(Florida) Earth First Activists given Jail time for February ‘08 civil disobedience action against West County Energy Center.
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Marie Zwicker, West Palm Beach, Fla.
By now some of you may have already heard about the travesty of justice that occurred Tuesday at the sentencing of seven environmental activists in the courtroom of Judge Laura Johnson in West Palm Beach. Shock and disbelief are words which would describe how those of us who were present in the courtroom felt at the sentencing. What was done today, if unchallenged, sets a very dangerous precedent for what activists can expect from some in the "justice" system. This should be of very great concern to all those who believe in and speak out for human rights, social justice, environmental protection, Indigenous sovereignty, labor rights, animal rights, peace, or any of the issues that we hold so dear.
Five activists with no prior record were given up to a year probation and are required to not come any closer than 500' to any FPL facility. All seven activists may be additionally required to pay restitution to the sheriffs' department for the costs incurred by the department for the activists' participation in the demonstration and their ultimate arrest. The judge is taking additional time to consider this. Two others, those who had a prior history of civil disobedience in similar circumstances, ie speaking out in defense of the environment, nothing that involved any form of violence, received much heavier, punitive sentences from the judge.
Panagioti Tsolkas, made an eloquent and impassioned speech about the reasons for the action, the dangers to the environment and to the community by the operation of the West County Energy Center (WCEC), how all legal means had been exhausted and to no avail, that there was really no other choice left to the activists who were trying to prevent a great harm to the environment and the community, and that those who stood by and did nothing in the face of such overwhelming evidence of disastrous climate change and global warming (to be greatly exacerbated by the WCEC) could justly be charged with neglect. Again, the judge would have none of it and challenged his statements and argued with him. She then sentenced him to the same 500' requirement, plus a year's probation and 60 days in jail. It is interesting to note that the D.A. was asking for 30 days jail time. The judge chose to double that.
Both Lynne and Panagioti were taken into handcuffs immediately. A request by the public defenders to allow them to have two days to get their affairs in order was denied by the judge. An additional request by the public defenders to stay the order pending the outcome of an appellate bond hearing was also denied by the judge.
It is obvious that this sentence is a blatant attempt to stifle free speech, which is guaranteed to us in the Bill of Rights of our Constitution. It tells us "sure, you can speak, but if you do, you will be punished severely to teach you a lesson and to scare you from ever speaking again". It is very important for each of us and all of us to rise up against this injustice and speak out loudly and clearly that we will not be silenced. We will not be frightened away. We will continue to stand up for what is good and right. We will be stronger and more committed in spite of and because of this. We will be back.
We are asking that people write letters to the editor of our local newspapers. We must let others know that the threats to our rights and freedoms, the threats to the survival of the planet and to the future generations are very real and that we must not and will not be silenced.
Links:
Everglades Earthfirst!
Earth First Journal
Palm Beach Post Feb 2 2009
Palm Beach Post December 4, 2008
