[Peace-discuss] DU trial

[Dlind49 at aol.com]

http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/108673_uranium14.shtml

Seattle Post-Intelligencer
February 14, 2003

Peace activist convicted of trespassing
At recruiting center, she tried to warn of depleted
uranium

By M.L. LYKE
SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER REPORTER


-The activist, 66-year-old Ellen Murphy, received a
$150 fine and a year's non-supervisory probation.
She was not allowed to present information about
depleted uranium in court to support her case, but she
was able to testify about her reason for her actions,
saying that she felt a "deep devotion" to veterans and
enlisted men.
-The defense claimed the Gulf War left that country a
"toxic wasteland" of radioactive depleted uranium
rounds.
-Judge Debra Lev did allow Douglas Rokke, an Army
Reserve major and former member of the crew that
cleans up depleted uranium left from Operation Desert
Storm, to testify for the record, but not before the
jury. 
-Rokke also testified that he intends to nominate
Murphy for a civilian commendation from the secretary
of defense for the demonstration.




BELLINGHAM -- A peace activist who attempted to
explain the dangers of depleted uranium inside an
Armed Forces Recruitment Center last fall was found
guilty yesterday of trespassing.

The quick guilty verdict followed a three-day jury
trial that drew media attention to the issue of the
radioactive heavy metal, used in munitions to pierce
armored vehicles during the Gulf War. Experts say the
radioactive dust inhaled after an explosion can lead
to various cancers and birth defects.

The activist, 66-year-old Ellen Murphy, received a
$150 fine and a year's non-supervisory probation.

She was not allowed to present information about
depleted uranium in court to support her case, but she
was able to testify about her reason for her actions,
saying that she felt a "deep devotion" to veterans and
enlisted men.

The court was crowded with some five dozen of her
supporters each day. Some carried peace signs.

Murphy and her attorneys had intended to talk about
her efforts to keep would-be recruits from signing up
and being shipped to Iraq. The defense claimed the
Gulf War left that country a "toxic wasteland" of
radioactive depleted uranium rounds.

Prosecutors argued that the Army and depleted uranium
were not on trial. 

Judge Debra Lev did allow Douglas Rokke, an Army
Reserve major and former member of the crew that
cleans up depleted uranium left from Operation Desert
Storm, to testify for the record, but not before the
jury. 

Rokke, who flew in from Illinois, told the court that
his own uranium poisoning had been kept from him for
two years. 

He talked about the lack of information provided
recruits.

Rokke also testified that he intends to nominate
Murphy for a civilian commendation from the secretary
of defense for the demonstration.

In final arguments yesterday, prosecutors said they
wanted to send a message that protesters will not be
allowed to break the law in Bellingham.

Murphy's attorney, Joe Pemberton, said he is
considering an appeal.

"I feel like Bellingham has returned to the approach
of the early 1960s by classifying people with the
label 'protesters' and trying to 'teach them a
lesson.' That scares me."

P-I reporter M.L. Lyke can be reached at 425-252-2215
or m.l.lyke at seattlepi.com