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Six peace activists refuse sentence
Hey?! I didn't know you can do that? Does this work with parking tickets?Six peace activists convicted of trespassing on a US military facility have refused to comply with their sentence and will face possible imprisonment. A hearing is scheduled for next week. The antiwar protesters, members of the so-called ''PeaceChain 18,'' barricaded the entrance to the US Army Soldier Systems Center in Natick on March 20 to oppose the war in Iraq. Are you not blinded by our goodness and nobility?! Well, we are! At their trial last month in Natick District Court, Judge Sarah B. Singer ordered all 18 to pay $50 or perform 10 hours of community service. The maximum sentence for trespassing is 30 days in jail and a $100 fine. At their daylong trial, Singer expressed sympathy with the activists and allowed extensive criticism of US foreign policy and alleged war crimes. During sentencing, however, she said she was obligated to hand down a punishment.''America is a country of laws,'' she said. ''I simply cannot ignore the Supreme Judicial Court.'' ...as much as I would like to. As the court deadline approached yesterday, six activists vowed to disobey her order. Lewis Randa, director of the Sherborn-based Peace Abbey, which organized the protest, said antiwar demonstrations were a public service and participants should not be compelled to perform additional duties. Well, isn't Lewis a pompous lefty douchebag... Obstructing the front gate of the military facility, known locally as Natick Labs, helped publicize an unjust war, he said in an interview outside the court. Accepting the sentence, he added, would undermine that message.''By doing so, it would be tantamount to saying that what we did in front of the gates was not community service,'' he said. It wasn't. It was a crime. Enjoy your time inside, Louie. Teach the inmates to sing Kumbaya. Maybe they can teach you something in return... Sharing fresh bread in the court parking lot yesterday, the activists said they were prepared for incarceration. Between prayers and legal strategy, they discussed their tolerance for jail, visiting hours, and the possibility of vigils. Oooooooooh! Vigils! Who do they think they are, Mumia and Friends? At a hearing before Judge Paul Healy, the activists rejected their original sentence.''I can't in conscience pay the money or do the community service,'' said Thomas Lewis, 63, of Worcester, who said he had served three years in a Pennsylvania penitentiary for destroying draft records during the Vietnam War. ''I welcome jail.'' Tommy gets another "standing up to the man" war story. Some kids never grow up. Healy declined to sentence the activists, instead referring the case to Singer. The activists will next appear in court on June 26. In addition to the trespass offense, the six face possible contempt of court charges, said Peter T. Elikann, a Boston criminal attorney and the vice chairman of the state Bar Association's individual rights and responsibilities section. The charges could result in up to 60 days in jail, he said. ''It is obviously against the law not to comply with the judge's order,'' Elikann said in an interview. ''[She] can certainly enforce a harsher punishment.'' This is Massachusetts. She'll probably have them over for dinner. Three activists have paid the fine and nine others performed community service, including five who pulled weeds and pruned flowers at a public garden in downtown Natick. Dorothy Walsh, 61, of Dedham, said the gardening complemented the message behind the initial protest.''The bombs of war destroy not only people,'' she said, ''but they destroy the earth.'' Old hippies never die, they just go to protests, get sentenced to community service, and wait for the next dimwit cause to come along. Beats working for a living. Posted by: tu3031 2003-06-23 |
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