOAPBOX
MARCH 2, 2014
GUEST: BILL QUIGLEY
TOPIC: CIVIL DISOBEDIENCE AND THE CASE OF
SR. MEGAN RICE, ET. AL.
(From Wikipedia) On July 28, 2012, Rice, at 82 years old, and two fellow activists (Michael R. Walli, 63 years old, and Gregory I. Boertje-Obed, 57 years old) broke into the Y-12 National Security Complex in Oak Ridge, Tennessee, spray-painted antiwar slogans, and splashed fake blood on the outside of the heavily guarded Highly Enriched Uranium Materials Facility.
The three are members of the organization "Transform Now Plowshares", a part of the Plowshares Movement, which references the Book of Isaiah's call to "hammer their swords into plowshares", i.e., convert weapons into peaceful tools. Justifying their infiltration of the Oak Ridge facility, the trio cited both Biblical verses calling for world peace and the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons as justifications. The New York Times reported that nuclear experts called this action "the biggest security breach in the history of the nation's atomic complex." Rice, Walli, and Boertje-Obed were charged with misdemeanor trespass and "destruction and depredation" of government property (a felony) and may face up to a $100,000 fine and up to a year in prison. However they were charged with damaging a defense facility under the sabotage act, a sentence of up to 20 years in prison, and charged with causing more than $1,000 damage to government property, up to 10 years in prison.
On May 9, 2013, the three were convicted. In her testimony Sister Megan said "I regret I didn't do this 70 years ago." Her sentencing was originally scheduled for January 28, 2014, but was postponed to February 18, 2014 due to a snow storm. On February 18, 2014, Rice was sentenced to 35 months in prison, and Walli and Boertje-Obed were each sentenced to 62 months.
CLICK BELOW PLAYER TO LISTEN TO SHOW
Michael, Sr. Megan, and Gregory
 |
| Bill Quigley |
Bill Quigley is a law professor and Director of the Stuart H. Smith Law Clinic and Center for Social Justice and the Gillis Long Poverty Law Center at Loyola University New Orleans. Bill has been an active public interest lawyer since 1977. Bill has served as counsel with a wide range of public interest organizations on issues including human rights, Katrina social justice issues, public housing, voting rights, death penalty, living wage, civil liberties, educational reform, constitutional rights and civil disobedience. Bill served as the Legal Director of the Center for Constitutional Rights for two years and has litigated numerous cases with the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, Inc., the Advancement Project, and with the ACLU of Louisiana, for which he served as General Counsel for 15 years.
 | ||
| CLICK IMAGE TO ORDER |
THANK YOU CINDY, i was in the court room, this is a ugly TRUTH that we are losing more ground everyday, MISSION ACCOMPLISHED, THEY DID IT, MEGAN RICE SHOULD BE THE BIGGEST STORY IN THE LAND, the media that was at the court room cons. of KNOXVILLE LOCAL AND ME, CINDY WE NEED YOU. you friend kevin D blanch
ReplyDelete