Imprisoned SOA protesters get early
release
By TERESA MALCOLM
NCR Staff
Four activists serving prison time gained early releases in
September when a federal appeals court ruled that their sentences for
convictions stemming from two 1997 protests at the School of the Americas
should be served concurrently.
The four were serving sentences ranging from eight to 12 months
for their roles at a Sept. 29, 1997, demonstration at Fort Benning, Ga. They
were convicted of destruction of property with malicious intent after they
vandalized a sign at the School of the Americas. They also received sentences
of six months for trespassing during the annual protest at the school in
November 1997.
They were ordered to serve the sentences consecutively.
The Sept. 2 decision by the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals ordered
that the defendants be resentenced to concurrent sentences because the two
actions were part of a common scheme.
They occurred during the same autumn, the court wrote.
They both consisted of nonviolent but intentionally disruptive and
destructive protest against the School of the Americas. The offenses likewise
shared a common purpose, which was to express, in a format appetizing to a
sensationalist press, the defendants displeasure at the existence of the
school.
At the time of the appeals court ruling, the four had served
nearly 12 months in prison. Mary Trotochaud, 49, was released Sept. 10. Ed
Kinane, 55, and Sister of St. Francis Marge Eilerman, 62, were released Sept.
13. Jesuit Fr. Bill Bichsel, 71, is expected to be released Sept. 27 at the end
of his 12-month sentence.
Peter Thompson, a lawyer who has defended protesters from SOA
Watch for 10 years, said it was significant that the court had gone beyond what
he had asked it. I asked that they remand the case to Judge [Robert]
Elliott for resentencing, he said. Instead of remanding it they
imposed the exact sentence that I wanted them to impose.
I dont know if it was unwitting or they were moved by
some unseen spirit or what, but they did a wonderful thing both for the
movement and these four individuals, Thompson said.
The case will go back to Elliotts court in Columbus, Ga., to
receive the resentencing ordered by the appeals court. Elliott has had a
history of imposing maximum sentences on School of the Americas protesters.
The appeals court also ruled that the destruction of the sign at
the School of the Americas was a misdemeanor, rather than a felony, and asked
the district court to correct the problem at resentencing.
Two other points in the appeal were denied. The court disagreed
with Bichsels argument that he was a minor participant in the September
1997 protest and therefore should have his offense level reduced. All four
defendants claimed to be indigent and unable to pay fines. However, the appeals
court ruled that each has either a small, reliable income or the possibility of
making one, and determined that the defendants could pay a fine in
installments.
National Catholic Reporter, September 24,
1999
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