6th Circuit nixes nun's sabotage conviction over nuclear plant protest
A divided federal appeals court panel has overturned the sabotage convictions of an 85-year-old nun and two others who protested in 2012 at a Tennessee nuclear plant.
“On appeal, the defendants argue that, as a matter of law, they lacked the intent necessary to violate the Sabotage Act. We agree; and thus we reverse their sabotage convictions and remand for resentencing,” the Cincinnati-based 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said in its 2-1 Friday opinion (PDF).
Although the 6th Circuit let stand other convictions of Sister Megan Rice; Greg Boertje-Obed, 59; and Michael Walli, 66, the sabotage charges were the most serious. Hence, Rice, who is serving a 35-month sentence, and the others could soon be released, NPR reports.
“We felt from the moment we got this case that it was not properly charged,” Orrick attorney Marc Shapiro, who represented the defendants pro bono, told the station. “That although whatever one might say about their trespass or destruction of property that clearly their intent was not to injure the national defense.”
The case centered on an embarrassing security breach at a plant involved in the production of nuclear weapons.: As the majority explains, Rice and the two men, both U.S. Army veterans, cut through multiple layers of fencing and reached a building where the feds store enriched uranium. There they hung banners, painted antiwar slogans, sang hymns and awaited the eventual arrival of a security guard. Total damage amounted to about $8,000.
The dissenting judge agreed with the majority that “creating bad publicity for the government is not chargeable as ‘obstruction’ or ‘interference’ under the Sabotage Act.” However, Judge Danny Boggs said enough had been proven to uphold the convictions.
“Because invading a facility involved in the production of nuclear weapons, with the intent of stopping ‘all the criminal activities,’ even if the possibility of achieving that objective is quite minimal, is a crime, and the jury so found,” he wrote. “I would affirm the convictions and I therefore respectfully dissent.”
The Department of Justice has not decided whether to seek an en banc ruling by the full 6th Circuit.
Hat tip: Huffington Post.
Related coverage:
ABAJournal.com: “83-year-old nun, two other protesters are convicted in security breach at nuclear weapons facility”
