The contempt of the courts

Betty Krawczyk, 78, was sentenced to 10 months in prison today for her involvement in protests against the 2010 Olympics Sea-to-Sky highway expansion at Eagleridge Bluffs. She will not be given credit for time already served. It is to be hoped that Betty is in better physical condition than her fellow Bluffs protester, 71 year old Harriet Nahanee, who recently died of pneumonia following her incarceration in the same facility.

Betty was sentenced for contempt of court. In addition to protesting the contempt of the Campbell government for the Eagleridge Bluffs, she was also protesting the egregious use of court injunctions to curtail public protest and freedom of speech where they interfere with corporate interests. These issues were ruled inadmissable in her court case so Betty is going to jail today for protesting the contempt of the courts for ordinary citizens and public interest.

Betty has a blog. You can read her final submission to the court prior to her sentencing here.
An exerpt :

"I won’t do community service should that be part of my sentence. I have done community service all of my life and I have done it for love. I refuse to have community service imposed on me as a punishment. And I won’t pay a fine or allow anyone else to pay a fine for me. I won’t accept any part of electronic monitoring as I would consider that an enforced internalization of a guilt I don’t feel and don’t accept and I refuse to internalize this court’s opinion of me by policing myself."

UPDATE : From The Tyee : Harriet Nahanee Did Not Die in Vain
"What if the court allows itself to be used as the strong arm of government and big business?
What if government and big business can operate irrespective of public opinion and without having to fairly obtain legitimacy for their projects, while those who protest go into the slammer? "

From Chris in comments : Harriet's blog , Spirit of Warrior Harriet Nahanee