From Ralph Hutchison, OREPA Thursday, January 6, 2012 marks the end of eight long months of imprisonment for Steve Baggarly, Mike Walli and Bonnie Urfer who are scheduled to be released today from prisons in Lisbon, Ohio; Morgantown, West Virginia; and Lexington, Kentucky. We celebrate their faithful witness against the destructive power of thermonuclear weapons, expressed so courageously at the Y12 Nuclear Weapons Complex in Oak Ridge, Tennessee in the July 5, 2010 resistance action. For each of them, the Y12 action was one of many compelling actions in which these resisters have stood to speak truth to power. Their odyssey through the legal system took them to jails and prisons in Knoxville, TN; Maryville, TN; Ocilla, GA; and Oklahoma City, OK in addition to the facilities from which they are released today.
Still in custody is Bill Bichsel, who we all know as Bix. At last report, Bix was scheduled to be transferred to a transitional facility later within the next few days to serve out the remained of his sentence; he entered SeaTac prison to serve three months for his Y12 action in November. The last remaining Y12 resister from the July 2010 action to be sentenced is Dave Corcoran, who entered a plea of guilty in late December and will be sentenced on March 21, 2012. In the words of Dennis DuVall, codefendant of all those named above: RESIST ALWAYS! peace, ralph ps. since the may 9 trial of the Y12 resisters, OREPA has marked their imprisonment each sunday evening at 6:00pm with the singing of "Keep Your Eyes on the Prize" at the conclusion of our weekly vigil at Y12, singing their names into the night air with great energy and hope. we continue to sing for bix and dave — The only chain that we can stand Is the chain of hand in hand Keep your eyes on the prize— Hold on!