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Catholic Worker Jailed for Anti-War Resistance & other resistance updates!

category international | anti-war / imperialism | news report author Sunday October 07, 2007 04:40author by Jail Solidarityauthor address Des Moine, Iowa, USA Report this post to the editors

He's in Jail for Us, We're on the Loose for Him!

Frank Cordaro just received thirty days in the Polk County jail after
pleading guilty to criminal trespass. Cordarro previously addressed
a public meeting in Dublin in '06 in support of the Pit Stop Ploughshares
who were the awaiting trial

Cordaro, and two other defendants Renee Espeland and Aaron Glynn
appeared at the Polk County Court House at 1:00 p.m. today to face
trespassing charges they received after the September 21st occupation
of Senator Grassley's office.

The three adults had joined the high school student-led occupation
that grew out of the HS student group "Students Beyond War." The
Sept. 21 occupation was an act of non-violent civil disobedience in
protest to the war in Iraq to demand that Senator Grassley stop voting
to fund this immoral, illegal and unjust war.

The judge responded harshly in an attempt to deter further acts of
civil resistance. Renee and Aaron, a senior at Hoover High School,
each received fines over $300 and were released. Frank's was taken
into custody, and his 30-day sentence began immediately. He is being
held in the Polk County Jail.

This sentence is clearly an attempt to stop those who seek peace to
stop seeking it. The harsher consequences also mean our efforts are
working. Let us not be intimidated. Let's respond to this by
increasing our efforts to end this insane war and future war.

If you are interested in a participating in an organized response, or
have any questions in general, please contact Des Moines Catholic
Workers:

Below is a story about Frank's sentence that appeared in today's Des Moines Register. The story includes a quote from Frank responding to his sentence. He did not have a prepared statement this time.

Cordaro Gets 30 Days after Protest
http://www.desmoinesregister.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?...60340

Related Link: http://www.desmoinesregister.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2007710060340
author by Solidaritypublication date Sun Oct 07, 2007 04:44author address author phone Report this post to the editors

Support letters and postcards to imprisoned Frank Cordarro can be sent
c/-
Des Moines Catholic Worker
PO Box 4551
Des Moines IA 50306
USA

Correspondence will be redirected to the appropriate jail.

author by Prisoner Updatepublication date Mon Oct 08, 2007 16:43author address author phone Report this post to the editors

Last night Frank was transferred from the Polk County Jail to Bethany
Missouri. He is doing fine, but will miss the visits he could have
had here in Des Moines.

Frank Cordaro, Pod 2, Bunk 80
Bridewell Detention Facility
4203 Roleke
Bethany, MO 64424
USA

author by Monica - Des Moines Catholic Workerpublication date Mon Oct 08, 2007 17:10author address Des Moines, Iowa, USAauthor phone Report this post to the editors

Do you want to end this immoral war sooner rather than later?

Everyone who seeks peace is invited to participate in any or all of SODaPOP events beginning on Nov. 7 and culminating on January 14, 2008, during the Iowa Presidential Caucuses.

Seasons of Discontent; a Presidential Occupation Project's (SODaPOP's) kickoff event will be Nov. 7 in Des Moines. Please come if you can. Come if you're interested in participating in civil disobedience and come if you can't risk arrest but want to support this effort to end the war.

The details for the Kickoff can be found at the link below.
http://www.desmoinescatholicworker.org/sodapop.html

You can also access updates about SODaPOP from the Des Moines Catholic Worker website at
www.desmoinescatholicworker.org

I've also attached a flyer about SODaPOP's Kickoff. Please print it out and post it widely.

Thanks for all of your wonderful efforts for peace.

In peace and solidarity,

Mona Shaw
Des Moines Catholic Worker Community
monashaw@aol.com

Related Link: http://www.desmoinescatholicworker.org
author by Solidarity - Des Moine catholic Workerpublication date Wed Oct 10, 2007 23:18author address Des Moines, Iowa, USAauthor phone Report this post to the editors

We've just learned that the maximum visitation time at Bridewell, Missiouri, where Frank is incarcerated is 20 minutes; the minimum time is 10 minutes. So, Frank suggests that no one attempt to make the trip, since the drive time to get there suggests it's not worth it. He reports that he's doing very well, a friend who has spoken with him tell us he sounds good.

author by TortureOnTrialpublication date Sun Oct 14, 2007 19:10author address Arizona, USAauthor phone Report this post to the editors

IN COURT

Wednesday, October 17, 8:30 a.m.
U.S. District Court, 405 W. Congress, Tucson, Arizona, USA

Support circle in the Courthouse plaza at 7:30 a.m.

Fr. Louie Vitale and Fr. Steve Kelly, represented by Bill Quigley,
will be in court facing charges of trespass and failure to obey an
officer's orders for their nonviolent witness on November 19, 2006 at
Fort Huachuca. They attempted to give a letter of protest to the
post commander of Fort Huachuca (Arizona) because of the leading role that the
Fort has played in the development of the manuals advocating torture
used at the School of the Americas and the current interrogation
techniques being used by the Army.

Because the magistrate granted the prosecutor's motion in limine,
forbidding the defense from even mentioning issues related to
torture, the Military Commissions Act, international law, etc. during
the trial, these issues and more will be addressed at the public
event October 16.

And because the motion in limine has stripped them of their defense,
Frs. Vitale and Kelly intend to change their plea from "not guilty"
to "no contest". A no contest plea is treated by the court as a
guilty plea, without the defendants admitting guilt. They have also
requested that the magistrate sentence them on Wednesday. The pair
are facing a maximum ten month prison sentence for both charges.

In addition to having people present in the courtroom that morning,
people are also invited to remain outside in front of the courthouse
holding our banners and signs declaring "No to Torture".

For those who go inside - please be aware that everyone must go
through security upon entering the courthouse. You will not be
permitted to bring things like cameras and swiss army knives into the
building. You will also need to show a photo ID.

"PUTTING TORTURE ON TRIAL"
PUBLIC EVENT ON EVE OF PRIESTS' NO CONTEST PLEA FOR FT. HUACHUCA
PROTEST

Nobel Peace Prize nominee Kathy Kelly, human rights attorney
William Quigley, Fr. Louis Vitale, OFM and Fr. Stephen Kelly, SJ
will speak next Tuesday evening, October 16, at a public program in
Tucson, Arizona. The two Roman Catholic priests are due in U.S.
District Court in Tucson the following morning to face federal and
state charges resulting from their arrest last November at Ft.
Huachuca, in Sierra Vista, Arizona, during a protest of the Fort's
connection to U.S. military use of torture.
The program, "Putting Torture on Trial" begins at 7:00 p.m.
Tuesday, October 16 at First Christian Church, 740 E. Speedway at
Euclid. Tucson musician Ted Warmbrand will perform.
After the first Gulf War against Iraq, Kathy Kelly led dozens
of delegations that delivered medical and humanitarian aid to the
Iraqi people in violation of the U.S. led-sanctions regime, earning
her repeated nominations for the Nobel Peace Prize and civil
prosecution and fines from the U.S. government. Ms. Kelly is
co-founder of Voices for Creative Nonviolence.
Attorney Bill Quigley is a noted human rights advocate and
law professor at Loyola University, New Orleans. Mr. Quigley will
outline the legal case against coercive military "interrogation"
methods that amount to torture, and their connection to activities at
Fort Huachuca.
Franciscan Father Louie Vitale served as the provincial of
the California Franciscan Friars from 1979 to 1988. He is cofounder
of the Nevada Desert Experience, a faith-based movement to end
nuclear weapons testing. Jesuit Father Steve Kelly worked with the
Jesuit Refugee Service in Central America for many years. In
December, 2005, he served as chaplain for Witness Against Torture, a
peaceful march across Cuba to the gates of the Guantanamo prison
camp. Both have a long record of nonviolent protest and subsequent
imprisonment.
Court for Frs. Vitale and Kelly will begin at 8:30 a.m.
October 17 (the first anniversary of the signing of the Military
Commissions Act) before Magistrate Hector Estrada in Courtroom 3A of
the Federal Courthouse at 405 W. Congress St. Tucson. Supporters
will rally outside the Courthouse beginning at 7:30 a.m.
Last month, the court granted a government motion in limine,
removing the heart of the priests' intended defense. The order
forbids any mention at trial of issues related to torture, the
Military Commissions Act of 2006, or international prohibitions of
torture. In light of this legal gag, both priests plan to change
their pleas from "not guilty" to "nolo contendere" (no contest),
which the court has agreed to accept. Frs. Vitale and Kelly will ask
to be sentenced immediately. They are facing a maximum 10 month
prison sentence.
For more information, visit http://TortureOnTrial.org

Related Link: http://www.tortureontrial.org
author by 5 Months Jailpublication date Thu Oct 18, 2007 05:04author address Arizona, USAauthor phone Report this post to the editors



Fr. Louis Vitale, OFM, (75) and Fr. Stephen Kelly, SJ (54)
today were sentenced to five months in prison for attempting to
deliver a letter to then-commander Major General Barbara Fast at Fort
Huachuca, Arizona, denouncing torture and the Military Commissions
Act of 2006. Today is the first anniversary of the signing of the
Military Commissions Act.

The priests were represented by human rights attorney Bill
Quigley. At the beginning of the hearing, the men had changed their
pleas to no contest, and later told the court they could not accept
any sentence that included supervision, a fine, or compulsory
community service. They were taken into custody immediately after
sentencing.

In a statement read to supporters who gathered outside the
courthouse and then filled the courtroom of Magistrate Hector
Estrada, Frs. Vitale & Kelly declared:

"The real crime here has always been the teaching of torture
at Fort Huachuca and the practice of torture around the world. We
sought to deliver a letter asking that the teaching of torture be
stopped and were arrested. We tried to put the evidence of torture
on full and honest display in the courthouse and were denied. We
were prepared to put on evidence about the widespread use of torture
and human rights abuses committed during interrogations at Abu Ghraib
and Guantanamo in Iraq and Afghanistan. This evidence was gathered
by the military itself and by governmental and human rights
investigations. Because the court will not allow the truth of
torture to be a part of our trial, we plead no contest. We are
uninterested in a court hearing limited to who was walking where and
how many steps it was to the gate. History will
judge whether silencing the facts of torture is just or not. Far too
many people have died because of our national silence
about torture. Far too many of our young people in the military have
been permanently damaged after following orders to torture and
violate the human rights of other humans. We will keep trying to
stop the teaching and practice of torture whether we are sent to jail
or out. We have done our part. Now it is up to every woman and man
of conscience to do their part to stop the injustice of torture."

Following their arrest in November, 2006, the men were
charged with one federal count of trespass (USC 18-1382), and later
with an additional Arizona state count of "Failure to Comply with
Police Officer" (ARS 28-622). Their sentence is three months in
prison for the federal conviction, plus two months for the state
conviction, to be served consecutively.

After court, a dozen supporters drove to Sierra Vista,
Arizona, to hold signs and banners opposing torture outside the main
gate of Ft. Huachuca.

On November 18, in solidarity with the School of the Americas
Watch vigil and protest at Ft. Benning Georgia, hundreds of people
from around the country will gather at Fort Huachuca to continue the
nonviolent witness against U.S. policy sanctioning torture.

For more information, visit http://TortureOnTrial.org

Related Link: http://TortureOnTrial.org
author by Solidaritypublication date Thu Oct 18, 2007 11:36author address author phone Report this post to the editors

Letters and Postcards of Solidarity should be mailed individually to..

*Fr. Louis Vitalie OFM, Peace Prisoner, PO Box 43383, Tucson, AZ 85733.

*Fr. Steve Kelly SJ, Peace Prisoner, PO Box 43383, Tucson, AZ 85733. USA
...letters will be redirected to the appropriate prison.

also for more background
http://www.commondreams.org/archive/2007/10/17/4650/

Related Link: http://www.commondreams.org/archive/2007/10/17/4650/
author by Nuclear Resisterpublication date Thu Oct 18, 2007 22:13author address author phone Report this post to the editors

On October 17, 2007, the first anniversary of the signing of the
Military Commissions Act, Fr. Steve Kelly and Fr. Louie Vitale were
sentenced to 5 months in prison for their nonviolent witness against
torture at Ft. Huachuca, Arizona in November of 2006. They were
taken into custody immediately. (More information at
http://tortureontrial.org)

Please support them -

* Write a note of support to Fr. Kelly and Fr. Vitale. They were
taken to a privately run detention center in Florence, Arizona the
day of their sentencing. Since it is not currently known where or
when they may be transferred, please send individually addressed
letters to them c/o The Nuclear Resister, PO Box 43383, Tucson, AZ
85733 and they will be forwarded.

* Fr. Kelly and Fr. Vitale ask that every woman and man of
conscience do all that they can to protest the injustice of torture
and to end U.S. policy that sanctions torture. They encourage people
to participate in the protests at Ft. Benning, Georgia and Ft.
Huachuca, Arizona on November 17 and 18, or consider having a protest
in your community. For more information, visit http://www.soaw.org
(protest at Ft. Benning) and http://southwestwitness.org/ (protest at
Ft. Huachuca)

* Their commissary needs are taken care of but contributions for
prison support expenses are welcome. Checks can be made payable to
the Nuclear Resister (please put Torture on Trial on the memo line)
and mailed to the Nuclear Resister, PO Box 43383, Tucson, AZ 85733.
Donations can also be made securely online at the Torture On Trial
website at http://tortureontrial.org/donate.html

author by Update Imprisoned Priestspublication date Mon Oct 22, 2007 08:00author address author phone Report this post to the editors

Dear friends,

On Saturday morning, October 20, we visited Steve and Louie. They
are well, and send thanks for your prayers and support.

They are being held together at the Central Arizona Detention Center,
a privately owned prison in Florence, Arizona. There is no telling
if they will be there for a short time before being moved, or for the
entire five months. They will remain in federal custody for the
duration of their sentence.

Below is a revised message about what people can do to support them.
And below that is a statement of the Franciscan Friars, Province of
Saint Barbara in support of Louie. We'll also attach a wonderful
photo taken by Lee Stanley before Steve and Louie went into court on
the morning of October 17.

Peace,
Felice and Jack

SUPPORT FR. STEVE KELLY AND FR. LOUIE VITALE

On October 17, 2007, the first anniversary of the signing of the
Military Commissions Act, Fr. Steve Kelly and Fr. Louie Vitale were
sentenced to 5 months in prison for their nonviolent witness against
torture at Ft. Huachuca, Arizona in November of 2006. They were
taken into custody immediately. (More information at
http://tortureontrial.org)

Please support them -

* Write a note of support to:

Stephen Kelly #00816111
CCA
P. O. Box 6300
Florence, AZ 85232

Louis Vitale #25803048
CCA
P. O. Box 6300
Florence, AZ 85232

They were taken to a privately run detention center in Florence,
Arizona the day of their sentencing. It is not known if, when or
where they may be transferred. If the priests are moved, your
letters addressed to Florence will be returned to you. You may then
send letters to them c/o The Nuclear Resister, PO Box 43383, Tucson,
AZ 85733 and their mail will be forwarded to them.

If you are mailing something to them at this prison, please know:
- All books and magazines must be sent by the publisher or directly
from a book store.
- Non-copyrighted documents in manilla envelopes are fine, but to
expedite it, print on the manilla envelope "paperwork enclosed".

* Fr. Kelly and Fr. Vitale ask that every woman and man of
conscience do all that they can to protest the injustice of torture
and to end U.S. policy that sanctions torture.
- They encourage people to participate in the protests at Ft.
Benning, Georgia and Ft. Huachuca, Arizona on November 17 and 18, or
consider having a protest in your community. For more information,
visit http://www.soaw.org (protest at Ft. Benning) and
http://southwestwitness.org/ (protest at Ft. Huachuca)
- Visit http://torturelaw.org and sign the petition to repeal the
Military Commissions Act and use the handy form to customize a letter
that will be emailed to your Senators.

* Their commissary needs are taken care of but contributions for
prison support expenses are welcome. Checks can be made payable to
the Nuclear Resister (please put Torture on Trial on the memo line)
and mailed to the Nuclear Resister, PO Box 43383, Tucson, AZ 85733.
Donations can also be made securely online at the Torture On Trial
website at http://tortureontrial.org/donate.html

* Prison visits are being coordinated by Br. David Buer. Visiting
hours at the detention center in Florence are limited, and occur very
early in the morning. It is very important to contact David if you
are interested in visiting either of the men, so he can make sure
that no one travels all that way only to be turned away because there
is already a visitor there. You can contact David at
or call (314)803-6735.

xxxxxxxxxx

Wednesday, October 17, 2007

Statement of the Franciscan Friars, Province of Saint Barbara
Regarding the sentencing of Father Louis Vitale, OFM

Father Louis Vitale, OFM, is a member of the Province of Saint
Barbara (western U.S.) of the Order of Friars Minor (Franciscan
Friars).

Striving to be a true follower of Saint Francis of Assisi throughout
his 48 years as a Franciscan friar, Father Louie has been dedicated
to peace, justice and the well-being of creation. In a world that
suffers from violence and war, Father Louie has often engaged in acts
of nonviolent civil disobedience to promote these causes.

Father Louie's nonviolent actions are motivated by the deep spiritual
conviction that peace, justice and mercy are mandates of Christ, and
such actions have a long and respected history in Christianity and
many other religious traditions.

On November 19, 2006, Father Louie was among others protesting
military "interrogation training" at Fort Huachuca, Arizona. This was
in conjunction with a larger protest at Fort Benning, Georgia,
calling for the closure of the school there that has supported Latin
American military regimes that committed heinous violence against
their own citizens.

It is our understanding that Father Louie was arrested at Fort
Huachuca when he attempted to speak with enlisted personnel and
deliver a letter to the commander denouncing the immoral teaching of
torture there, and that he has now been sentenced for a total term of
five months.

Father Louie's religious superior, Father Melvin Jurisich, OFM,
Provincial Minister of the Province of Saint Barbara, commented on
the sentencing:

"Father Louie's Franciscan brothers fully support his actions at Fort
Huachuca because we know they are consistent with his life-long
dedication to work for good and oppose evil. He does so in the spirit
of prayer and nonviolence. He is doing what he believes Saint Francis
of Assisi would do if he were at Fort Huachuca. We stand by Father
Louie during his time of incarceration, and we know that even in jail
he will continue to work and pray for peace."

author by Prisoner - Des Moines Catholic Workerpublication date Tue Oct 23, 2007 04:10author address Iowa, USAauthor phone Report this post to the editors

It's All About the $.

"I want you to know it was a great privilege to act with those young people stand against the unjust, immoral, and illegal war. Any time I serve in jail will only add to that honor and privilege."

I addressed Judge Moisan with these words just before she sentenced me to thirty days in jail for my criminal trespass charge from the September 21 high school occupation of Senator Grassley's Des Moines offices.

Though they are noble words, and I stand by them and the truth they state about the U.S. war in Iraq and the courage of the young people with whom I was arrested. These young people had nothing to do with the severity of the sentence I was given. Sending me to jail was all about the money I owe Polk County.

Since the year 2000, when I was protesting the Iowa National Guard's and the F-16's participation in the U.S.-enforced "No-Fly Zones" over Iraq, to the beginning of the Iraq invasion in March of 2003, to today; I've been convicted eight times for criminal trespass in Polk County. For most of these convictions, I have refused to pay any of the fines and court costs that resulted from these convictions. Added to these fees are additional fees assessed for time spend in jail at the rate of $48/day for an incarceration in December, 2004. If I add to these my per diem fees for my current incareration, I estimate that I will owe Polk County between $4,000 to $5,000 by the time I am released on November 3rd.

It used to be—when I first began getting arrested—that we could tell the judge up-front that we refused to pay any fines, and the judge would send us to jail in lieu of the fines and court costs. You did your time, and that was the end of it.

Today, if you are found guilty, the judge must assess a mandatory minimum fine, court costs, arrest fees and/or any number of potential surcharges in addition to imposing incarceration time. Now however, a criminal trespass conviction carries a minimum $65 fine, court costs, arrest fees, and surcharges that bring the total minimum bill for the crime to $300. There are fees for every institutional contact in the process, even including fees for time spent in community service.

Obviously these "pay as you go" policies are an egregiously unfair burden on the poor. Nowhere is this unjust tax more clearly demonstrated than the $48-a-day fee for being an inmate in the Polk County Jail system. The outrageously potential outcome is that a poor person could be held in jail indefinitely from the inability to pay these accumulating costs.

My biggest concern is that my sentence will serve as a deterrent to others considering joining us in the Iowa Occupation Project. So far those arrested in IOP actions have only received fines and the added charges for their convictions. Whether or not, some judges will begin to impose jail time is unlikely.

However, the impact of good citizens putting their personal liberty on the line has clearly swayed public opinion toward a desire to end the war, and we know that these efforts, as expensive as they may become, are ultimately saving lives. How much is a human life worth?

Since the financial liability is not affordable for many of those willing to risk arrest, saving those lives requires more help from those with the resources to do so. Now, more than ever, the larger peace community needs to step up and support those willing and able to take this risk.

I don't know what I am going to do about my own growing debt. I plan to continue refusing to pay it as a principled position of solidarity with the poor who are disproportionately burdened with these unfair and unjust taxes of the criminal system and by the war itself. Should the day come that paying the debt becomes more prudent than not paying it, I trust that God's providence will supply me with what I need.

This I know. What I lack in money is more than compensated in my richness in friends and family. My most valued asset is my membership in the Des Moines Catholic Worker community. I am abundantly blessed to part of a community of people committed to lives of material poverty and dedicated to their service to the poor. It is a community that values the peace-making and affords me the luxury of being in jail while they continue our work of hospitality and the other works of mercy for which Catholic Workers are so widely known.

I am reminded of something M. Gandhi once said, "It takes a lot of rich people to keep me in poverty."

This is certainly true for those of us who live and work in the Des Moines Catholic Worker community, and for this we remain constantly grateful.

In my next reflection, I intend to share more about life here in the Bridewell Detention Facility in Bethany, Missouri. Please know that I am doing well and stay busy with the challenges placed before me each day in this confined space.
———-

You can donate to a fund for fees for those arrested through the Iowa Peace Network at the link below:

www.iowapeacenetwork.org

Or you can make donations to the Des Moines Catholic Worker at:

www.desmoinescatholicworker.org

Updates on the Iowa Occupation Project can be found on the web page:

www.schoolformoralcourage.com/iowaoccupationproject.html

Information about SODaPOP nonviolent direct action against the war:

www.desmoinescatholicworker.org/sodapop.html

Related Link: http://www.schoolformoralcourage.com/iowaoccupationproject.html
author by Solidaritypublication date Wed Oct 24, 2007 23:15author address author phone Report this post to the editors

CalProv 07.72
October 24, 2007

Dear Jesuits and Partners in Ministry,

On Wednesday, October 17, Fathers Stephen Kelly, S.J., and Louis
Vitale, O.F.M., were sentenced to five months in federal prison for
their participation in a nonviolent act of civil disobedience at Fort
Huachuca, Arizona, for which they were arrested on November 19, 2006.
At the time of their arrest, Louie and Steve were trying to deliver a
letter denouncing certain methods of "interrogation training"
sanctioned by the Military Commissions Act of 2006 to then-commander
Major General Barbara Fast. (The link to their letter can be found
on the Province website: HYPERLINK
"http://www.jesuitscalifornia.org" www.jesuitscalifornia.org.)

Steve is a member of the Murray Residence Jesuit Community in
Oakland, and for many years his main apostolic work has been engaging
with and educating others regarding peace, nuclear non-proliferation,
and nonviolence with the Pacific Life Community and members of the
Catholic Worker Movement. Louie is a member of the Santa Barbara
Province of the Franciscans and has devoted his whole life to working
for peace. (A statement from the Franciscan Friars can be found on
their website: HYPERLINK
"http://www.franciscan.org/JPIC/take_action.asp"
www.franciscan.org/JPIC/take_action.asp.)

Guided by the Gospel mandate of peace and nonviolence, as well as the
Ignatian commitment to a faith that does justice, Steve is no
stranger to being imprisoned for speaking and acting out against
institutions and mechanisms of violence. Steve's prophetic witness
against nuclear proliferation and war-making speaks a Christ-like
love for peace - a voice all too often drowned out and actively
suppressed by the cultural and political powers that support violence
and war. His incarceration provides a powerful point of reference
for contemplating the truth of Holocaust historian Yehuda Bauer's
famous line: "Thou shall not be a victim. Thou shall not be a
perpetrator. Above all, thou shall not be a bystander."

Steve's act of nonviolent civil disobedience at Ft. Huachuca last
year was a way to commemorate the 17th anniversary of the deaths of
the Salvadoran Jesuits and the two women who worked with them, and
coincided with the Annual Ignatian Family Teach-In, vigil and
peaceful demonstration at Fort Benning, Georgia.

Represented by human rights attorney Bill Quigley, Steve and Louie
stipulated to the court that they would refuse to comply with any
sentence that included supervision, a fine, or compulsory community
service and pleaded no contest to one federal count of trespass (USC
18-1382) and one Arizona state count of "Failure to Comply with
Police Officer" (ARS 28-622). They have been sentenced to three
months in prison for the federal conviction, plus two months for the
state conviction, to be served consecutively.

Steve and Louie have asked that every woman and man of conscience do
all they can to protest the injustice of torture and to end U.S.
policy that sanctions torture.

Respect Life Month and Ignatian Family Teach-In

The powerful witness given by Steve and Louie is an appropriate
context for my annual message to the Province on the Church's
observance of Respect Life Month and the Ignatian Family Teach-In in
Columbus, Georgia. Since 1972, the U.S. Bishops have invited us to
pray and act for a renewed sense of the sacredness of every human
being from conception to natural death. Each year, the Church
focuses on a full range of critical life issues of our times. Steve
and Louie provide us with a concrete witness for life in rejecting
the torture of human beings. I invite the Province to reflect on
this witness as we continue to shape our response to the call of
Christ as servants of Christ's mission in the Church and the world.
(Additional resources for Respect Life Month can be found at
HYPERLINK "http://www.usccb.org" www.usccb.org and HYPERLINK
"http://www.jesuit.org" www.jesuit.org.)

This prophetic witness is also an opportunity to invite you to the
annual gathering that commemorates the lives of the six Jesuits and
their two lay women co-workers who were assassinated on November 16,
1989, at the Jesuit University of Central America in San Salvador, El
Salvador. This gathering will take place at Fort Benning in
Columbus, Georgia, from November 16 to 18.

The highlight of this commemoration is the Ignatian Family Teach-In
on Friday and Saturday in conjunction with the peaceful demonstration
and procession to support the closure of the Western Hemisphere
Institute for Security Cooperation (WHINSEC), formerly known as the
School of the Americas (SOA) in Ft. Benning. A program of this
school trained the soldiers responsible for the murder of thousands
of people in El Salvador and other countries, including our beloved
Jesuits and their co-workers. There is a peaceful protest also
scheduled at Ft. Huachuca, Arizona, on the same weekend. Both of
these are opportunities to speak out against tortuous interrogation
techniques. (Additional information and resources can be found at:
HYPERLINK "http://www.ignatiansolidarity.net"
www.ignatiansolidarity.net, HYPERLINK "http://www.soaw.org"
www.soaw.org, HYPERLINK "http://www.southwestwitness.org"
www.southwestwitness.org, HYPERLINK "http://www.tortureontrial.org"
www.tortureontrial.org, and HYPERLINK "http://www.torturelaw.org"
www.torturelaw.org.)

Prayers and Support for Steve Kelly and Louis Vitale

Steve and Louie were taken to a privately-run detention center in
Florence, Arizona, the day of their sentencing. If you would like to
send them a note of support, please send to:

Stephen Kelly #00816111 Louis Vitale #25803048
CCA CCA
P. O. Box 6300 P.O. Box 6300
Florence, AZ 85232 Florence, AZ 85232

Note that all books and magazines must be sent by the publisher or
directly from a book store.

I will be visiting Steve and Louie while I am in Arizona at the end
of this month for my visitation to the Jesuit community and
apostolates in Phoenix. I will be sure to bring the prayers, support
and encouragement of the Province to them. Their gospel witness is a
model and a challenge for us all. We stand by Steve and Louie,
knowing that during their time of incarceration, they will continue
to work and pray for peace.

Conclusion

Over the past two years, we have been shocked and ashamed by reports
of torture in U.S. prisons, and so let us recall the words of the
U.S. Catholic Bishops in their October 2005 letter: "There can be no
compromise on the moral imperative to protect the basic human rights
of any individual incarcerated for any reason."

As we all seek to continually grow in our personal and communal call
to holiness, generosity, solidarity, and availability in serving God
and God's people, let us remember to pray for and encourage one
another.

Sincerely in Christ,

John P. McGarry, S.J.
Provincial

* * *

PRAYER TO END TORTURE
By Jill Rauh, of Education for Justice
For recognition of the "special dignity in every human being that
comes from the fact that we are brothers and sisters in God's one
human family" . . . (Cardinal Theodore McCarrick, June 13, 2006)
God, help us to uphold the dignity of all in our human family.
That all persons, especially those incarcerated indefinitely at
Guantanamo Bay and other prisons in Iraq, Afghanistan, and across the
world, would be treated according to the "highest ethical standards"
. . . (Bishop Thomas Wenski, June 13, 2006) God, help us to uphold
the dignity of all in our human family.
For policies which ban the use of torture and which recognize that:
"Torture is a dehumanizing and terrible attack against human nature
and the respect we owe for each other" . . . (Cardinal Theodore
McCarrick, June 13, 2006) God, help us to uphold the dignity of all
in our human family.
Help us to take seriously our call as Catholics to uphold the dignity
of all people in our human family. Inspire us to urge our leaders to
reject torture and mistreatment in all forms. We ask this through
Christ, Our Lord, Giver of Life. Amen.

author by Frank in Jailpublication date Thu Nov 01, 2007 01:43author address author phone Report this post to the editors

Frank, from the Des Moines Catholic Worker, is presently serving 28 days in jail for a nonviolent sit-in against the war.......

We Build Them. We'll Fill Them.

Polk County (along with most county jails in Iowa) has had an over-crowding problem for years. I remember Blessed Bishop Dingman leading the community call to build a new eight-floor jail in the 1970s. I also remember we Catholic Workers disagreed with the good Bishop on that call. (This was one of a few times we've disagreed with Dingman.)

We told the Bishop that if we built it, we would fill it. Catholic Workers believed that what we needed were more community-based correctional options. This was before the national move away from a rehabilitation-driven prison system to one that is strictly punishment-based. It was also before Ronald Reagan's war on drugs and the national push for mandatory sentences.

Thirty years later, the war on drugs has been lost; our justice protections have been gutted; and we have a prison population that is exploding. (In fact, the prison system is one of a very few growth industries in Iowa.) Local, County, and State governments continue pouring our limited tax dollars into the bottomless hole of building and maintaining more and more prisons.

It wasn't long after the 1970s that the newly-constructed Polk County Jail was filled to capacity and that the overflow of prisoners was then transferred to other county jails in Iowa. This transferring continued until Polk County figured it made more fiscal sense to add the Annex—an old warehouse located two blocks from the "new" jail that was converted into additional incarceration space. This "fix" didn't last long. Soon, both the new jail and the Annex were overflowing, and inmates were again being transferred to other county jails. They were, that is, until it was discovered that it was cheaper to transfer overflow prisoners out of state to a private, for-profit prison in Pattonsburg, Missouri. The decision was such a hit that the Polk County Land and Leasing Group (LLC) built another for-profit prison in 2004 in Bethany, Missouri.

My short stay in the Polk County jail lasted for just two nights. On Sunday, October 7, I was loaded into a van with eleven other inmates and driven to Bethany, Missouri, and the Bridewell Detention Facility (www.bridewelldetention.com). An hour and a half out of Des Moines, we were in Bridewell's Receiving and Delivery Unit, where we were issued a new set of jail clothes, reporting to medical staff, and assigned to a pod and bunk. I was assigned, then taken to Pod Two, Bunk 80.

I've spent time in many county jails through the years. They are all fundamentally warehouses for human beings. Phil Berrigan used to call them "human dust bins." Some are certainly better than others. None of them are good.

There are no educational programs, no inmate work assignments (except for trustees), little or no outdoor access or exercise space, limited religious services, and paltry libraries or access to reading materials. The food is always poor and nutritionally inadequate. People are just stored in very small, crowded paces—locked down, out-of-sight from the rest of society.

I would rate the Bridewell Detention Facility on the high end of incarceration facilities. A large, metal-framed, steel building, it doesn't look like your typical jail. It sits just off Interstate 35 on the north side of Bethany in an industrial zone. The facility has four separate wings called "Pods" in which most inmates are placed. Inmates can also be held in the "Hole" (or the disciplinary cells) and lately in the recreation room, a place for the overflow of inmates that Bridewell, too, is experiencing.

Each Pod has 32 steel, two-tiered bunk beds and holds 64 inmates. Pod Two is 80-by-20-feet with a 20-foot ceiling. There is a wall-mounted television and eight steel tables with benches. Each table seats eight. There is a row of eight urinals and two toilets along the wall in one corner and six showers along the other wall in the same corner. There is a bank of ten sinks that also serves as a four-foot partition wall for the showers and toilets. There are two telephone polls with four phones on each. Each Pod has a door that leads to an outdoor 20-by-40-foot smoking area. There is an Officers' Station in each Pod.

What first impressed me was the Pod's cleanliness. Each Pod is well-lighted, and, with its high ceiling, you don't experience the claustrophobia that usually comes with time in jail. Bridewell provides plenty of clothing, i.e. you get three clothing changes per week and a weekly bedding change. Toilet paper and cleaning materials are replenished promptly.

The food earns a poor rating (as it does in all jails). The meat is the poorest quality. There is far too much starch in the diet, and nearly everything comes in a can. The dietary highlight of the day is the banana or orange served at breakfast.

Those who receive money from home (not all inmates do) can also buy things at the Jail Commissary. The Commissary list is very limited, and there are no healthy food items on it. It's also very expensive. A three-ounce bag of Ramen Noodles is $.75 and a stamped-envelope is $.60. This routine pricing for jail commissaries is also a way to unfairly tax or punish low-income families who send money for these items to inmates—families who've done nothing wrong but care about someone in jail. Someone is making a lot of money off of their love. One good thing, however, about the Bridewell Commissary is that inmates may place orders seven days a week, and their orders are filled the following day.

The biggest plus--for most inmates--that Bridewell offers are its liberal smoking privileges. Inmates are permitted smoke breaks every two hours between 6:00 a.m. and 10:00 p.m. Since many facilities don't allow smoking at all (and while I don't smoke, at least 80% do), the privilege is quite appreciated. Add to this the cable television (of course the only way to broadcast television inside any facility is through a cable system), and daily movies (sadly the most popular films are also the most violent); a lot of guys are doing rather well here.

The inmate-friendly policies, however, are not driven by concern for the inmates. The motivation for these "liberal" policies is to create a safer and more efficient environment for the guards. A distracted and less-agitated inmate population is easier to manage.

I am most impressed here by how well the guards interact with inmates. They are friendly, professional, and always pleasant. At least one guard is present in the Pods at all times. Usually, though, there are more, especially at meal times, during head counts, and when clothing and bedding are exchanged. There is always at least one guard on-duty in the smoke break area. Since most of the guards are smokers, this duty seems to have mutual benefit.

If there is any sign of trouble, support guards are always on-hand to assist the guard assigned to the Pod. So, far their tactics to maintain order are effective without being Draconian. Very impressive.

There are downsides to being held at Bridewell. It is 75 miles from Polk County, and the distance makes it harder for inmates to stay connected to their families and support. It's far more difficult to do legal work for one's case or to have access to attorneys from here. Making the trip to visit is hardly worth the effort, since the maximum length permitted for a visit is twenty minutes and can be limited to as few as ten minutes. This means a visitor would usually spend between two and three hours on the road to spend a few minutes talking to someone on the phone through a plate glass window.

Not that the option of making phones calls to home is a financially feasible one for many. The cost for phone calls (which is typical of most jails and prisons) can be called immorally obscene. It costs a dollar per minute to place a collect call (another way to burden families who are already financially stressed). Phone cards may also be purchased through the commissary at the "bargain" price of fifty cents per minute.

The comprehensive downside of it all for Polk County is all about the money it's costing all of us. At it stands now, Polk County is filling its own jail, its Annex, the two for-profit centers in Missouri, and still farming out inmates to other jails as well. The County's present solution to the problem is the soon-to-be-completed and second "new" jail on the north side of Des Moines.

Despite all the promises and hype made about the new jail, we in the Catholic Worker community still maintain, "We build them. We'll fill them."

———-

You can donate to a fund for fees for those arrested through the Iowa Peace Network at the link below:
www.iowapeacenetwork.org

Or you can make donations to the Des Moines Catholic Worker at:
www.desmoinescatholicworker.org

Updates on the Iowa Occupation Project can be found on the web page:
www.schoolformoralcourage.com/iowaoccupationproject.html

Information about SODaPOP:
www.desmoinescatholicworker.org/sodapop.html

author by Louie on Movepublication date Thu Nov 01, 2007 20:14author address author phone Report this post to the editors



Franciscan Fr. Louie Vialie and Jesuit Fr. Steve Kelly are preesently serving a
5 monthjail sentence for a protest at a torute training centre in Arizona, USA

November 1, 2007

Dear friends,

Jack and I went to Florence this morning to visit Steve and Louie.
When we called at 5:30 p.m. yesterday, we were told they were still
there. Shortly after we arrived at 6 a.m., we learned that Louie was
gone.

We spent the allotted two hours visiting with Steve. He told us that
he and Louie had spent the day together fasting, and were quietly
talking, answering mail, etc. when Louie was told at 11:30 p.m. that
he was being moved and needed to get his things and leave. They were
able to say a quick goodbye, and then Louie was off....

It is not unusual for transfers to happen late at night. We don't
know where Louie is being taken, and it's possible he'll be in
transit for awhile before reaching his final destination - we will
let you know as soon as we hear anything.

If you'd like, you can send mail c/o The Nuclear Resister, PO Box
43383, Tucson, AZ 85733 and we will forward everything to Louie as
soon as we have a new address. Or you can just hold onto letters
until we have his new address to send out.

It's possible that Steve will also be moved anytime, so feel free to
send mail to him c/o the Nuclear Resister also. Please keep them in
your thoughts and prayers during this time of transition.

Peace,
Felice

Delete Reply Forward

author by Frankin Jailpublication date Fri Nov 02, 2007 13:48author address author phone Report this post to the editors

Doing Time at Bridewell

In a confined space shared by 64 others and where one's basic needs are met, the most challenging concerns can be the social ones. The inmate population here is not much different from the inmate populations in other county jails. The most common characteristic shared by the inmates is poverty. The difference between locked up or out on the streets is money.

The old say, "You get all the justice you can afford."

That truth holds here, and these men can't afford much. Most of the inmates have yet to be sentenced. They are somehow caught in legal limbo, waiting for their case to be settled, waiting for a parole or probation violation to get sorted out, or waiting for a determination of their incarceration status. Most are non-violent offenders, charged with crimes that are drug or alcohol related. The more serious or violent offenders are kept back in the Polk County Jail. The racial composition here is at least 20% African American, a few Latinos, and the rest are white.

Dealing with foul and hateful language is difficult. Its use is common and filled with misogyny and homophobia. The hate speech is so frequent and common that many don't seem to notice it. While it's spoken primarily by younger inmates, there are a lot of them (the median age is 25); and this contributes to its frequent use. Though some older inmates, too, can be just as foul and hateful in their speech.

This speech added to the lack of privacy, the blare of the t.v. from 6:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m., and the constant human chatter creates a din that is nerve rattling. Time for prayer or reflection is tough to manage.

Of course, there are times when the guys are disrespectful such as making noise during sleep hours, and fights do break out once in awhile. What is truly amazing, given the situation, is that most actually get along.

Thirty days is not enough time to carve out a regimen or the discipline for prayer, reading, writing, or exercise. The setting simply limits the possibilities. The first two weeks my primary reading material was the King James Bible, not my favorite translation. I try to frame my experience as an opportunity to learn to be present in the "now," the immediate moment.

In jail, it is easy to get lost in your own emotional issues and not be in the "now." Though in reality, I'm here in a small space with 64 others, I'm tempted to hide and spend most of my time inside my own mind thinking about things over which I have no control, worrying about what is happening on the outside, thinking about all the work I left behind, and all the work I have to do when I get out. The self-absorption can become all-consuming.

To offset this, I try to make myself available to those with whom I'm sharing this time and space. It did not take long for the guys to learn who I am and why I'm here, especially since a few have been guests of the Catholic Worker house (plus a few Des Moines Register newspapers with stories about me were passed around). Soon, I was spending a lot of time talking one-on-one with guys, hearing their stories, and actively listening.

It comes as no surprise that most come from difficult and broken lives. A lot of their troubles they bring on themselves, and a lot are brought on by factors beyond their control. Each story is far more complicated than it would seem on its surface, and none lend themselves to easy, pat answers. Sometimes just listening and caring seems to fill a real need.

I'm certainly not the only guy in our Pod offering a caring ear. One man stands out for me here as someone who went beyond listening and caring to serve as the Pod minister. Jerry Carr is 57, African American, and from Des Moines. Coincidentally, Jerry is one of those who has been a guest at the Catholic Worker house. Jerry has spent a lifetime on and off drugs and in and out of jails and prisons. He tells me he didn't have a "real" job until he was in his 50s. His physical bearing alone tells you his life has been hard and rough. He's lost half of his teeth, and this causes a slur when he talks.

I first noticed Jerry as the guy doing a daily Bible study in the Pod. Sometimes as many as 12 men attended his study group, most of them younger African American men, but not all. He also had a steady stream of men visiting him on his bottom bunk. So, Jerry was the man I approached about getting a Bible. That's when he invited me to join his group, and I gratefully accepted.

Jerry finally sobered-up a few years ago. He secured a minimum wage job and lives with his mother, who's been praying for him for years. He now attends church regularly and reads his Bible daily. He has two grown daughters and several grand kids and describes himself as "one of the richest men" he knows because he's survived and now has the love of God in his life. His greatest joys are being with his family, especially those grand kids. And, while he acknowledges he can't do anything about the chunk of life he's wasted; he's determined to make the best of the remaining years he says God has given him.

Jerry found himself back in jail after the driver of a car in which he was a passenger was pulled over for a minor traffic violation. The officer ran Jerry's name through their system and discovered a warrant for an unpaid fine in Las Vegas from several years ago that he'd forgotten. Jerry embraced this return to jail as an opportunity to study his Bible and to reach out to others about the life lessons he had learned and what his newly-found faith had taught him.

Jerry is not an academically learned man. I can barely understand him when he talks. Yet, he speaks from his heart and has a way of speaking directly and effectively to the young men who attended his Bible service.

Jerry left a few days ago. The day before he left, he shared with me his hope of starting a faith-based recovery meeting in Des Moines. He says his time in jail and his experiences with leading the Bible study group have boosted his confidence and his call to do so. He's promised to visit us at the Catholic Worker. I hope he does. I also hope he starts his faith-based recovery group. He has much to teach and share.

This is Frank's last report from Bridewell. He is scheduled to be released November 3, 2007.

———-

author by Fr. Louie in Jailpublication date Mon Nov 05, 2007 05:52author address author phone Report this post to the editors

Dear friends,

This morning, Louie phoned to tell us he had landed at the Imperial
County Jail in El Centro, California. He had spent Wednesday night
in a holding cell in Florence, and early in the morning was taken
with other inmates in a van, past Yuma and over the Arizona state
line into California.

The Bureau of Prisons Inmate Locator lists him under CCM Long Beach,
a community corrections management office that handles BOP contracts
with county jails, etc. We phoned and spoke to a manager there who
said Louie will serve the duration of his sentence in El Centro.

Please note: he has a different ID # at this jail.

*Louis Vitale #292487
Imperial County Jail
P.O. Box 679
El Centro, CA 92244

*If you're writing from outside the U.S. it is best that you send the letter c/- the follwing soldiarity
address who will redirect it in case Louie is moved to another jail in the meantime. This will maximise the chances of your message getting through and not returned etc.

Fr. Louie Vitale
C/- Peace Prisoner
P.O. Box 43383
Tucson
AZ. 85733
USA

Please don't send any books, magazines, or newspapers until we can
get a hold of someone who can let us know the regulations at this
county jail. It might be Monday before anyone returns our call.

Please also remember that commissary needs for both Louie and Steve
have been taken care of. If you want to visit, contact Brother David
Buer, who is coordinating visits, by emailing or
calling (314)803-6735.

As of 5 p.m. on November 2, Steve is still at the Central Arizona
Detention Center in Florence.

Peace,
Felice and Jack,
for Torture on Trial

Related Link: http://www.jonahhouse.org
author by Frank - Des Moines Catholic Workerpublication date Sat Nov 24, 2007 18:00author address author phone Report this post to the editors

A twenty minute video:
http://www.archive.org/details/CatholicWorkerDieCDinfro...01007

Each year, the Global Network Against Weapons and Nuclear Power in Space (GN), sponsors a 'Keep Space for Peace Week' in October.' It is Co-sponsored by Women's International League for Peace & Freedom.

'Local peace communities who have ongoing campaigns against space war related industries and military facilities from all over the world participate in this week of protest.'

This is the record of a 'Die-in' protest in Omaha, Nebraska, initiated
by the Des Moines, Iowa and Omaha Catholic Workers on Oct. 10, 2007, during the 'Keep Space for Peace Week.' Three people were arrested; Fr. Jack McCaslin (78), Peg Gallagher(89) and Jerry Ebner (57). Otherwise, Omaha is also the annual GN conference host site from April 11 to 13, 2008.

" Each year now, for the 2nd in a row the Quest Center was Host for
the Strategic Space and Defense Conference 2007 sponsored exclusively by OFFUTT AFB and STRATCOM.

This event is otherwise known as an "ARMS BAZAAR" where Defense Contractors and Corporations buy and sell their Military and Space Weapons to the US Government and Defense Department". (cite from http://www.no-nukes.org/cwomaha/20071015report.html)

Related Link: http://www.archive.org/details/CatholicWorkerDieCDinfrontofQwestCre101007
author by Ithaca CWpublication date Mon Nov 26, 2007 20:24author address Ithaca, New York, USAauthor phone Report this post to the editors

Danny Burns, Mark Scibilia-Carver, Ellen Grady, Todd Saddler, and Chris Tate are scheduled to appear for sentencing before Judge Chauncy Watches this Wednesday November 28th. The five were convicted of Criminal Trespass in the third degree, a misdemeanor, by a six member jury on Saturday September eighth. They each face up to three months in jail and a two hundred and fifty dollar fine.

Background
On Monday August 6, 2007 Danny Burns, Mark Carver, Ellen Grady, Todd Saddler and Chris Tate "occupied" the Bath, NY office of Congressman Randy Kuhl, a Republican and ardent and unrelenting supporter of President Bush and the "war on terror." The aforementioned quintet delivered approximately three thousand petitions to Congressman Kuhl's office, petitions asking him to make a public declaration that he would not vote for any additional funding for the war in Iraq. The activists had hoped to dialogue with the Congressman in person and waited in his office for over five hours. At the end of the business day Kuhl's office manager requested that the five leave the premises but they declined citing the Constitution, International law and a moral obligation to stay and address this issue with the Congressman. The Bath police were summoned and lost little time before arresting the activists and charging them with a misdemeanor count of criminal trespass.

www.FingerLakesForPeace.org

Related Link: http://www.FingerLakesForPeace.org
author by Ciaron - Pitstop Ploughshares/Catholic Workerpublication date Wed Nov 28, 2007 11:25author address author phone Report this post to the editors

*Check website below for photoes of action etc.

*Ellen Grady and family were with us in Dublin for the first Pitstop Ploughshares trial March 05. The family had just been visited by the FBI before coming to Ireland. Ellen's husband Peter De Mott and sisters Clare and Teresa Grady were later served 8 & 6 months for their occupation of a military recruitment centre in their hometown of Ithaca, NY,on St. Patrick's Day 03

Activists to be Sentenced in Bath Town Court
Wednesday November 28 at 3:00 PM
Rally and Press Conference Scheduled at

Danny Burns, Mark Scibilia-Carver, Ellen Grady, Todd Saddler, and
Chris Tate are scheduled to appear for sentencing before Judge Chauncy
Watches this Wednesday November 28th. The five were convicted of
Criminal Trespass in the third degree, a misdemeanor, by a six member
jury on Saturday September eighth. They each face up to three months
in jail and a two hundred and fifty dollar fine.

What: Sentencing, Rally , Conference
When: Wednesday November 28 at 3:00 PM
Where: Bath Town Hall 110 Liberty Street Bath NY

http://tompkinsagainstwar.org/?p=113
www.FingerLakesForPeace.org

Related Link: http://tompkinsagainstwar.org/?p=113
author by Sentencing Updatepublication date Thu Nov 29, 2007 19:17author address Bath, Maine, USAauthor phone Report this post to the editors

Judge Chauncey Watches today sentenced five activists who occupied the Bath, NY office of Congressman Randy Kuhl on August 6, 2007 and were later found guilty of criminal trespass. Four of the group, Ellen Grady, Todd Saddler, Danny Burns and Chris Tate, have been obligated to perform fifty hours of community service and to pay three hundred dollars each in fines.

Mark Scibilia-Carver, a codefendant, told Judge Watches that he could not in good conscience either pay any fine nor perform community service. On hearing this, Judge Watches sentenced Mark to thirty days in the Steuben County Jail.

Although the four other defendants informed Judge Watches that neither would they pay fines, he said that he would revisit the matter after the four month period in which the fines should be paid and the
community service performed had elapsed.

Each of the defendants pleaded for an end to the war and the death and suffering which accompany it. Appealing to the US Constitution and its provisions for "redress of grievances" and its elevation of all
"treaties, pacts and protocols" to the status of "the supreme law of
the land", legal arguments were made as to the moral necessity and
imperative of citizens to speak out against the wrongdoing of one's
own government. Citing statements from the Popes John Paul II and Benedict XVI as well as Martin Luther King, Jr, and Camilo Mejia, the five passionately denounced the illegal, unjust war of aggression which has been raging for nearly five years.

Judge Watches told the quintet that although they had acted in good
faith to stop the war, their good faith ended with their refusal to
accede to police officers' requests for them to leave Congressman
Kuhl's office. Todd Saddler responded by saying "our consciences
remain clear and we continue to extend good will toward all".

author by Fr. Louie in Jailpublication date Sat Dec 29, 2007 20:09author address author phone Report this post to the editors

(Franciscan Fr. Louie Vitalie & Jesuit Fr. Steve Kelly are presently serving 5 months prison in the U.S. for nonviolent resistance at the U.S. military base in Arizona where U.S. soldiers are trained in interrogation and torture techniques. Check www.tortureontrial.org for updates and background

December 25, 2007

Emmanuel Comes to Imperial County Jail

I receive many letters and Christmas cards, many bemoaning that I
will not be home or at Church at Christmas. Yes, I will miss that
again. I love the midnight mass and the children bringing in the
Christ child.

We will have no Mass here. Probably there will be nothing to note
this great festivity. Yet without doubt Emmanuel will come! The
all-embracing Love of God will reach us.

In fact Emmanuel Zagas has been with me these past 2 weeks plus. He is a 20-year-old from Mexicali whose wife Esperanza is expecting a baby boy not long after Christmas.

Manuel had enlisted in the U.S. Army (with 47 others from Mexicali),
but is out now. Thank God. He is charged with including marijuana
among the cargo he carries to the U.S. He is awaiting U.S. Federal
sentence. He is very restless in the cell. He does read the Bible. I
am encouraging him to read the infancy stories about Emmanuel, and his message of nonviolence. He asked to do his marriage por la iglesia when we get out. I think he will make a good husband & dad. He is very solicitous of my well-being. He is fun! We do have good talks despite language limitations.

I not only hold in my heart and prayer my brothers and sisters (on
the other side of the wall) but those in such places as Guantanamo
Bay. They bear many similarities to this cell block, lots of locked
metal doors, interrupted sleep, and contentions. Also, a lot of
solitude, yet noise. I don't know if they have T.V. but I'll give
them the one in our day room. They have a much better clinic (cf
Michael Moore's "Sicko"). But I have been to court, have a release
date, can phone out, lots of letters and books and some brief visits
- oh, yeah, no electric shock, hooks or waterboarding!

But it is good to hold these members of the Body of Christ in my
daily life. When we can relate to those who suffer oppression and
even join them in that oppression (limits to our freedom and life
choices) then we are able to join their struggle for liberation. As
James Douglass relates in Resistance and Contemplation we must join the oppressed in their struggle for freedom (Resistance) if we wish to achieve the "new heaven and new earth" - the peaceable "kin"-dom of God.

But as Douglas, Gandhi and Merton insist we must first liberate
ourselves from our own demons (the false self, ego, power driven,
violence, prejudices). To do that we must move into Contemplation:
(the wilderness & solitude). Gandhi said this happens best in the
solitary cells of the empire - "the cell door is the door to
freedom." It is here in the "Imperial" jail that I find the
stabilities to awaken to Emmanuel, the presence and source of Love of all creation. I experience the freedom to dedicate myself totally to that "Love," that "Reality" that is the reign of God in our midst and to know that we are on the way to the New Creation - this is the way to Liberation.

I can only say that this presence embraces me here. It frees me from false pretensions personally and communally, and gives me a true peace "of perfect joy." From this point we can discover the
nonviolent Way of Liberation and join in its realization.

Blessed Franz Jaggerstatter, S.F.O. - patron of this little hermitage
- truly inspires me with his freedom, as is clear in his mystic
writings and testimonies. My fears and anxieties abate and even
Sister Death seems a welcoming presence not to be feared. In all of
this I find deep joy.

Steve and I will join Catholic Workers Jeff Dietrich and Mike
Wisnowski (Los Angeles Catholic Worker) and Denis Apel (St. Anthony Seminary grad who credits our affinity to my showing up at S.A.S. with Cesar Chavez - my mentor in nonviolence) in court in Santa Barbara after our release. We joined them at Vandenberg Air Force Base in Lompoc, CA, on Armed Forces Day last May. We were inviting our brothers and sisters of the 30th Space Wing, "Guardians of the High Frontier", to abandon their pursuits to "dominate space" with nuclear weapons. We called them to join us, to learn Jesus' Gospel Way of the Sermon on the Mount, which Gandhi calls the great way of nonviolence. This is the way to the "Peaceable Kin-dom" where the lion lies down with the lamb.

May we abandon our plans for war (especially the ones with Iran) and dedicate ourselves to the nonviolent way of compassionate Love (the spiritual energy even greater than nuclear energy). Hope is possible.

Jesus shows us the Way.

O Come, O Come Emmanuel!

Peace, Louie

Related Link: http://www.tortureontrial.org
author by Fr. Jerry in Jailpublication date Sun Dec 30, 2007 07:53author address author phone Report this post to the editors

*You can send Fr. Louie Vitalie, Fr. Steve Kelly, Betsy Lamb or Fr. Jerry Zawada (presently imprisoned for nonviolent resistance against torture training at Fort Huachuca, Arizona)
an individual postcard or letter of solidarity c/- of the follOWing address (or mail will be redirected ot the relevant jails and prisons)

c/- N.R. Resister
P.O. Box 43383
Tucson
AZ. 85733-3383
U.S.A.

Dear friends,

Betsy Lamb and Fr. Jerry Zawada remain at the CCA in Florence,
Arizona, awaiting their February 4 trial along with Mary Burton
Riseley. A motion to modify Betsy's pre-trial detention without bail
and request that conditional release be granted was summarily denied.

They've each had several visits in the 3+ weeks they've been in
prison. Unfortunately they are not able to receive any books,
magazines or newspapers unless it is pre-approved by their case
manager. If you come across an interesting article, you can print it
up or photocopy it, and use the paper as stationary. Please find
below a recent letter from Jerry to friends and supporters. Thanks
to Mary Lou Pedersen for typing it up and sending it out.

Fr. Louie Vitale is doing fine in the solitude of 23 hour lock-down
at the Imperial County Jail. He has plenty of time for reading,
writing and prayer. He has had different cellmates occasionally.
Jack and I arrived in El Centro on December 22 to visit Louie and
found that old friends of his had already signed in for a visit.
Since only two people are allowed in at a time on a first-come,
first-served basis, they were very kind to allow one of us to go in
for the visit with one of them. Please, if you want to visit Louie
(or Steve, Betsy or Jerry), contact Brother David Buer in advance to
schedule a visiting date - precisely so this sort of thing doesn't
happen! Email Brother David at buer@intermind.net or call (314)
803-6735.

Several days after being sent to the privately owned Correctional
Institution in Taft, California, Fr. Steve Kelly was moved to
administrative segregation ("the hole") because of his refusal to
work. This is a stand he has also taken while locked up in the past,
not wanting to participate in keeping the prison running smoothly.
He keeps in mind the observation of Dorothy Day: "Our problems stem from our acceptance of this filthy, rotten system."

Steve didn't have access to stamps right away, and hasn't been able
to call. We finally got a letter from him explaining his current
situation. He's been receiving his mail, and reports having some
time outside. He is allowed a 5 minute phone call once a month, and has limited access to commissary. We haven't been able to get a visiting form, and it looks unlikely that he will be able to have
visits. He was told that he will remain in the hole for the
remainder of his sentence. Like Louie, he has ample time for
reading, writing and prayer.

You can find prison addresses and other support details for all four
at http://tortureontrial.org/support.html

They are appreciative of all of the letters and support they are
receiving. They are also grateful for all of your efforts to bring
about an end to war, torture and nuclear weapons.

Best wishes in the new year,
Felice
on behalf of Torture on Trial
http://tortureontrial.org/

>From Fr. Jerry Zawada:
December 27th 2007

My Dear Friends-all who bring messages of hope.

"Each one of us can do something", Dorothy Day, Mother Teresa and
other inspired leaders of our lifetime agree. No one is left out,
when we do what we can to bring Truth into focus and to strive for
much needed change. Like YOU!

I feel it, and know it, because of what you tell me in your letters,
because of the strength you give me and my companions from our
actions at Ft. Huachuca in Southern Arizona.

As much as I would like to answer every letter personally-some 100 in the past two and a half weeks-I am unable to do so. Throughout this time I've only been allowed 20 postage stamps and not allowed to purchase any more from commissary till the New Year.

Just about everyone in prison for matters of justice, peace, truth,
and nonviolence feels called to reach out to companions confined for other reasons: to listen and to learn and to help open doors to a
brighter future for so many struggling to build a new life for
themselves; a sacred mission for sure.

And again, you are part of that mission. None of my companions here at cell block 400-G have the kind of support you give me. I want to share your goodness with them.

Despite my inability to respond by letter, I want to let you know
that you are very much with me. I sense your presence, your
giftedness and mine to be able to continue. I hold you in my heart,
my thoughts and prayers in gratitude for all that you're about. Yours
is not a letter wasted.

"Each of us can do something." you're doing it! Thank you. May the
light of God's blessing shine on you. May 2008 be the year Mother
Earth and all God's creatures begin to sigh relief.

Peace-Solidarity always!

Jerry

Related Link: http://www.torureontrial.org
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