Skip to main content
  • Yeezys - release dates & more., Jordans, colorful nike girl sneakers sale for women - Urlfreeze News
  • IetpShops , flat black nike free run boots clearance shoes , Nike+ Installation accomplishment Tokyo Ugokidase Station
  • Shoes NIKE - IetpShops - coral nike free run woman size 9 shoes in european - Sneakers - Low shoes , Men's shoes - Air Max 270 React AO4971 004 Black/White/Black
  • best men nike air max plus 97 running shoes sku - Moccasins - Air Jordan 8 Retro Gs Big Kids Shoes Orange Pearl-pink , IetpShops - Men's shoes - Low shoes
  • Superskate Vulcan Slip - IetpShops - adidas messenger bags backpacks for kids boys - adidas x Andrew Pommier
  • air jordan 4 bred black cement 2019 308497 060 release date
  • Air Jordan 1 Mid Tie Dye DM1200 001 Release Date 4
  • nike kyrie 8 cancelled
  • Cherry Jordan 11 Release Date
  • girls air jordan 1s og valentines day black hyper pink white 881426 009
  • Home
  • Calendar
  • About Us
  • Watch/Listen
  • FOIL Docs
  • Editorial Policy
  • Log in
  • Publish Article

Upcoming Events

No upcoming calendar events.

Hancock Drone Resisters Found Guilty; Sentencing is April 24

Primary tabs

  • View(active tab)
  • Devel
Submitted by Repost from the Syracuse Peace Council on Tue, 2013-04-23 16:25

FIVE HANCOCK DRONE RESISTERS

to be SENTENCED WEDNESDAY,

APRIL 24

 

At 6 pm, Wednesday, April 24 in DeWitt (NY) town court Judge Robert Jokl will sentence five Hancock drone resisters for peacefully blocking the main entrance of Hancock air field last October 5, 2012.

The Judge found the five guilty of “trespass” in an April 18 bench trial. The five were among ten who had attempted to deliver a citizens’ indictment to the base commander and personnel for ongoing war crimes being perpetrated with weaponized Reaper drones over Afghanistan.

Noting that the October 5 defendants weren’t disobeying the law, but rather seeking to enforce international law, defendant Jim Clune told Judge Jokl, “We have no need to work at cross purposes here. Law is a wonderful instrument when it safeguards and promotes life, and it should be used for that purpose.”

A sixth defendant, Martha Hennessey, a New York City Catholic Worker, was found not guilty in absentia.

The October 5 action is one of a half dozen such initiatives at Hancock by Upstate Drone Action, a grassroots group opposing Reaper war crimes.

Those found guilty:

Jim Clune of Binghamton, Brian Hynes of the Bronx, Ed Kinane of Syracuse, Julienne Oldfield of Syracuse, and Mark Scibilia-Carver of Trumansburg.

 

Statement from drone resister Ed Kinane dated April 24, 2013:

While my remarks this evening are pre-sentencing, they are also post-verdict. So I feel a need to comment on your verdict of last Thursday evening. But first I do want to express my appreciation to you, Judgge Jokl, for, last Thursday evening, being attentive, for listening, for doing nothing to obstruct our defense. The recently deceased Constitutional scholar Ronald Dworkin once argued that a citizen has a (quote) “moral responsibility…not only to form convictions of one’s own, but to express these to others, out of respect and concern for them, and out of a compelling desire that truth be known, justice served, and the good secured.”* (unquote). I would argue that judges are also citizens and have similar responsibilities. I would further argue that while judges – indeed all citizens -- have a “moral responsibility” to express our convictions for the sake of justice and for the common good, we also all have the responsibility to act on them. Acting on our convictions is exactly what the ten of us did at Hancock air base last October 5.

 

If PL 140.05, the trespass statute under which you found the five of us guilty, were the highest law of our land, I would have only certain qualms about accepting whatever legal maximum prison sentence you might impose. (I’m not even going to comment on this court’s custom of levying fines, as I can see no link whatsoever between such punitive actions and justice. Similarly, incidentally,can I see any link between this court’s penchant for promiscuously issuing orders of protection and anyone’s safety.)

 

Sir, you and I both know that PL 140.05, is not the highest law of our land. According to Article Six of the U.S. Constitution, International law trumps both local and federal law. You surely have sworn to uphold that Constitution. So it’s likely you have studied the U.S. Constitution and Constitutional law. But since memory can be rusty, let me read aloud Article 6: This Constitution, and the Laws of the United States which shall be made in Pursuance thereof; and all Treaties made, or which shall be made, under the Authority of the United States, shall be the supreme Law of the Land; and the Judges in every State shall be bound thereby, any Thing in the Constitution or Laws of any State to the contrary notwithstanding. I believe that in finding us guilty you chose to ignore Article 6 and you chose to ignore International Law. While I hold the U.S. Constitution and International Law in high esteem, I consider neither sacrosanct. Far higher in my mind is Ronald Dworkin’s standard of the common good and the standard of justice. And by those standards I believe your verdict last Thursday evening failed

 

Thank you.

 

Ed Kinane

 

*Ronald Dworkin, “The Coming Battles Over Free Speech,”The New York Review, June 11, 1992. (Cited by David Cole, page 6 of the May 9, 2013 NYRB.)

Civil Liberties / Human Rights
Direct Action / Civil Disobedience
International Politics and Economics
Anti-War / War + Peace
  • Facebook logo
  • Google logo
  • identi.ca logo
  • Twitter logo
  • Digg logo
  • del.icio.us logo
  • Reddit logo
  • StumbleUpon logo
  • Yahoo logo
  • Log in or register to post comments

Search form

Local News

Did District Attorney Sandra Doorley Violate Ethics Guidelines While Attending a Local Republican Fundraiser in May?
Jim Goodman - Sleeper Cell for the Revolution!
The Press as Powdered Donut with Blue Badge in the Middle
Blueprint for Engagement: Evaluating Police / Community Relations Final Report (2017)
The Police-Civilian Foot Patrol: An Evaluation of the PAC-TAC Experiemnt in Rochester, New York (June 1975)
Police Killing of Denise Hawkins (1975)
Complaint Investigation Committee Legislation (1977)
Race Rebellion of July 1964
Selections Regarding the Police Advisory Board (1963-1970)
Prelude to the Police Advisory Board
A.C. White (January 26, 1963)
Police Raid on Black Muslim Religious Service (January 6, 1963)
Rufus Fairwell (August 12, 1962)
Incarcerated Worker sheds light on Prison Labor Conditions during Pandemic
Police and Political Commentary
BWC video indicates Mark Gaskill was holding his phone as police shouted "gun"
How the NY Attorney General's defended the police who killed Daniel Prude
Hats off to Kropotkin!!
Agreement between the City of Rochester and the Rochester Police Locust Club, 2016 - 2019
Facebook Posts Lead to Federal Rioting Charges for Justice for Daniel Prude Protester

Recent Comments

Any status on FOIL request?
Media's Goebbels
Related
Related
USA as NAZI criminals
oops
PS
A message of Truth from Geral
Fyi
See related data...

Syndication

  • Feature Stories
  • Local News

Account Creation Policy Change

Rochester Indymedia is now requiring editor approval for account creation.

We came to this decision after we had repeated spam posted to our website that caused difficulty with the website's functioning.  We will still have open publishing and keep our site as nonrestrictive and accessible as possible.

If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to contact us.  As before, we will continue to be Rochester's grassroots news and education site.  Thank you for your continued support and remember, "Don't hate the media, be the media!"

Editorial Meeting Times / Locations

The Rochester Independent Media Center (R-IMC) is no longer meeting regularly.
We will set up meetings by necessity and appointment. Please contact us at rochesterindymedia@rocus.org.
Our home is still the Flying Squirrel Community Space at 285 Clarissa St. Occasionally, we hold meetings at RCTV located at 21 Gorham Street.

Global IMC Network

To be downloaded