Latest news with #MargaretReid
The Guardian
7 days ago
- Politics
- The Guardian
I received a 30-month jail sentence for nonviolent resistance. Why so harsh? Because protest works
Last week, at Minshull Street crown court in Manchester, I was sentenced to two and half years in prison for conspiring to intentionally cause a public nuisance. The prosecution's case was that I intended to 'obstruct the public or a section of the public in the exercise or enjoyment of a right that may be exercised or enjoyed by the public at large' – in other words, that I was part of Just Stop Oil's plan to obstruct planes at Manchester airport. I did intend that – and I have a defence for my actions. The offence of public nuisance – which falls under the Criminal Law Act 1977 and the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act 2022 – was traditionally and frequently used to prosecute significant environmental offences. It punished big corporations causing real harm to the general public by poisoning water, polluting air, emitting dust and noise or dumping chemical waste. There is no irony lost in the fact that the same offence in statutory form is now being zealously deployed to prosecute environmental protesters. After spending nine months in prison on remand, my stomach was tied in knots but my head was held high as I climbed the steep, gloomy concrete steps from the court cells into the glass dock, which stands in the centre of the imposing Victorian gothic courtroom in Manchester. At last I was due to find out my sentence. At the end of the long ruling our fate was made clear: Leanorah Ward, Margaret Reid, Daniel Knorr and I were given 18 months, 18 months, 24 months and 30 months respectively. I was taken back to prison, where I remain, with time left to serve. Make no mistake, this sentence was passed because nonviolent resistance has the potential to spark revolutionary change. The judge, Jason MacAdam, deemed it necessary to hand down 'deterrent' sentences in order to inspire fear in others considering similar actions. There was much in the judgment that I disagree with, but I do agree with the judge's assertion that I considered 'the cause to trump inconvenience to others whether that be the general public at Manchester airport or other court users'. The climate crisis is not our cause; it's a matter of life or death for everyone. We set out to disrupt the planes at Manchester airport because history shows that resistance can be a catalyst for change, and science shows that we need to change our destructive way of life now to prevent disaster. When we were arrested on the way to airport, we had a banner in our pockets that said 'Oil Kills'. When we were sentenced in court we each raised signs saying, 'Billions will die'. The science is clear, and the judge is right: I consider the facts to be so alarming, so stark, so utterly heartbreaking that disruption to everyday life is warranted. And I have spent each day in custody, questioning why others equipped with the same knowledge as I have do not feel the duty to act in the same way that I do. The judge agreed that we acted on our conscience, but for sentencing he wanted to see remorse. But how can it be possible to take part in an act of conscience and then show remorse? How could I be morally compelled to take action one week, and then filled with regret for acting the next? I took action to disrupt the status quo, as I believed that carrying on as normal meant complicity in many unnecessary deaths. I pleaded not guilty and chose to defend my actions in court because I wanted to present the case that I was acting out of necessity to prevent harm. But this defence was ruled out. The judge stated that 'the stance taken by you [by pleading not guilty] distinguishes you all from others who have chosen to follow the long and honourable tradition of civil disobedience on conscientious grounds, that is accepting that you have broken the law and accepting the punishment that follows'. In doing this he not only disregarded the 1670 trial of Penn and Mead (where Quakers pleaded not guilty to unlawful assembly), the Ploughshare Four trial (where peace activists defended themselves by arguing that they acted to prevent harm), and the Rivonia trial of Nelson Mandela (who defended himself against conspiracy charges brought by the apartheid South African government). They all pleaded not guilty. He also denies the very essence of the tradition of protest: its ability to evolve and adapt to different contexts in order to find the confrontational edge essential to nonviolent action. Just Stop Oil is not a re-enactment group, it is an action group, which has taken a strategic decision to continue resistance into the courtroom. By asserting the necessity for our actions, we include the legal system in the debate over our duty and responsibilities. Later in the judgment, MacAdam appeared to reveal outright contempt for those in resistance, as he mused 'how wrong it is in a free and democratic society to consider that your own belief in the worthiness of a cause to be justification for breaking the law'. As if centuries of political and social struggle had never taken place, as if the current 'free and democratic society' has delivered the protection and defence we need from ever-increasing heating and extreme weather events. My time incarcerated will be spent in service. I will continue to follow in the noble tradition of civil resistance, using my time to read about past campaigns and the people behind them. People who also served time in prison, in the belief that despite the reaction of the state, their actions were a necessary public service. I will consider how to hold those responsible for the greatest crime ever committed against humanity to account. Indigo Rumbelow is co-founder of Just Stop Oil. She is serving a sentence in HMP Styal
BBC News
27-05-2025
- General
- BBC News
Protesters who planned Manchester Airport disruption jailed
Four Just Stop Oil protesters who were planning to glue themselves to the taxiway at Manchester Airport have been arrested Indigo Rumbelow, Margaret Reid, Leanorah Ward and Daniel Knorr as they were making their way to the airport on 4 August were equipped with heavy-duty bolt-cutters, angle grinders, glue, sand, Just Stop Oil high-visibility vests and a leaflet containing instructions to follow when interacting with four were found guilty of conspiracy to intentionally cause a public nuisance and jailed at Manchester Minshull Crown Court for between 18 and 30 months. Additionally, they were each fined £2,000. Indigo Rumbelow, 31, from Tottenham, has been sentenced to 30 months and Leanorah Ward, 22, from Birmingham, has been sentenced to 18 Reid, 54, from Kendal, has been sentenced to 18 months, and Daniel Knorr, 23, of Second Avenue, Birmingham, has been sentenced to 24 to Greater Manchester Police, Ward said, during her interview, that she regretted the protest had been unsuccessful after being caught by the was also carrying a handwritten note which explained that the group planned to enter the airfield and then contact the police to alert them of their Chief Constable Chris Sykes, from Greater Manchester Police, said police forces across the country had begun preparations to thwart Just Stop Oil's planned protests, after activists threatened a summer of disruption last year."Bringing together experts in the field, and through extensive collaboration, Greater Manchester Police successfully foiled their plans," he said. Listen to the best of BBC Radio Manchester on Sounds and follow BBC Manchester on Facebook, X, and Instagram. You can also send story ideas via Whatsapp to 0808 100 2230.
Yahoo
07-05-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Lakeland mom fears she spent her time, money on degree she'll never have
TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) — A Lakeland woman turned to 8 On Your Side after enrolling in a local nursing program in 2023. She said she did the work, but was it all for nothing? 'I'm in my 50s, so this was it for me, and that's where my dream was shattered it became a nightmare to me,' Margaret Reid said. Close Thanks for signing up! Watch for us in your inbox. Subscribe Now 8 on Your Side This local mom borrowed $37,000 to further her education, but after failing the school's final course, she said she was told she is out of the program. Now she worries she spent her time and money on a degree she'll never have. Reid has 15 years of experience as an LPN, but she wanted better opportunities and better pay to help her family, so she went back to school to become an RN. Reid said Jersey College in Tampa did not give her a path to finish her degree, but the nursing school disputes those claims. Hundreds of Tampa apartment residents face water shut off by city for non payment Reid enrolled in the 15-month nursing program at Jersey College's Tampa campus back in May of 2023. The program touts no pre-requisites, that all costs are inclusive, and that the degree is fully accredited. Reid was sold. She took out a $37,000 loan to pay for it. She thought everything was going well until she reached the school's final course. 'I don't understand how you can get through an entire program, and I pass every class never had to repeat not one class and then I'm done,' Reid said. That final course is called leadership. Reid needed a 73 to pass the leadership exam. She got a 71. She said she was stunned. 'Nobody can actually prepare you for what those exams are,' Reid said. 'Usually I don't know what you're going to get into because it's everything from what you first started, so you don't know what to study.' Reid wanted to know what went wrong so she could learn from her mistakes, but said the school's dean didn't offer any feedback. So, she hired a tutor and took the course again and got another failing grade. Now Reid said she has no nursing degree, but plenty of debt. Residents evacuated from Clearwater condo after cracks found in pillar underneath building 'If the state board tells you that you can go and take the exam three times and fail it before they make you do remedial, and then they allow you to come back so how can in school that you complete the whole program, just say you're out just like that, I don't get it,' Reid said. 8 On Your Side reached out to Jersey College for answers. A spokesperson shared this statement about the program. The school said that the leadership course is required to take the final 'National Council Licensure Examination', or NCLEX: Jersey College is deeply committed to supporting our students so they are prepared to provide top-notch medical care to our community. Our faculty upholds rigorous academic standards to foster excellence and integrity, ensuring graduates are well-prepared for safe nursing practice. Jersey College's Tampa campus has graduated more than 2,000 nurses since our opening in 2008. More than 90% of our students pass the NCLEX exam on their first attempt. In addition to the Tampa campus, Jersey College also has a number of hospital-based campuses offered in coordination with leading Florida healthcare systems. These campuses exist largely due to the quality of the College's programs and the student-centric focus of our institution. A significant number of our graduates have been employed at Florida's best healthcare facilities such as Tampa General Hospital, BayCare, Moffit Cancer Center, and more, a testament to the quality of our programs. In Summer 2024, 21 of 22 students in Tampa passed the referenced nursing course. Despite three months of subsequent one-on-one remediation, the non-passing student failed the course a second time. Since Fall 2023, only 1 other of the 82 students who took the course faced a similar outcome. We only award degrees when students demonstrate safe practice and competency in nursing. 'You might have a 90% passage rate, but what are the percentages of students that are not even getting through?' Reid said. 'I have more years behind me than I have in front of me. I don't have another 56 years to decide to go into another program or another 40 grand. I need to have answers. I need someone to reach out to me.' Reid said she believes there must be another way to help students who have succeeded in every course except this final one, so that they can still earn their nursing degrees. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WFLA.
