File spoon-archives/anarchy-list.archive/anarchy-list_1999/anarchy-list.9910, message 303


Date: Sun, 17 Oct 1999 14:30:16 -0400
From: Chuck0 <chuck-AT-tao.ca>
Subject: Anarchists cry foul over rioter's sentence


Anarchists cry foul over rioter's sentence 

Judge hands out stiff prison term in assault that injured officer 
Friday, October 15, 1999
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

PORTLAND -- Anarchists denounced the seven-year sentence imposed on a
rioter who threw a rock at a policeman, calling the decision political
grandstanding at the expense of justice.

    "What they're trying to do is intimidate people," John Zerzan, a
Eugene anarchist writer, said yesterday. "But I don't think it's going
to stop us from trying to get across our point of view."

    Lane County Judge Mary Ann Bearden said her sentence Wednesday was
intended to send a message against violence, even in the name of a
social cause.

    Robert Lee Thaxton, 39, was convicted of second-degree assault and
rioting for hurling a four-pound rock at Sgt. Larry Blackwell during a
June 18 anarchists' march that erupted into violence.

    The assault charge, a Measure 11 crime, carries a mandatory minimum
of five years and 10 months in prison. For the rioting charge, Thaxton
would ordinarily have gotten only probation, but the judge departed from
the guidelines to give him 18 months and make the terms run
consecutively.

    "We were hoping that the judge would have some compassion and
realize that the actions that Robert took on that day weren't severe
enough to get 88 months in prison," said Tim Lewis, a volunteer with
Eugene Copwatch, a watchdog group that videotapes police brutality. "But
she didn't see it that way."

    The riot began as a peaceful march to culminate a two-day
anarchists' conference to protest corporate greed, environmental
pollution and corruption at University of Oregon.

    But the situation quickly turned ugly.

    In his trial, Thaxton said he was afraid Blackwell was going to hit
him. He admitted to carrying a rock in self-defense. He said he tried to
throw it over Blackwell's head as a diversion so he could escape.

    The softball-sized rock hit Blackwell in the chest. He was badly
bruised, but did not suffer any permanent injuries.

    "The thing that bothered me the most was when he testified he had a
smile on his face," Blackwell said. "He said he was at the riot for four
hours. He described it as festive, and he was afraid to leave."

    Still, anarchists said the punishment does not fit the crime.

    Thaxton's former attorney, Charles Porter, said an appeal would be
filed.

     Thaxton's court-appointed attorney, Lisa Gallo, could not be
reached for comment.

    A group of anarchists and other citizens will gather and voice their
discontent with the Thaxton case at a  National Police Brutality rally
Friday, Oct. 22 at the University of Oregon.

-- 
Chuck0
http://flag.blackened.net/chuck0/home/

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