Army Hero Turned Activist Headed to Prison for Trespassing
Vet says protest against military school has been an `act of conscience'
Michael Taylor, Chronicle Staff Writer




Friday, June 9, 2000

A federal judge sentenced Charles Liteky, a former Army chaplain and war hero turned lifelong demonstrator, to the maximum sentence of one year in prison yesterday, a term Liteky said he welcomed as a way of drawing attention to his cause.

Standing at the lectern in a Columbus, Ga., courtroom, 69-year- old Liteky, who lives part-time in San Francisco, read a 10-minute statement to U.S. District Judge Hugh Lawson. The judge leaned forward and listened intently, clearly interested in hearing why one of 147 living recipients of the Medal of Honor would willingly spend a year of his life in prison.

Liteky got his one-year sentence and a fine of $10,000 for two counts of illegally trespassing at Fort Benning, the sprawling Army infantry post that is home to the controversial School of the Americas, a training facility for Latin American military officers.

Liteky and other critics charge that many of the school's graduates have been responsible for massacres of peasants and human rights workers in Central and South America.

``I consider it an honor to be going to prison as a result of an act of conscience in response to a moral imperative that impelled and obligated me to speak for voices silenced by graduates of the School of the Americas, a military institution that has brought shame to our country and the U.S. Army,'' Liteky told Lawson.

Under terms of the sentence, Liteky, who is not in custody, will be notified by mail within six weeks about which federal prison he should report to. He said yesterday that he suspects he will be sent to Lompoc in Southern California.

Liteky's years of protesting and his occasional appearances before federal judges -- he did six months in prison 10 years ago for the same offense -- might well be overlooked had he not received the nation's highest award for bravery in combat. He then became one of only two of the 3,410 recipients of the Medal of Honor to give it back, again as an act of protest.

Liteky was awarded the medal (under the name of Angelo J. Liteky) for saving the lives of 23 soldiers during a fierce firefight in Vietnam in December 1967. At the time, he was a Catholic priest and was serving in the Army as a chaplain. He has since resigned from his religious order.

During the one-hour court session in Columbus, Lawson told Liteky that he did not understand ``the connection between what is going on at the School of the Americas and this court.''

Liteky said after sentencing that he intends to write Lawson from prison ``because I want him to understand that connection.''

``We're doing acts of civil disobedience in the tradition of our democracy,'' he said. ``This has been going on for a long time. And in going to prison, I'm drawing attention to the issue. I'm happy with his ruling.''

Liteky's wife, Judy, a former nun, joined him in court yesterday. ``My main reason for being here,'' she said later, ``was to be with Charlie. The sentence is longer than I thought it would be, so I'm going to have to take some time to get used to a whole year.''

Correspondent Jason Miczek in Georgia contributed to this report.

03/13/2000 - A Matter of Honor.

02/12/2000 - School of Americas class dwells on human rights .

11/20/1999 - U.S. to Seek New Image for Much-Criticized School of the Americas .

01/31/1999 - A priest's war against School of Assassins'.

>>more related articles...

©2000 San Francisco Chronicle

_____________________________________________________


_____________________________________________________


8/21/00 Monday 5:30 a.m. The Chapel My first attempt to journal. Iíve been looking for the right time and a place I could count on every day. I prefer the first waking hours of the morning, which can begin here as early as 5 a.m. when we are first permitted to leave the dorm, where around 144 of us are warehoused for the night. Finally, I have found what could be the right spot, a closet with a light in the rear of the camp, a non-denominational chapel which Iím told is rarely locked! Looks like Iím not the only one of 300 inmates in search of silence and solitude. Two other inmates have arrived. 8/22/00 Tues 6:50 a.m. Picnic Table Woke up around 3:30; couldnít fall back to sleep. So I laid around till 6 a.m. However, I do have a half hour before the utility van comes to pick about 10 of us up and deliver us to our assigned place of work, called V.T. Construction, which is supposed to (be) a combination of back- and hands-on work in the fields of construction, electricity and plumbing. This week we are scheduled to lay a concrete slab inside a silo. Having moments of silence here, waiting for the incarnation, so to speak, of thoughts and feelings, insights into self and the system Iím living in. I donít feel that Iím doing time. Itís more like this is my life for awhile, living in the exclusive company of adult males each one on his own level of spirituality or the absence thereof. Itís easy to be around those who have begun their journey; not so easy to share with those who have no idea of their spiritual potential ñ sex, sports, prison life, occasional political talk, subjects I can, at best, talk ìaround.î Listening is limited. 8/23/00 Wed 6:55 a.m. Time is moving rapidly on. Three weeks down already. Still in search of the ideal journaling place. This morning Iíve chosen a chair in the aisle on southern end of my bunk. I have around 25 minutes to gather a few thoughts. Occasionally, Iím asked about why I do what I do by another inmate. Rather than go into an essay answer, Iíve decided to respond as the Jonah House-Nuclear Holistics do, ìItís a simple matter of what I feel is an obligation ñ to resist evil.î What follows thereafter depends as much on the person asking the question as it does on my disposition at the time. Iíve reached the conclusion that I must refuse to work for this expression of our federal government on the grounds of its connection to the larger expression of institutional violence, namely, the federal government itself. All I have to do is refuse to work and I will be ushered to the hole in another compound, called F.C.I. I have to wait for the right moment to do this since such a move will again affect Judy. Must prepare her for the change. I do pray and meditate over decisions like this, moreso now than ever. Prayers like, ìGod, what do I do when doing what is right hurts someone else, especially one whom I love?î Iíve been struggling with this matter of following oneís conscience when it dictates or involves an act (usually of self-sacrifice) that will cause pain to a loved one. Gandhi, in his autobiography, says: I know, too, that performance of oneís duty should be independent of public opinion. I have all along held that one is bound to act according to what to one appears to be right, though it may appear wrong to others. And experience has shown that that is the only correct course. That is why the poet has sung: ìThe pathway of love is the ordeal of fire, the shrinkers turn away from it.î The pathway of Ahimsa, that is, of love, one has often to tread all alone. Related to direction along lifeís pathway, Gandhi says: True guidance comes by constant waiting upon God, but utmost humility, self-abnegation, by being ever ready to sacrifice oneís self (the underline is mine). Its practice requires fearlessness and courage of the highest order. I am painfully aware of my failings (so am I, but awareness can lead to improvement through prayer. I hope so). But the light within me is steady and clear, there is no escape for any of us, save through truth and non-violence. The book from which I quote Gandhi is entitled All Men Are Brothers, Autobiographical Relfections, compiled and edited by Krishna Kripalani, Continuum, New York, 1982. No doubt out of print. I find it helpful. What I wonder about is how Gandhi achieved such a high level of non-violence. Was it prayer, fasting, meditation, vegetarianism, voluntary poverty and celibacy? I am a vegetarian as of today. This is an easy place to begin since the meat served here involves a health risk. 8/24/00 Thurs. 7:06 a.m. The Chair in the aisle next to my bunk The proving ground for nonviolence continues to prove me a novice in the field. Some person I do pray for, and right now itís best for me to do so at a distance. Acts of kindness on the other hand far outweigh verbal violent behavior. Iím very fortunate to have the three Afro-Americans, with whom providence has gifted me, in my immediate neighborhood. Have a bus to catch to my work site. Will no doubt be planting flowers today. Reading a short account of the Tragedy of Colombia. Incredible suffering, torture and death. Adds fuel to my endurance of place of mitigated punishment. 8/24/00 7:50 p.m. The Library A Table for two Relative Quiet (Charlie touches on a point of clarification of his response to a question in an interview the day of his incarceration, July 31) Relative to the irony of surrendering to an institution associated with the government against which I protest: In addition to surrendering to what I perceive to be Godís will for me, I am surrendering to a superior material force, that I do not choose to violently fight (for more than one reason). My hope in prison as well as out is to speak truth to power and resist injustice as I am led to do. Inspiration to act this way or that comes as a rule via meditation or one-on-one prayer or through the silence I try to maintain while working. (This is probably the most difficult silence to maintain amidst the plethora of body-bound bullshit of my fellow inmates, who canít wait to whore, eat and drink upon release. Not all, but too many of my working partners are so oriented. These poor fellows seem to have little to no awareness of the spiritual side of their nature. I donít judge them. I just feel sorry for them.) 8/25/00 Fri. 7:04 a.m. Bedside Big day today ñ a little anxious since this is the hour Iíll be presenting the enclosed statement on paying fines to the federal government. Pray to be calm and joyful and non-confrontational and sympathetic to all who feel bound to work in this system (that is) suffering from the absence of human caring. Statement enclosed (entry of August 25 refers) To Bureau of Prisons, Lompoc, California In anticipation of an inquiry into my intentions to begin payment on a $10,000 fine ordered by the Eleventh District Federal Court, Columbus, Ga., June 8, 2000, I have prepared the following statement: First, I need to say that I hold a fine of $10,000 for the commission of two simple misdemeanors (nonviolent acts of civil disobedience ñ Type B) to be blatantly unreasonable and grossly unjust. To be sentenced to (a) year in a federal prison and given a $10,000 fine by an employee of the institution offended rather than a jury of my peers is a prostitution of the Constitution. In 1991 I was charged with a felony for damaging government property at the School of Americas, Ft. Benning, Ga. Convicted by a jury of my peers I was sentenced to six months in a federal prison and ordered to pay $633 restitution. No fine was imposed. Now, approximately 10 years later I am given a sentence twice as long and a fine 11 times greater for misdemeanors that cannot be compared in gravity to the felony of 1991. When I was asked to arrange for payment of restitution in 1991 I refused as a matter of conscience to give any money to a government complicit in crimes against humanity committed by men trained at the School of Americas. I have given considerable thought and prayer to the morality of paying fines to the U. S. Government, a government not only complicit in crimes like torture, rape and assassination, but a government arrogant enough to disregard World Court decisions when the ruling is not in its favor. My position on the payment of fines to the U. S. Government remains the same as it was in 1991, with the following exception: if the U. S. Government will pay indemnity compensation to the victims of graduates of the School of Americas I will make arrangements to pay fines directed toward me as a result of my civil disobedience. In the meantime, the government can take whatever it wants from me just as it takes whatever it wants from the Third World poor via the training of third world militaries at schools like the School of Americas. Thank you. Nothing personal here. Charles J. Liteky #83276-020 Lompoc Federal Prison 8/27/Sunday ñ 9:43 My bedside office, standing on a chair using my top bunk as a desk.Works well. (In this letter Charlie opens by reflecting further on an exchange about non-violence with his ìbossî after requesting a change of work assignment) When the boss in the carpenter shop said, ìItís a violent world over there,î I did not interpret this as a threat. I think he was giving his apologia for the use of force in violent or dangerous situations. I do know that I was calm and ready to accept whatever consequences would follow from what I conceived to be an act of conscience. The nonviolent person will suffer with joy for an act of conscience. I felt good when I was reassigned without hassle. Seems I had a chance to witness to a man with a little power. My own experience with metamorphosis tells me that most of the time change, especially spiritual change, is a bit-by-bit process. Iíve become content with planting seeds. Life with the bully ñ lately Iíve seen him only >from a distance. I donít think he knows that I exist; has no idea he is a problem to me. I pray for him. One day I may set down to eat at his table, try to engage in some light conversation like, ìWhere did you get your attitude?î I agree with the spiritual axiom that disturbance caused by others is an indication that something is not right with us if we react negatively. Steep is the road that leads to the kind of spiritual maturity that looks or sees immediately the sick soul of violent people or institutions. What I feel and think when faced with violence tells me who I am at that particular moment ñ like Gandhi says, ìI accept my limitationsî and keep on truckiní. There is too little time to be sad over what I am or am not. Love and Peace, Charlie
Back to the main Page