Local Activist Sentenced to jail for protest at North Anna Reactor.
On Thursday January 7, 2010, Paxus Calta went before a jury in defense of a pre-meditated trespassing charge to which he plead not guilty based on a defense of necessity. Calta was appealing the 2008 conviction in which a judge sentenced him to two weeks in jail. This time the jury found him guilty and despite the Commonwealth Attorney, Tom Garrett, requesting “several months in jail” for the offense, the jury sentenced Calta to only 5 days.
On August 8, 2008 Calta and 20 other protesters occupied the
information center at the North Anna nuclear power plant facility.
Six of these protesters were arrested. The protests were part of the
South East Climate Convergence which challenged the false solutions to
the climate crisis, including “clean coal” and nuclear power. The
Convergence chose Dominion as a target for protests because the
company plans to build another reactor at the North Anna site.
“I consider this a victory” said Calta. “It is a reduction in the
original sentence and far less than the Draconian punishment proposed
by the Commonwealth Attorney”. Calta also pointed out that the jury
had sought a suspended sentence, but it is not permissible under
Virginia law for the jury to give one.
Calta forecasted that there will be more protests at Dominion
facilities and other utilities which don’t take climate change and
renewable energy seriously. “No one wants to pay for nuclear power,
Wall Street has not put any private money into it for years. The only
way to get nuclear funded is for nuclear lobbyists to manipulate
Congress into having taxpayers cover it’s uneconomic price.”
Calta, a father of one living in Louisa County, reminded the jury that
there were more impacts than just economics to think about and that a
healthy future for his son was more important than anyone’s bottom
line. Apparently, some of them agreed, for after the trial one juror
approached Calta and asked to shake his hand, telling him that they
appreciated his protest.
Current favorite video: tinyurl.com/momsclimate
cell: 541-505-0803
blog: butthedevil.blogspot.com
bio: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paxus_calta
snail: 138 Twin Oaks Rd, Louisa VA 23093
web: tinyurl.com/6zqa26
Skype: paxus.calta
