- Catholic Pacifists disarmed depleted-uranium-firing A-10 "Warthog" in Maryland.

By Patrick O'Neill

On March 23, Baltimore County Judge James T. Smith, Jr. sentenced four Catholic pacifists for damaging two A-10 anti-tank warplanes last December to protest the United States' use of depleted uranium in recent wars against Iraq and Yugoslavia.

The severity of the sentences - far in excess to those recommended by prosecutor Mickey Norman - shocked the more than 100 supporters who attended the trial, which began four days earlier. Elizabeth Walz, 33 (whose guidelines were 0 to 1 month) was given 18 months in prison; Susan Crane, 56, and Fr. Stephen Kelly S.J., 50 (whose guidelines were 2 to 9 months) were each sentenced to 27 months; and Philip Berrigan (whose guidelines were 6 to 12 months) received a 30 month sentence. The judge also ordered the defendants to share in paying $88,622.11 in restitution for the damage. The large damage total justified stiff sentences, Smith said. The judge imposed a cash bail of $90,000 each, "to be paid by the defendants only" in the event the four seek appeals.

"He went very, very far outside the guidelines in a very, very vindictive fashion," Elizabeth McAlister, Berrigan's wife, told a reporter from The Baltimore Sun. Jonah House community member, Sister Carol Gilbert, O.P., also interviewed by The Sun, said, "I think the judge's prejudices are coming through. These people were not allowed a defense."

Calling themselves "Plowshares vs. Depleted Uranium," the four peace activists disarmed the "Warthog" aircraft at the Warfield Air National Guard Base in Middle River, Maryland last December 19. Following Isaiah's injunction to beat swords into plowshares, the resisters hammered and poured blood on the A-10s' Gatling guns, used to fire armor-piercing depleted uranium against Iraq and Yugoslavia.

During his opening statement, prosecutor Norman said the four had taken hammers to property that didn't belong to them, something you couldn't do "unless of course there is a legally justifiable reason. The defendants might believe there is a moral justification, but this is a court of law. There wasn't a legal justification ... " And so it went - moral justification overruled by laws that protect weapons of mass destruction.

Throughout the trial the four defendants, and their attorneys, Jonathan Katz, former U.S Attorney General Ramsey Clark and Anabel Dwyer, attempted to tell the jury about the illegality of the United States' use of depleted uranium on civilian populations. They attempted to show that their actions were justified under international law and necessity, but Judge Smith refused to allow the defendants to put on any meaningful defense of their actions. He had granted Norman's pretrial motion in limine, which prohibited "the defense from introducing evidence and/or propounding argument concerning depleted uranium."

When Crane, the only defendant to testify, took the witness stand, she was constantly interrupted by the prosecutor's objections. Crane was eventually brought to tears by the severity of the court's restriction of her testimony.

The prosecutor also objected to testimony by Doug Rokke, an expert in the use and harmful effects of depleted uranium weapons. Rokke, a professor at Jacksonville State University, Major in the U.S. Army Reserve, and himself a victim of exposure to depleted uranium, was only allowed to give his name and academic credentials. All questions related to depleted uranium and the A-10 Warthogs were disallowed.

In response to the gag order, the defendants brought their resistance to Judge Smith's oppressive courtroom, prompting an incredible moment of solidarity between the accused and their supporters. The show of defiance may have also sealed the fates of the four.

Immediately following Rokke's limited testimony, the four stood at the defense table and turned their backs on Judge Smith as Crane read a statement decrying the injustice of the trial.

"We cannot put on a defense about the dangers of depleted uranium and our rights and duties under international law," Crane said. The judge ordered her to be silent, but Crane persisted.

"We have been denied our right to testify about these topics. We have been denied our expert witnesses. Therefore, we can't go forward. We will not participate in what amounts to a legal gag order."

Earlier in the day Crane had refused to answer the prosecutor's question about who drove the van that left the four activists off outside the base gates in the predawn hours of December 19. As the four defendants now stood with their backs to the bench, a woman in the gallery stood and yelled to the judge, "I drove the van." Seconds later, others joined in shouting, "I drove the van." Soon, more than 100 spectators were openly proclaiming conspiratorial ties to the four as a red-faced Smith screamed for order. When Crane was finished, Fr. Kelly began reading aloud the day's scripture passage from Jeremiah.

Smith, a jurist who was once honored by his peers as Catholic lawyer of the year, ordered bailiffs to clear the courtroom of everyone except reporters. After a recess, only Berrigan returned to the courtroom to tell the judge that the four intended no disrespect for Smith or prosecutor Norman, but they would no longer participate in an unjust trial.

"The courts of this country are identified with the Pentagon and the Government," Berrigan said outside the presence of the jury, "and there's no way that nonviolent resistance can get a serious hearing in this country." After Berrigan's comments, the judge recessed proceedings for the day. He refused to allow the three lawyers to be released from the case, but he said the defendants had a Constitutional right to boycott the remainder of the trial.

On the final day of the trial none of the defendants were in the courtroom when Norman made his closing arguments. The jury deliberated more than four hours before reaching guilty verdicts on the charges of malicious destruction of property and conspiracy. Crane had also been charged with assault because a guard said he felt threatened by her hammer, but the jury could not reach a verdict on the charge and it was dropped. (Charges of sabotage and conspiracy to commit sabotage had been dismissed a week before trial on a defense motion.) The guilty verdicts could also result in federal probation violations being lodged against Berrigan, Crane, and Kelly from previous Plowshare actions.

In a statement released after the trial, Rokke said: "Everyone should consider if they want thousands and thousands of radioactive heavy metal poison bullets in their own backyard. If not, then it should not be left anywhere in the world where children may be exposed! The response to this crime against God and humanity is simple: 1. All individuals who may have inhaled, ingested, or had wound contamination must receive medical care. 2. All depleted uranium penetrator fragments, contaminated equipment, and oxide contamination must be removed and disposed of properly. 3. The use of depleted uranium munitions must be banned."

Walz, a Catholic Worker from Philadelphia, asked the judge that she be permitted to serve her sentence in the Baltimore County Detention Center, where she awaited trial and "where I may be of most service to the women around me." Smith granted her request. Berrigan, Crane and Kelly were quickly moved into the state prison system.

For more information, contact Jonah House, 1301 Moreland Ave., Baltimore, MD 21216, disarmnow@erols.com

Letters of support may be sent to
Susan Crane #916-999, Maryland Correctional Institution for Women, P.O. Box 535, Jessup, MD 20794 (mail is sent to that address; if sending a money order it must be addressed to P.O. Box 306; the rest of the address remains the same);
Philip Berrigan #292-139 and Rev. Steve Kelly S.J. #292-140, Roxbury Correctional Institution, 18701 Roxbury Rd., Hagerstown MD 21746 (address each man individually);
and Elizabeth Walz #995376, Baltimore Co. Detention Center, 200 Court House Court, Towson, MD 21204.