Letter to a Judge in Georgia

 

The Honorable Lisa Godbey Wood

c/o Whitney Sharp

801 Gloucester Street, Room 207

Brunswick, GA 31521

 

Dear Judge Wood,

Especially given the amount of Covid 19 in prisons, I was deeply saddened to hear of the harsh sentence you imposed upon Carmen Trotta and Martha Hennessy for their trespass and pouring blood on Trident missiles—but I was equally happy that they got to state their case in open court, because they speak for me and the millions of others who may lack the courage to do what they did.

 

I understand your obligation to exact penalties when laws are broken. However, we are at an inflection point with nuclear weapons. In January, the United Nations Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons will assume the full force of international law, having been signed by 122 nations and ratified by the required 50.

 

In other words, enough of the world’s people have realized that these horrible weapons belong in the same category as mines and chemical weapons—too destructive in their effects to function in any practical way to enhance security anywhere on the planet—to enable an international law of prohibition to come into effect.

 

The United States and the other 8 nuclear nations are for the moment on the wrong side of history, but with much more educational work, including that of moral heroes like Trotta and Hennessy, common sense will prevail and bring the nuclear age to an end.

 

Carmen Trotta and Martha Hennessey were not alone in your courtroom as you sentenced them. They represented the hopes of hundreds of millions of citizens in the countries that have signed on to the UN Treaty prohibiting weapons of mass destruction.

 

If more protesters witnessing the evil of nuclear weapons come before your court, I hope you will consider their actions within this new context of international law.

 

Respectfully,

Winslow Myers