POL - Sharpton jailed for Vieques protest

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Great, maybe that will give him time to pull together his election papers for the next presidential.

http://www.boston.com/dailynews/143/world/Activist_Al_Sharpton_given_90_:.shtml

Activist Al Sharpton given 90 days in jail for Vieques protest

By Eileen Mcnamara, Associated Press, 5/23/2001 21:38

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) A federal judge on Wednesday sentenced the Rev. Al Sharpton to 90 days in jail for trespassing on U.S. Navy land during a protest against military exercises on Vieques island.

''If Martin Luther King were alive, he would have come to Vieques and raised these issues,'' Sharpton said, appearing before Judge Jose A. Fuste.

Sharpton was taken into custody for transportation to the federal prison in suburban Guaynabo.

The New York civil rights leader was arrested May 1 with 180 other protesters in an attempt to stop the exercises, which the demonstrators claim are a health hazard to residents of the Puerto Rican island. The Navy denies the exercises have led to any medical woes.

The sentencing came one day after Sharpton hinted he might make a run for the White House in 2004. Misdemeanor convictions don't bar candidates from holding public office.

Analysts said his conviction will increase his support in New York and raise the national profile Sharpton has carefully cultivated in recent months.

''He will get a lot of attention,'' said Lee Miringoff, a pollster at the Marist Institute for Public Opinion in Poughkeepsie, New York. ''His actions are not necessarily to appeal to all of the electorate,'' he said, adding he will likely be intensely supported by some of the electorate.

Eleven other activists who were arrested with Sharpton also appeared in court Wednesday. Nine were sentenced to 40 days in prison and fined $500. They included New York City Councilman Adolfo Carrion, New York state legislator Jose Rivera and Bronx County Democratic Party chairman Roberto Ramirez. Two defendants were put on probation because they are ill.

Other high-profile protesters arrested during the demonstrations included environmental lawyer Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Rep. Luis Gutierrez of Illinois, actor Edward James Olmos and New York labor leader Dennis Rivera. Those cases weren't handled Wednesday.

Earlier this month, Puerto Rican independence leader Ruben Berrios was sentenced to four months in jail, the stiffest sentence given to the anti-Navy protesters so far. Berrios had refused to recognize the jurisdiction of the U.S. court and did not mount a defense.

Because Sharpton was arrested before for civil disobedience in New York, he was sentenced as a repeat offender. He also was fined $500.

Rubenstein said lawyers will appeal the decision, but the judge refused a stay of the sentence pending an appeal.

He complained Sharpton had only one day's notice of the hearing in Puerto Rico, which prevented him from compiling a proper case.

Rep. Charles B. Rangel of New York said he would ask prison officials to allow Sharpton to serve his time in New York, where he would be closer to his family.

''There is no good reason for him to be incarcerated in Puerto Rico,'' Rangel said in a written statement.

Some observers suggest Sharpton is seeking to become a new leader of the national civil rights movement.

Sharpton has built a career out of speaking his mind inspiring both devotion and loathing. Though he was unsuccessful in bids for Democratic nominations for U.S. Senate in 1994 and New York mayor in 1997, analysts say his support is growing.

Sharpton has recently expanded from focusing on New York problems to issues more national in scope, traveling to issues to Florida for the presidential recount, to Cincinnati to protest a police shooting, to Sudan to investigate reports of slavery and to Vieques.

The Navy has used its range on Vieques, population 9,400, for six decades and says it is vital for national security. Critics say it poses a health threat, which the Navy denies.

Opposition to the exercises grew after a civilian guard was killed on the range in 1999 by two off-target bombs. The Navy has since stopped using live ammunition, and islanders will vote in November whether the Navy must leave in 2003 or can stay, resuming the use of live ammunition.

''Now the case of Vieques won't be an isolated case,'' said Jose Paralitici, a university professor and spokesman of the group All Puerto Rico With Vieques. ''Civil disobedience is going to grow. The sentences given to Sharpton and other demonstrators appear excessive. They aren't common delinquents.''

-- Anonymous, May 24, 2001

Answers

SEE! I Told You! I Told You!...

http://www.boston.com/dailynews/144/region/Sharpton_inspired_by_time_b ehi:.shtml

Sharpton inspired by time behind bars

By Eileen Mcnamara, Associated Press, 5/24/2001 20:16

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) Comparing his situation to that of inmate- turned-president Nelson Mandela, the Rev. Al Sharpton said Thursday his recent prison sentence had only galvanized his presidential plans.

A federal judge on Wednesday sentenced Sharpton to 90 days behind bars for trespassing on U.S. Navy property as part of a May 1 protest against bombing exercises on the Puerto Rican island of Vieques. Of the 11 other activists who were arrested with Sharpton, nine were sentenced to 40 days behind bars.

''Nelson Mandela went from prison to president,'' Sharpton said, referring to the former South African president who spent 27 years in prison for his fight against apartheid. ''I am determined more than ever to give serious consideration to running for president in 2004.''

Sharpton made his comments in a statement circulated by his attorney, Sanford Rubenstein.

Sharpton was in a federal prison in the San Juan suburb of Guaynabo but was to be transferred Friday to a facility in New York, according to a U.S. marshal who declined to give his name. Juan Donato, a local spokesman for the Marshals Service, declined to comment.

New York City Councilman Adolfo Carrion, New York state legislator Jose Rivera and Bronx County Democratic Party Chairman Roberto Ramirez were among those sentenced to 40-day terms. U.S. Rep. Charlie Rangel said the U.S. Justice Department had arranged for the four to be transferred to a federal facility in the New York area sometime Friday.

''They'll be back tomorrow, but they won't be out of jail, but we're working on that,'' Rangel said.

He said he would try to get Sharpton and the others released into his custody upon their arrival in New York.

''These are family people, away from their families and lawyers,'' Rangel said. ''They're not going to escape the jurisdiction. They're not going to commit any crimes.''

Sharpton was arrested May 1 and convicted of a misdemeanor. He was sentenced as a repeat offender because he had prior arrests for civil disobedience in New York.

Sharpton's lawyers plan to file an appeal with the 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Boston, which has jurisdiction over Puerto Rico. The appeal will include a request to release him from prison pending the appeal, Rubenstein said.

Puerto Rico Gov. Sila Calderon, visiting New York on Thursday, said she was ''disappointed'' with the sentences issued Wednesday. New York Gov. George Pataki, who appeared with Calderon in a joint news conference, agreed the sentences were ''far more severe than necessary.''

At least 15 members of Congress signed a letter sent Thursday to Attorney General John Ashcroft asking him to review the sentences, saying the protesters are being punished for their political views.

Other high-profile protesters arrested during the demonstrations included environmental lawyer Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Rep. Luis Gutierrez, of Illinois, actor Edward James Olmos and New York labor leader Dennis Rivera. No court dates have been set for them.

The Navy has used its range on Vieques, home to 9,400 people, for six decades and says it is vital for national security. Critics say it poses a health threat, which the Navy denies.

Opposition to the exercises grew after a civilian guard was killed on the range in 1999 by two off-target bombs. The Navy has since stopped using live ammunition, and islanders will vote in November whether the Navy must leave in 2003 or can stay, resuming the use of live ammunition.

Sharpton has built a career out of speaking his mind.

He served time in New York in 1993 as part of a 45-day sentence he was given for civil disobedience after being convicted of organizing an unruly 1987 demonstration to protest a white mob's slaying of a black man.

He has toned down in recent years, distancing himself from past controversies that also included falsely accusing a white state prosecutor of taking part in the alleged rape of a black girl. Sharpton was ordered to pay civil damages in the ensuing slander lawsuit, but he allowed the debt to go largely unpaid for years.

Although most of Sharpton's activism has revolved around local cases involving racial violence or police brutality, he has broadened his scope in recent months. He traveled to Florida for the presidential recount, to Cincinnati to protest a police shooting and to Sudan to investigate reports of slavery.

-- Anonymous, May 25, 2001


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