Two Trials
Their first trial on state trespass charges, held in Ithaca, ended in a mistrial due to a hung jury.
The four activists were then retried on federal charges in Binghamton, generally considered to be a more conservative area where obtaining a conviction would be easier. However, local activists staged a massive protest outside the courthouse each day of the trial, and organized a six-day Citizen's Tribunal on Iraq (modeled after the World Tribunal on Iraq), featuring many internationally known speakers.
The four defended themselves pro se, but were assisted by a team of attorneys, such as William P. Quigley. Although they were cleared of the most serious charges, they were convicted of misdemeanor charges of damage to government property and entering a military station for an unlawful purpose. All of them have been released from prison after serving their terms.
Read more about this topic: The Saint Patrick's Day Four
Famous quotes containing the word trials:
“Old age is not a disease—it is strength and survivorship, triumph over all kinds of vicissitudes and disappointments, trials and illnesses.”
—Maggie Kuhn (b. 1905)
“On the whole, yes, I would rather be the Chief Justice of the United States, and a quieter life than that which becomes at the White House is more in keeping with the temperament, but when taken into consideration that I go into history as President, and my children and my children’s children are the better placed on account of that fact, I am inclined to think that to be President well compensates one for all the trials and criticisms he has to bear and undergo.”
—William Howard Taft (1857–1930)