JURY RETURNS SPLIT VERDICT, ONE CONVICTION ON FOREST ACTIVISTS
For Immediate Release -
Contact: Naomi Wagner 707-629-3546
Following a three-week trial and three days of deliberation, a Humboldt County jury could not agree beyond the required reasonable doubt if two forest defenders, tree sitter Wren and Earth First! activist Naomi Wagner, were actually on Maxxam/PL property when the two were arrested on March 17th. The cases stemmed from the intense public protests that erupted when contract climbers, assisted by a host of county sheriffs and California Highway Patrol officers, began extracting tree sitters from the ancient redwoods they were protecting along Greenwood Heights Road in Freshwater near Eureka.
The lack of proof of Maxxam/PL's property line, in relation to the county right-of-way, was a major issue in the cases. The uncertainty resulted in a split verdict for both the defendants on trespass charges. Although the prosecutor, Mr. Borg, who has the burden of proof, emphasized the importance of "property rights," he introduced no official maps, surveys or timber harvest documents and put no qualified witnesses on the stand to establish exactly where the property lines are or who owns the land where the tree sits are located.
Wagner, who locked herself to a small redwood at the base of the tree known as "Jerry" (where tree sitter Remedy sat for almost a year) and Wren, who sat in a neighboring tree called "Everstine" at a height of 110 feet for ten months, expressed satisfaction with the split verdict on trespassing. The County Sheriffs Department spent weeks planning the extractions, but never asked to see any proof of ownership. PL Head-of-Security Carl Anderson, when asked on the stand if he knew for sure that PL owned the area in question replied, " I don't know for sure, but I'd bet on it."
" It certainly calls into question the way PL's word is taken as gospel in Humboldt County," said Wren.
The district attorney's office may decide whether to refile the charges. Wagner is considering an appeal on her resisting conviction. The next hearing is scheduled for July 8th. Wagner concluded, "People have got to be wondering why Pacific Lumber didn't produce a deed of ownership to that land and whether those trees may, in fact, belong to the public."
