Thursday, September 11, 2008

Jury: Threat of global warming justifies breaking the law.


This is a weird story. Greenpeace activists cause $60K in damages at a coal-fueled power station, but the jury feels their actions were justified because of the threat of global warming. From The Independent:
Jurors accepted defence arguments that the six had a "lawful excuse" to damage property at Kingsnorth power station in Kent to prevent even greater damage caused by climate change. The defence of "lawful excuse" under the Criminal Damage Act 1971 allows damage to be caused to property to prevent even greater damage – such as breaking down the door of a burning house to tackle a fire.
I'm all for the green agenda, but this is quite a stretch. To be clear, the protesters didn't do anything heroic to save the world. They painted Gordon Brown's name on a chimney.

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