Convictions against 3 activists in Y-12 break-in overturned

[G_j]

http://www.knoxnews.com/news/local-news/sabotage-convictions-overturned-against-3-activists-in-y-12-break-in

Sabotage convictions against 3 activists in Y-12 break-in overturned
TRAVIS LOLLER, Associated Press
12:36 PM, May 8, 2015

NASHVILLE — An appeals court has overturned the sabotage convictions of an 85-year-old nun and two fellow peace activists who broke into a facility storing much of this country's bomb-grade uranium and painted slogans and splashed blood on the walls.

In a 2-1 opinion issued on Friday, a panel of the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals overturned the most serious conviction against Sister Megan Rice, 66-year-old Michael Walli and 59-year-old Greg Boertje-Obed. The court upheld a conviction for injuring government property.

On July 28, 2012, the activists cut through several fences at the Y-12 National Security Complex in Oak Ridge to reach the uranium storage bunker. Once there, they hung banners, prayed and hammered on the outside wall of the bunker to symbolize a Bible passage that refers to the end of war: "They will beat their swords into ploughshares."

At issue was whether the nonviolent protest injured national security. The majority opinion of the appeals court found that it did not.

"If a defendant blew up a building used to manufacture components for nuclear weapons ... the government surely could demonstrate an adverse effect on the nation's ability to attack or defend. ... But vague platitudes about a facility's 'crucial role in the national defense' are not enough to convict a defendant of sabotage," the opinion says.

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[chillfactor]

1. about time! n/t

[okaawhatever]

2. Good. They overcharged in that case. nt