Prisoners of Conscience

On December 19, 1999, four anti-war activists were arrested and charged with breaking through a fence at a Maryland Air National Guard Base and damaging two A-10 "Warthog" jet assault planes. Baltimore police said the activists hit one of the A-10's with hammers and then splattered the plane with what appeared to be blood.

The four -- members of the pacifist group Plowshares -- are faced with malicious destruction of property, trespassing, and second-degree assault, which carries a maximum sentence of ten years in prison. The group not only risked imprisonment, but actually seemed to welcome it. Why? They had their reasons.

The Warthogs are used by the Pentagon to deploy weapons made with depleted uranium (DU). The Plowshares felt justified in taking action -- the first specifically against DU weapons -- claiming that they're not only part of the lethal U.S. war arsenal, but also a danger to the environment for years after use in battle. The Warthogs are capable of firing up to 4,000 rounds of DU-reinforced shells per minute, and have been used in both Iraq and Yugoslavia.

The Disappeared

Thousands of "prisoners of conscience" are sitting in jail cells around the globe -- including the United States -- because of their religious, political or ideological beliefs. Many are held without charge or trial and, in some countries, torture and the death penalty are commonplace. In some cases, men, women and children have "disappeared" after being taken into official custody. Still others have been killed without any pretense of legality.

While some prisoners welcome the support of groups like Amnesty International, others actually seek out and revel in their prison terms, hoping to draw attention to injustices that are not noticed or solved by mere talk.

That's the case with the Plowshares group, who feel strongly about the use of weapons and violence. Sara Flounders, editor of the "Metal of Dishonor," called the Plowshares' civil disobedience "a courageous action that will help bring increased awareness of the dangers posed by this weapon."

Flounders demanded the authorities release the Plowshares activists, noting, "The real criminals are those who make the $8 million Warthogs and those who use them to spread warfare and radioactivity around the world."

This isn't the first time the Plowshares have taken action they believe to be justified. The first took place in 1980, when Philip and Daniel Berrigan and six others hammered on nuclear nose cones at a General Electric plant in Pennsylvania.

For Those Who Cannot Speak...

Countless numbers of people are imprisoned every year for things like breaking into labs to rescue lab animals, causing damage to leather goods stores, or trying to free mink and other animals from fur farms.

On May 6, Josh Ellerman will be sentenced for his alleged use of pipe bombs to destroy the Utah Fur Breeder's Co-op. Ellerman caused over $1 million in damages. The maximum sentence for his offense is 35 years in prison.

On April 11 in Big Sky, Montana, two women displayed a 20' x 50' banner which read, "Racicot's Buffalo Slaughter Kills Tourism" on the ten-story Big Sky Conference Center Hotel. Graphic depictions of two bloody buffalo heads were lavishly painted on the huge banner, which was hung as part of an all-day rally organized by the Buffalo Field Campaign (BFC) to call attention to the hypocracy of Governor Racicot's conflicting stances on tourism and the bison who draw tourists to the region.

The activists, who were suspended from ropes anchored to the building's top floor, were arrested after construction workers opened windows, reached outside, and destroyed the banner.

"Governor Racicot epitomizes the perfect politician," said BFC spokesperson Tiffan Brown. "He placates the tourism lobby with one hand while the other shoots buffalo to satisfy the appetites of the powerful livestock industry."