Makah Whalers Update

[diver-dad]

Follow-up to http://www.nwdiveclub.com/viewtopic.php?t=2813

Thought some would be interested in this from the Seattle PI today .... charges reduced, but not altogether off scot-free. Its short enogh to post the entire article...

http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/351 ... source=rss

Judge tosses out part of case against Makah whalers
U.S. Magistrate Judge K. Arnold threw out half the government's case Tuesday against five Makah tribal whalers accused of harpooning and killing a gray whale protected under federal law last September.

The hunt in September was a flash point in Makah frustration with what many members of the Northwest Coast tribe see as endless bureaucratic impediments by the federal government to their historic right - specifically reserved by treaty - to hunt whales as their ancestors did for thousands of years on the Olympic Peninsula.

The U.S. Attorneys office charged the five in a three-count misdemeanor indictment with violations of the Marine Mammal Protection Act and the Whaling Convention Act, as well conspiracy to break those laws.

Arnold left intact the charges involving alleged criminal violation of the Marine Mammal Protection Act. But he ruled that the federal law enacting the Whaling Convention Act could not be applied criminally to the defendants. Trial is currently scheduled for April. If found guilty, the maximum penalty would be one year in prison

[DiverDown]

This whole thing is stupid! Not that I think they should be hanged or something like that. But C'mon was it really necessary to hunt and kill that whale? It wasnt sport and it wasnt for food, so what was the point? To make a point?

[diver-dad]

I don't know. It is senseless.

It reminds me of the people who will purposely meander through a crosswalk, knowing they are holding up traffic just to exercise what little influence they can have in the world over your life.

Pathetic, really.

[Ken G]

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/l ... ah01m.html

Jail time!

[Pez7378]

I've got mixed feelings. Although I feel that jail time is appropriate, I know better. Jail is no deterrent to committing crime. And because they acted to "prove a point" I think the sentence should be much harsher to include significant monetary penalties. The first night in jail should have them thinking, that wasn't worth it at all. I'm curious to know how the tribe is viewing this. Banishment is generally a much harsher sentence than serving time in the white mans prison. Besides that, they're heroes in the eyes of other Native American convicts for standing up to the "White man".

Shoot, 5 months is barely enough time to complete a decent "Vision Quest"




Easy Maverick.................................................

[Ken G]

Looking at the time the judge gave them was a bit of a disappointment to me. I personally don't agree with whaling under these circumstances and feel that a harsher sentence would have been more appropriate. I would be interested as well to see how the tribe is reacting to this.