Wednesday, October 24, 2007

Killer of US Nun is Jailed

A Brazilian judge has sentenced a gunman to 27 years in prison after his retrial for the murder of US born nun and environmentalist Dorothy Stang. The killer was again found guilty of killing Sister Dorothy on the orders of two rangers in 2005. He had been granted an automatic retrial under Brazilian law because his first sentence was more than 20 years. She campaigned for poor farmers' rights and to preserve the rainforest from loggers and developers. Her murder followed a dispute with ranchers over land they wanted to clear for pasture and he wanted to protect. The killer said at his first trial that he mistook the bible she was taking out of her bag for a gun.

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