Posted on 02/15/2007 7:18:49 PM PST by crazyhorse691
The Oregon Court of Appeals on Wednesday ordered a judge in Eugene to resentence a radical environmentalist now serving the stiffest sentence in U.S. history for eco-sabotage.
Jeffrey Luers, known in Eugene's anarchist circles as "Free," was sentenced in June 2001 to 22 years, 8 months for setting fire to three pickups and attempting to ignite a gasoline tanker in the spring of 2000.
Since Judge Lyle C. Velure imposed the sentence, not one major act of eco-sabotage has occurred in Oregon, which once stood as the epicenter for a series of kindred arsons by the Earth Liberation Front and the Animal Liberation Front.
Luers' appellate attorney, Shawn Wiley of Salem, said he had not talked with Luers and would not comment on possible outcomes of resentencing.
"Speaking as an attorney -- not on Jeff's behalf as his attorney -- I'm very pleased that the Court of Appeals has overturned the Draconian sentence imposed in Mr. Luers' case."
The appeals court, which heard arguments in the case in late 2005, ruled that Velure erred when he convicted Luers of two counts of arson, imposing two consecutive terms under Oregon's mandatory-minimum sentencing law. The court also affirmed convictions for arson, attempted arson and other crimes.
"What the Court of Appeals found is that there should have only been one arson conviction," Wiley said. "The effect of that is it goes back for resentencing."
One count of first-degree arson carries a 71/2-year sentence. Both Luers and the Oregon Department of Justice have 35 days to petition the Oregon Supreme Court for review.
Assistant Attorney General Janet A. Klapstein, who argued the appellate case for the state, said she was gratified the appeals court affirmed Luers' convictions. "The opinion," she said, "will require some examination because of its length and complexity."
Activists have long championed Luers' cause, and their Web sites were buzzing with Wednesday's news. One supporter said, "It looks like Jeff could potentially get about 15 years taken off his" sentence.
Luers was a key figure in Eugene's anarchist rebellion against capitalism and the industries they accused of despoiling the natural world for profit. A few of those activists, including Luers and Craig "Critter" Marshall, attacked such companies.
Shortly after midnight on June 16, 2000, Luers and Marshall set gallon milk jugs full of Coleman fuel under pickups at a Chevy dealership in Eugene and lit them with Bic lighters. They were caught moments later.
Marshall pleaded guilty and got a 5 1/2-year sentence. But Luers refused to make such a deal. He opted for a trial without a jury, arguing before Velure that his actions were not so much arson as criminal mischief aimed at stopping air pollution.
Velure's sentence did not strike him, Luers told The Oregonian in a 2001 interview, until he lay on a prison bunk one day and realized his parents might die before he is freed.
Luers still champions the radical environmental causes that got him locked up, and activists around the world celebrate him as a political prisoner.
"He's just an amazing person," said Luers' friend John Zerzan, a 63-year-old anarchist author in Eugene. "He's continued to write and express himself."
Bryan Denson: 503-294-7614; bryandenson@news.oregonian.com
Dammit.
So... it's like kill 4, get 1 free?
By code of Hammurabi [under which he ought to be re-sentenced], an arsonist was to be thrown into the fire, preferably the same fire he had ignited, but fire substitution was allowed.
Eco-terrorists like this slimy snake need to have major sentences imposed to not only exact just punishment but to serve as a deterrent -- many of these terrorists have either not been caught or let off with little or no jail time. They are as bad as al qaeda as far as I'm concerned.
For he's a Jolly old fellow! Who continues to write and express himself!
Soooo, this evil little ELF burned up some Chevy trucks to try to reduce air pollution. Maybe he should only have one charge of arson, however, it sounds like he should be sentenced to life for all the pollution he caused...
One of the goals of incarceration after conviction is to reform the criminal mind - in this case, it's not happening.. Once he gets out, he'll be back to the same game and he'll probably end up killing someone.
I’m not sure I’ll ever know if I made the right choice or if it was worth it. I don’t have any regrets about my actions, not my choices for that matter. I can live with them but sometimes especially late at night, when I’m looking at a picture of a smiling face, they can be incredibly hard to bear...
Doesn't sound as if he has any repentance for what he did, or regret for causing substantial property damage for his actions...
I hope he sits in his cell until he learns that actions have consequences.
BTW, I wonder how many other arsons he did besides the one he was convicted of ...?
Without a doubt he will hear about him again . Perhaps however in a way he never imagined..
The article makes it sound like this a bad thing.
It is from the Oregenonian, after all.
No doubt.
Author John Zerzan helps th Uni-bomber Theodore Kaczynski with his book writin and publishing chores.
It's not fair...Your story is better than my story. Thanks for the link.
/Major Sarcasm OFF!
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