"Hi everyone. I am writing to ask you to support me and 6 other activists who put our bodies on the line to stand up to corporate power and protect our fragile Everglades. You can do this by calling or writing a letter to the judge who is handling our case before February 2nd, as I will explain below.
On February 18, 2008, while attempting to peacefully halt construction of the monstrous West County Energy Center being built by FPL, 25 of us were arrested. This came after years of civil protest, lawsuits, and public involvement in permitting processes that had little effect in stopping the power plant. To read more about the protest and other events we've been carrying out, please see our website.
This past December, the last group of activists went to trial using an unconventional line of defense - necessity. Necessity is a legal defense akin to self defense, differing in that it states that the defendants committed the alleged crime out of necessity to prevent harm to another person, or, in this case, a whole community. We stood up for our actions and brought in scientific experts to attest to the harm the power plant was, and would be, bringing to our community and planet, via emissions, enormous water usage, and wastewater injection into our aquifer. We had the help of very impassioned public defenders, as well as testimony from several committed activist-defendants.
In the end, we were all found guilty of the counts of trespassing, resisting an officer without violence, and unlawful public assembly. Though we are pursuing appeal, in the meantime, this February 2nd we face sentencing, and the state prosecutor is seeking jail time for two of the defendants, in addition to harsh fines and probation for all of the defendants. The prosecutor also is trying to seek $21,000 in costs from us for the amount of money the police misspent in arresting us. All this is ridiculous for such petty charges, and we believe we are being persecuted for challenging the status quo of environmental pillage.
Please write a letter to Judge Laura Johnson, stating that you support the actions we took and don't believe we should be harshly penalized for trying to defend our community. We all spent at least one night in jail on February 18th, and that was penalty enough. You can speak to your personal knowledge of me and my dedication to community service. Organizational letterhead would be great, too! I think people should put it in the mail by January 22 so the judge has time to read it before the hearing.
The Honorable Laura S Johnson
North County Courthouse
3188 PGA Blvd.
Room 1407
Palm Beach Gardens, FL 33410
Phone: (561) 624-6597
Judicial Assistant: Erin Borden"
ORIGINAL SOURCE: Infoshop News
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