Nuclear weapons facility protest sends nun, two activists to prison" by Patrick O'Neill, NCR Feb. 19, 2014

http://ncronline.org/news/peace-justice/nuclear-weapons-facility-protest-sends-nun-two-activists-prison


KNOXVILLE, TENN.Knoxville, Tenn.

Three Catholic anti-war activists, including an 84-year-old nun, were
sentenced to federal prison terms Tuesday following their convictions
of sabotage and destruction of government property in a case that
garnered international media attention after they broke into the Y-12
National Security Complex in Oak Ridge, Tenn., near Knoxville...


...In her presentencing statement, Rice told Thapar: "We have to speak,
and we're happy to die for that. To remain in prison for the rest of
my life is the greatest honor that you could give to me. Please don't
be lenient with me. It would be an honor for that to happen."

Still, Thapar, citing "all the good work that Sr. Rice has
accomplished," sentenced Rice to 35 months in prison, less than the
70- to 87-month recommendation of the U.S. attorney in the case.

"I know you want a life sentence," Thapar said, adding that he would
not honor her request. "I have confidence you will be living well past
any sentence I give you."

Throughout the hearing, Thapar aired his misgivings with the long
prison terms the government requested. "Is 70 months really
necessary?" Thapar asked the prosecutor regarding Rice's guidelines.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Jeffrey E. Theodore, who is Catholic, told
Thapar the defendants should be sentenced within the federal
guidelines because they were "incorrigible, habitual offenders."

Citing their long criminal records and his judicial duty to deter such
behavior, Thapar gave Boertje-Obed and Walli 62 months each, also far
below the federal guidelines, which called for 92 to 115 months for
Walli and 78 to 97 months for Boertje-Obed. The trio was also ordered
to serve three years of supervised probation following release and to
pay $53,953 in restitution charges.

In his presentencing statement, Walli said his actions at Y-12 did not
constitute a violation of law, but rather his obedience to God's law.
"I am a citizen of heaven," Walli said. "We engaged in our lawful,
missionary work at Y-12. ... I committed no crime. I have no remorse."

In his presentencing statement, Boertje-Obed read some of the words
from a speech Martin Luther King Jr. delivered April 4, 1967, at New
York's Riverside Church, when King referred to the United States as
"the greatest purveyor of violence in the world." He also said the
actions of the three were designed to "promote respect for the law"
because they were holding the U.S. accountable to international laws
that ban the use of nuclear weapons.

The Plowshares activists, who take their name from Isaiah 2:4 ("They
shall beat their swords into plowshares; their spears into pruning
hooks. One nation will not lift sword against another, nor shall they
train for war anymore"), said they were following these international
laws when they gained access to Y-12's Highly Enriched Uranium
Materials Facility, which contains a stockpile of weapons-grade
uranium. Once inside the facility, the three chipped the building's
structure with hammers and sprayed "biblical graffiti" before lighting
candles and awaiting arrest...

Facing more than five years apart from her husband, Naar-Obed told
NCR: "We will figure out how to keep our lives together. That's what
our marriage was based on, and whether we're apart physically, we'll
find a way to stay together."

Before Rice sat down at the end of her remarks, she asked Thapar, "May
I end with a song to lighten the moment?"

"You may," Thapar answered, and Rice turned to the gallery of her
supporters and conducted as they sang, "Sacred the land. Sacred the
water ... all reflect God, who is good."

[Patrick O'Neill, a freelance writer from Raleigh, N.C., is a longtime
contributor to NCR and member of Garner NC CW'er. For more info
contact: Patrick O'Neill, Garner Catholic Worker House,124 Perdue St.,
Garner, NC 27529 ph: 919 779 1912 e-mail
pmtoneill(at)aol.com]