Fed up with nuns, probation officer urges release

Sara Burnett, Rocky Mountain News

Published January 5, 2007 at midnight

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A federal probation officer has asked a U.S. District Court judge to terminate supervised release for the three nuns convicted of damaging a missile silo, saying his office's time would be better spent monitoring people who are a threat to the community. Dominican sisters Ardeth Platte, Carol Gilbert and Jackie Hudson have "continuously used their supervision status as a forum to espouse their political and social beliefs," probation officer Greg Phillips wrote in a request to Judge Robert Blackburn.

They also have ignored conditions of their release, such as a requirement to get permission before leaving their home states, Phillips said, adding it would be "in the interest of justice" to terminate them, even though they have yet to pay the $3,080 in restitution ordered by the court.

If Blackburn agrees, Platte, Gilbert and Hudson would be off supervised release, which requires them to check in with their probation officers and carries other conditions, such as not stepping foot on any property owned or leased by the U.S. Department of Defense.

It would not absolve them of the $3,080 debt, however — the issue that has been at the center of the nuns’ conflict with the court. Instead, the U.S. Attorney’s Office would take over responsibility for collecting the money.

The women were convicted in 2003 of cutting through a fence to spill their own blood on a missile silo during a 2002 protest.

They each were sentenced to between 30 and 41 months in prison, followed by three years of supervised release. They have all been released from prison. Gilbert and Platte now live in Maryland, while Hudson is living in Washington.

They have refused to pay their restitution, however, saying they cannot give money to an organization that supports violence and war.

Instead, the sisters traveled to Denver in November, where they collected food to donate to military families in lieu of giving cash. They attempted to deliver two truckloads of items to Air Force bases here but were turned away. The food was then given to the Denver Rescue Mission and a Colorado Springs food bank.

In his request, Phillips noted the trip as another example of the women thumbing their noses at probation. Rather than get permission in advance, as they are required to do, the sisters sent letters to their probation officers on Nov. 10 saying they were leaving the state on Nov. 14. Their probation officers received the letters on Nov. 15, Phillips stated. When he asked the women why they didn’t follow proper procedures, he said they told him they did it on purpose because they knew their request would be denied.

There is no deadline for Blackburn to rule on the request.

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