Y-12 PROTESTERS APPEALING FOR LIGHTER SENTENCES
NS&D Monitor
1/10/2014
As their Jan. 28 sentencing date approaches in U.S. District Court, the Transform Now Plowshares protesters and their attorneys are maneuvering to get the lightest sentence possible for their unprecedented break-in at the Y-12 National Security Complex in July 2012. In a memo filed Jan. 4 in U.S. District Court in Knoxville, Michael Walli’s attorneys argued that a sentence of time-served or a sentence of one year in prison would accomplish the “goals of sentencing” or be in line with other similar cases involving peace activists carrying out protests at nuclear weapons facilities.
Walli and his two accomplices in the Y-12 break- in—Sister Megan Rice and Greg Boertje-Obed—were convicted in May on felony counts of depredation against government property and sabotage of the national defense. The three cut through four fences at the Oak Ridge plant—once considered to be an impenetrable part of the nuclear weapons complex—and avoided detection until they reached the plant’s high-security Protected Area. Once there, they spray-painted slogans on structures and splashed human blood on the plant’s storehouse for bomb-grade uranium.
Attorneys Cite ‘Upstanding Moral Character’
According to court documents, the recommended sentencing range for the 65-year-old Walli, who has prior convictions on protest-related charges, is 92 to 115 months in prison. The three peace activists have been incarcerated since their May 8 convictions, and they currently are at the Irwin County Detention Center in Ocilla, Ga. U.S. District Judge Amul R. Thapar will preside at their sentencing hearings in Knoxville. In arguing for a lighter sentence, Walli’s attorneys—William Quigley, a law professor at the Loyola University New Orleans, and Chris Irwin—cited the defendant’s “upstanding moral character, the devotion of his life to serving his community and to peace, the nonviolent and symbolic nature of the offense itself.” The attorneys noted two similar cases involving protesters at nuclear weapons sites in which the sentences on the felony charges were reduced.
It’s not clear what impact the Plowshares popularity will have in the courtroom, but the attorneys made references to “the overwhelming amount of support both nationally and globally for defendants in this case.” According to the court memo, more than 2,100 letters and postcards have been written to the court in support of the protesters, who collectively refer to themselves as the Transform Now Plowshares. The letters came from individuals or groups in 45 different U.S. states and 16 foreign countries.
Judge Rejects Request for Protesters to Meet
U.S. attorneys have not yet responded to the sentencing memo for Walli. Similar memos for Boertje-Obed and Rice are expected in the coming days. Federal Magistrate Judge C. Clifford Shirley recently rejected a motion to allow the three defendants to meet face-to-face at the Georgia detention facility in order to prepare a collective sentencing strategy. Shirley said federal sentencing is done individually, and he said the defendants did not provide a reason to coordinate their strategy.
Also, Boertje-Obed, who represented himself during the trial, filed a handwritten motion Dec. 13 asking Thapar to grant a request to play two songs at the Jan. 28 sentencing hearing. The songs are “My Name Is Lisa Calvelege,” written by Pete Seeger, and “By Breath,” written by Sarah Thompson of Duluth, Minn. Both songs would shed light on my motivation for undertaking the Transform Now Plowshares action,” Boertje-Obed wrote to the federal judge.
NSPS EARNS ‘VERY GOOD’ RATING ON FIRST REPORT CARD
NS&D Monitor
1/10/2014
National Security Protective Services, the Department of Energy’s new security contractor in Oak Ridge, got a “very good” overall rating on its first report card and earned a fee of $519,320. NSPS won a contract competition earlier this year and replaced Wackenhut Services (also known as WSI-Oak Ridge and G4S Government Solutions) as DOE’s protective force contractor for Oak Ridge National Laboratory, the East Tennessee Technology Park and the Oak Ridge Federal Building. The company is a joint venture of Triple Canopy Inc. and Securiguard Inc.
Wackenhut had been a dominant player in the security market in Oak Ridge for more than a decade, holding separate contracts with DOE for ORNL and other federal facilities. It also held a separate, much bigger contract at Y-12, which ultimately was terminated in the wake of the July 28, 2013 security breach at the nuclear weapons plant. The NSPS performance period was from March 24 through Sept. 30, the end of Fiscal Year 2013. The contractor received an overall performance score of 96. NSPS was notified of the results in a Dec. 11 letter from Joseph A. McBrearty, DOE’s fee determination officer on the contract.
According to a release by the contractor, “DOE recognized NSPS for its ability to quickly adapt and respond to customer needs while seamlessly assuming responsibility as the Oak Ridge protective force services provider in March 2013.” NSPS President Ignacio Balderas said in a statement that the company was pleased with the results of the contractor’s first evaluation by the federal agency’s Oak Ridge office. “We set high expectations when we successfully transitioned the contract, and I am pleased to see we have earned high marks from the Department of Energy,” Balderas said.
UT-BATTELLE GETS STELLAR REPORT CARD FOR FY 2013
NS&D Monitor
1/10/2014
Arriving at virtually the same time as news of another five-year contract extension from the Department of Energy was another sterling report card for UT-Battelle, DOE’s managing contractor at Oak Ridge National Laboratory since 2000. UT-Battelle, a partnership of the University of Tennessee and Battelle Memorial Institute, earned a fee of about $10.5 million out of a max possible of $11.2 million for Fiscal Year 2013, which concluded Sept. 30. The ORNL contractor received an A- for mission accomplishments; a B+ for construction and operation of research facilities; an A- for science and technology project/program management; A- for contractor leadership; B+ for environment, safety and health; B+ for business systems; A- for facilities management; and A- for security and emergency management. In a statement, ORNL Director Thom Mason said, “It was another good year, and we believe our strong performance has a lot to do with DOE’s intent to extend our contract.”
He added: “Our researchers and staff continue to deliver impactful science and significant value for the government and our partners. In 2013, we delivered the Titan supercomputer, opened the Carbon Fiber Technology Facility, and published high-impact science such as discovery of how deadly methylmercury forms in the environment. We saw success across diverse scientific disciplines, and we continued to build connections among our areas of expertise. When we had challenges, such as failure of the SNS (Spallation Neutron Source) target, we made a strong recovery, and we have clear plans for the future. So we’re very happy with our rating. It’s a nice way to end the year.”
In his evaluation letter to ORNL, DOE Site Manager Johnny Moore said UT-Battelle “exceeded the Department of Energy’s expectations in providing leadership and stewardship of the laboratory.” He said DOE is confident in UT-Battelle’s capabilities to address DOE’s missions of the future at ORNL. Rep. Chuck Fleischmann (R-Tenn.) in late December revealed that the Department of Energy intends to extends UT-Battelle’s management contract at ORNL for another five years, subject to negotiations. The existing contract is due to expire in April 2015.
