SHAC 7 Case Comes to a Close--Fulmer Gets 1 Year and 1 Day, Stepanian Gets 36 Months
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[permalink] Trenton, NJ—September 19th was the final day of sentencing for the SHAC 7. Darius Fulmer and Andy Stepanian were greeted by 30 supporters at the Trenton Federal Courthouse that morning. Both men were convicted of conspiracy to violate the Animal Enterprise Protection Act of 1992 this past March.
SHAC or Stop Huntingdon Animal Cruelty is an international effort to shut down Huntingdon Life Sciences (HLS), Europe's largest contract research organization (CRO), which has gained international notoriety for its animal cruelty and bad science. Photos: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4
Fulmer, the second to last defendant to be sentenced, spoke about his commitment to his position as an emergency medical provider and how it had turned his life around. He asked the judge for leniency and a probationary sentence.
Assistant US Attorney Charles McKenna disagreed with Fulmer’s plea for leniency by bringing up his past arrest record as well as the fact that in his statement to the court, Fulmer never apologized for the tactics used by SHAC against HLS.
Federal District Court Judge Anne E. Thompson concluded that for deterrence purposes a sentence of 12 months and one day would be sufficient punishment coupled with a year of probation and joint restitution, among other stipulations.
The last defendant to be sentenced, Stepanian, stated, “I’m very scared; I don’t want to go to jail." He apologized to his friends and family for the grief he was putting them through.
McKenna stated that, “The notion of being well intentioned will insulate you [from the law], is a notion that needs to be disused." He urged the court to grant the maximum sentence of 36 months in prison.
Judge Thompson agreed with the prosecution and sentenced Stepanian to 36 months in prison with a year of probation following his release. She also ordered him to pay joint restitution with the rest of his co-defendants.
While the judge was reading the sentence to Stepanian, he fell down into his chair, unable to stand; his mother in tears and Fulmer along with their lawyers, surrounded him and gently soothed him attempting to calm him down.
Court was adjourned. The defendants will be appealing from prison.
It was a demoralizing day as it marked the end of a process where six people, devoted to their communities, devoted to animal and human liberation, principled and passionate, were sentenced to time in prison—labeled terrorists—for speaking out against cruelty and yet the real terrorists, Huntingdon Life Sciences and the US Government, continue to murder and torture animals and humans for private gain on a daily basis.
This isn’t over though. The struggle for animal and human liberation continues as does the SHAC campaign. It will not be silenced by this act of tyranny as long as people with consciousness continue to struggle and do the right thing.
They're in there for us; we're out here for them.
Read the full story here.
Action Taken: 23 Rabbits Liberated for the SHAC 7
Video c/o YouTube.com: Time for Action | Time for Action 2 | Time for Action 3
Additional Information: SHAC 7 Support Site | Inside HLS | SHAC | the Green Scare | North American Earth Liberation Prisoners Support Network | New England Anti-Vivisection Society | Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine
