U.S. Peace Activist Released After 20 Years, Picked Up After 2 Days

international | anti-war / imperialism | news report

Saturday March 27, 2004 12:41

by The Nuclear Resister - USA

nukeresister at igc dot org

Helen Woodson - The Resistance Continues!

Support Letters
c/- Helen D. Woodson, #03231-045, c/o Bates County Jail,
P. O. Box 60, Butler, MO 64730
USA

Plowshares anti-war activist Helen Woodson, released from prison
March 9, 2004 after completing an 18-year sentence for using a
pneumatic jackhammer to disarm a nuclear missile silo in Missouri,
has been arrested again. In keeping with her promise upon release to
report to federal probation officials in Kansas City, Missouri, by
March 12, she entered the federal courthouse there on the morning of
March 11. At the security checkpoint, Helen reportedly poured red
paint on the apparatus and made a statement before being arrested.
At this time she is only charged with probation violation. Following
her release from prison, and prior to her arrest, Helen also
reportedly sent four letters and made one phone call that, according
to attorney Henry Stoever, who visited her in custody, the "contents
of which may be construed as making threats."
More information will be forthcoming. Following is a statement Helen
wrote prior to her release from prison. After that, a message from
attorney Henry Stoever including information about writing and
visiting Helen.
If you would like more information please contact the Nuclear
Resister at [email protected]
Peace,
Jack Cohen-Joppa
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

THE TRUTH BEARS REPEATING

November 11, 1984 - March 12, 2004

In the Gospel of Matthew we are told, "No one can serve two masters."
Today, as perhaps never before in history, it is necessary for each
of us to ask, "Whom do we serve?"

Whom do we serve when we name the first explosion of an atomic bomb
"Trinity"? When we call a fast-attack submarine "Corpus Christi"
(Body of Christ)? When the spires of the Air Force Academy chapel are
shaped like missiles? When we possess 11,000 nuclear weapons, and our
military policy is one of preemptive first strike?

Whom do we serve when the President who took his oath on a Bible
leads us into a war based on lies and deception? When we explode
hundreds of tons of Depleted Uranium shells poisoning the air, water
and soil, and inflicting sickness and death on both civilian
populations and our own military personnel?

Whom do we serve when the federal courts, which begin each session by
invoking God's blessing, sanction abortion, environmental
destruction, capital punishment, and war? When we print "In God We
Trust" on the money and then use it to finance death and destruction
all over the world?

Two thousand years ago, when people were asked whom they served, they
answered, "We have no king but Caesar!" The religious terms in which
we clothe our murderous deeds cannot obfuscate the truth; we too have
no king but Caesar.

A life of faith calls us to a different answer, one exemplified by
two saints of the early Church. Leaving the Roman army, St. Martin
of Tours said, "I am a soldier of Jesus Christ; it is not permissible
for me to fight," and St. Maximilian, martyred for refusing military
conscription, said, "I cannot do evil... I will not be a soldier of
this world. I am a soldier of Christ."

In 1984, on the feast day of St. Martin, I was one of four people who
went to a Missouri missile silo to witness to that truth. In 2004, on
the feast day of St. Maximilian, I am expected to report to a
Missouri probation office and accept government supervision of my
life and conscience. The Christian life is one of on-going repentance
in the service of God, and so again, I must witness to that truth.

November 11, 1984 - March 12, 2004

THE TRUTH BEARS REPEATING
signed/ Helen Woodson

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
Helen D. Woodson, Federal No. 03231-045, is at the Bates County Jail,
in Butler, Missouri, a new facility recently opened which is approx.
one hour south of Kansas City, MO, off of Highway 71. If persons
wish to write: "Helen D. Woodson, #03231-045, c/o Bates County Jail,
P. O. Box 60, Butler, MO 64730. If persons wish to visit Helen, the
address is: Bates County Jail, 6 West Fort Scott, Butler, MO 64730.
One must call at least 24 hours in advance, (Phone: (660)679-3232,
ask for cell block area, and one must set up an appointment.
Visitation for non-attorneys is: Tuesday, Thursday & Saturday, from
12:30 PM to 1:30 PM, and 6:00 PM to 9:00 PM. Besides regular mail
(which is opened and inspected), one can ask bookstores to send
directly to the facility books for Helen. The jail also accepts
t-shirts (all white), underwear (all-white), which must be in the
original package and will be inspected. All other items, Helen must
buy at the commissary. Peace, Henry.

_____________________________________
the Nuclear Resister
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