Posted on 07/24/2003 1:12:14 PM PDT by FourPeas
Nuns say prison won't kill their spirit of protest
Thursday, July 24, 2003By Charles Honey
Press Religion Editor
The Catholic sisters have been in jail before, after breaking into U.S. military bases to pour their own blood on weapons and symbolically hammer against warfare.
But on Friday, three Grand Rapids-based Dominican nuns face sentences in a Denver federal court far harsher than any they ever have received -- raising protests that they are paying an unjustified price because of the U.S. crackdown on terrorism.
Sisters Jackie Hudson, Ardeth Platte and Carol Gilbert are to be sentenced for their protest at a Colorado missile silo. The maximum penalty is 30 years, but prosecutors are recommending between five and eight.
That's still too much, the sisters said in phone interviews from Denver. They call the charges "bogus" and say the government is trying to intimidate others protesting U.S. military policy.
"Even though they know we are all the most non-violent people you will ever meet, what they're trying to do is stop this forever," said Platte, whose previous arrests include breaking into the Wurtsmith Air Force Base in Oscoda with Hudson in 1992.
Their supporters say the government is making an example of the sisters to quell dissent. Several plan to gather at a prayer service at 10:30 a.m. Saturday, at the Dominicans' Marywood headquarters at 2025 E. Fulton St.
"It's colossal overkill for a very minor infraction that was aimed at the common good," said Joe Walker of East Grand Rapids, a Catholic and retired General Motors executive who plans to attend Saturday's prayer vigil.
"I have worked with murderers and rapists that have gotten lesser sentences than this," said Sister Mary Brigid Clingman, a Dominican who worked in the Detroit criminal justice system. "The sentence far outweighs the reality of the crime."
She plans to fly to Denver on Friday, while other sisters will hold a prayer vigil during the nuns' separate sentencings.
Sister Barbara Hansen, who has known the nuns for decades, says it is "overwhelming" to think of them entering prison.
"My heart is very heavy," said Hansen, former prioress of the Grand Rapids Dominicans. "I can't believe this is happening."
Although all three have been jailed before for similar actions, none has served more than 8 months. Hansen worries about the age and health of Platte, 67, and Hudson, 68. But she has faith in their strength and stands by their action against America's weapons of mass destruction.
"Somebody has to speak out, and I am proud of them that they are willing to do so," Hansen said.
Federal prosecutors disagree, saying the sentences reflect the sisters' prior cases and are necessary to deter similar actions. They deny they are imposing harsher penalties for political reasons.
Although he would not comment prior to sentencing, U.S. Attorney John Suthers issued a statement condemning the sisters' "blatant disregard for the laws of the United States."
"No other country on earth provides as many avenues for peaceful and lawful protest as does the United States. But the defendants insist on unlawfully entering onto highly sensitive government installations, damaging government property and interfering with government operations."
The sisters were convicted in April of obstructing national defense and damaging government property. On Oct. 6, they cut through a chain-link fence to reach a Minuteman III missile silo. They painted crosses with their blood on the 110-ton concrete silo lid and hammered on tracks that would carry the lid to firing position.
The sisters, all former teachers and longtime peace activists, say the sentences are baseless for what they insist was a lawful act of civil disobedience under international law. They note they and others have engaged in more than 80 similar acts since 1980 as part of the Plowshares peace movement, with far lesser punishments.
Though they're considering an appeal, they say they are ready to face the consequences of an act compelled by their faith.
"I'll try to be a full-fledged Dominican inside the prison system," Platte said. "I am never afraid. I feel God is with us."
"While you can imprison a body, you certainly can't the mind or the spirit," added Gilbert, 55.
The sisters were in jail in Colorado on the charges for seven months before being released in May pending sentencing. Since their release, they have been saying goodbye to friends, getting rid of their possessions and speaking out against what they say is their government's unlawful threats to use nuclear weapons.
Visiting their Marywood motherhouse last month, the sisters received a blessing from fellow nuns to continue their ministry in prison. They also came "to bring closure to those we will never see again," Platte said then. "We may not live through it. They might not live through it."
They plan to hold a press conference Friday morning, then enter court dressed in black, saying nothing during their sentencing. Relatives and friends will join them, while on Saturday demonstrators plan to gather at other missile sites.
Hudson said she's relying on God and friends to face whatever follows the judge's sentence. The sisters say almost 1,000 letters of support have been sent to the court.
"I feel a physical feeling of strength and peace because of this overwhelming support," Hudson said.
Should they be locked up for a while -- yeah, considering they have been doing this repeatedly they should be locked up for their own good, or the next time they try it they might get shot. And what the heck -- a 5 to 8 year hitch in a minimum security prison is probably less restrictive than one of the monastic orders anyway.
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