Priests' trial to begin Oct. 17; no mention of torture permitted

Published: 2007-10-01

SAN FRANCISCO (CNS) -- The trial of two priests facing trespassing and other charges in connection with an anti-torture protest last November was set to begin Oct. 17 in Tucson, Ariz., despite the priests' stated intention not to contest the charges. Franciscan Father Louis Vitale and Jesuit Father Steve Kelly face 10 months in jail after they attempted to deliver a letter denouncing torture to Army officials at Fort Huachuca in Arizona last November. At a pretrial hearing Sept. 21, the priests' attorney, William Quigley, told Magistrate Judge Hector Estrada that, in light of earlier rulings that he said doomed their defense, Fathers Vitale and Kelly would submit a no-contest plea to charges of federal trespass and failure to comply with the orders of a police officer. Capt. Evan Seamone, the prosecutor, responded that, per federal procedure, such pleas could only be accepted in the "most unusual circumstances" and only with the approval of the U.S. Justice Department. Estrada also ruled Sept. 21 that Father Vitale may not travel outside California and Arizona. These additional restrictions came as a result of Father Vitale's participation in a Nagasaki Day line-crossing at the Nevada nuclear test site, for which he was cited in violation of a pretrial order not to break local, state or federal laws.

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