Judge refuses to drop sabotage charges.
VFP Chapter 80 is asking for your help. July, 2012 three patriots, Greg Boertje-Obed, a member of VFP Chapter 80, Michael Walli, a Vietnam veteran, and Megan Rice, an 82 year old Catholic nun, entered the nuclear weapons factory in Oak Ridge, Tennessee to protest the production of nuclear weapons. They have been convicted of felony charges for sabotage and destruction of property. They are incarcerated. Sentencing has been delayed until January 28. They face years in prison. You can help by sending a letter to the Federal Judge to support a reasonable, lenient sentence that fit’s the actual offenses committed. A copy-and-paste letter is below. Learn about Transform Plowshares Now at http://transformnowplowshares.wordpress.com
Send your letter to:
US District Judge Amul R Thapar
c/o Professor Bill Quigley
Loyola Law Clinic and Center for Social Justice
7214 St. Charles Avenue
Campus Box 902
New Orleans, LA 70118
Suggested Letter
Date
The Honorable Amul R. Thapar
United States District Judge
US District Court, Eastern District of Kentucky
35 W. Fifth Street
Covington, KY 41011
Dear Judge Thapar,
I write to you in concern for the Transform Now Plowshares Greg Boertje-Obed, Sister Megan Rice, and Michael Walli, who, as you heard at trial, committed an act of nonviolent civil disobedience intended to awaken the conscience of the nation, with no evidence of intent to harm anyone. I am deeply disturbed that the government insists on describing the crimes of which they were convicted as violent “terrorism”. I share your frustration that Congress would write a law which does not allow you to distinguish between peace activists and terrorists.
The three acted with a clear understanding of the illegality and immorality of nuclear weapons, and their citizen responsibilities under the Nuremberg Principles to uphold the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT). The NPT is constitutionally part of the supreme law of the land, and it requires every nuclear nation to completely dismantle their nuclear arsenals.
I urge you to consider downward departure from the high sentencing guidelines for the charges of which the three were convicted. Please use your judicial discretion to bring more justice to this situation. Recognize the three are NOT violent terrorists. They are nonviolent activists who followed the words of the prophet Isaiah to beat swords into plowshares, and to build a safer, more secure world for us all.
Sincerely,
You name