October 27, 1993
Contact: Sue Navy
303-349-5886
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Feds Fail to Convict Nuclear Testing Foe
The trial of Rick Paul Springer ended today with a hung jury.
Anti-nuclear activists declare this a significant victory in the
campaign to end nuclear testing.
Springer alerted the public to an upcoming nuclear bomb test by
interrupting former president Ronald Reagan's speech at the
National Association of Broadcasters convention on April 13, 1992
in Las Vegas. Springer was charged with "failure to surrender" when
he did not appear on June 2, 1993 to serve a 120 day sentence for a
charge stemming from the convention incident.
Representing himself with the advice of counsel Susan Quig-Terry,
Esq., of Las Vegas, Springer argued that to surrender at that time
would have been "deserting his post." The U.S. was considering the
resumption of nuclear bomb tests. "Springer had no choice but to
continue his work, as a higher moral law prevailed in his mind,"
explained Sue Navy, Vice President of High Country Citizens'
Alliance, who observed the trial.
After the testing moratorium was extended on July 3, Springer made
preparations to return to Las Vegas to surrender as he continued
his work to stop testing. He was apprehended by U.S. Marshalls in
the course of a media tour there on Nagasaki Day, August 9, 1993.
"For a jury to be deadlocked on the issue of failure to surrender
in order to help prevent the restart of nuclear testing is a major
victory," declared Springer. The "hung jury" is significant in that
members of the jury saw that there was compelling reasons for
Springer to postpone hi incarceration so that he could be working
to stop the threat of the resumption of nuclear testing. In the
words of juror Paul Edwards, "He [Springer] put his own personal
freedom at stake to save the lives of hundreds of thousands of
people."
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[I have copies of two newspaper articles on the issue. If anyone
would like to see them, e-mail me. -Michele]
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Michele Lord + If you have come here to help me,
+ you are wasting your time.....
+ But if you have come because
+ your liberation is bound up with mine,
milo@scicom.alphacdc.com + then let us work together.
Aboriginal Woman
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