AVCO PLOWSHARES:
July 14,
1983 Agnes Bauerlein, mother and grandmother from Ambler, PA; Macy Morse, mother
and grandmother from Nashua, NH; Mary Lyons, mother, grandmother and teacher
from Hartford, CT; Frank Panopoulos, member of the Cor Jesuit community from
New York City; Jean Holladay, of the Plowshares
Number Four; John Pendleton, member of Jonah House; and John Schuchardt, of
the Plowshares Eight; entered the AVCO Systems
Division in Wilmington, Massachusetts, where MX and Pershing II nuclear weapons
components are produced. They hammered on computer equipment related to
these weapons systems and
poured blood on blueprints labeled MX-"Peacekeeper." They also issued
an indictment against AVCO and its co-conspirators, including the
"national security state" and the Armed Forces, with an indictment
for committing crimes against God and humanity by manufacturing for profit weapons
of genocide. They were apprehended within an hour. During their jury trial they
were able to present a justification defense but this defense and expert
testimony was disallowed by the judge prior to jury deliberation. They were
convicted of wanton destruction and trespass. They were sentenced to jail for
up to three and one-half months. After seven years in the Massachusetts
Appellate Courts, their appeal was denied on November 16, 1990. They were then
sentenced to time already served which included three months for Jean and John
Pendleton and nearly two weeks for the others.