Tucsonan Walter Staton, 27, might have thought he was being kind when, as part of the group No More Deaths, he continued to leave water jugs in the desert for illegal immigrants.
A federal jury called this “kindness” littering, and found the guy guilty of knowingly leaving debris in a National Wildlife Refuge.
Jury Finds Tucson Man Guilty, District of Arizona’s Office of the U.S. Attorney news release
The evidence at trial showed that the defendant was a member of an organization called No More Deaths, whose volunteers sometimes leave water jugs on the Buenos Aires National Wildlife Refuge in the hopes that illegal aliens crossing the border will use the water. On December 4, 2008, Staton left water jugs on the Refuge despite knowing that he could be ticketed for littering. Staton had previously been quoted in news articles stating that despite a prior conviction of another member of his group for the same violation, that he would continue to leave plastic water jugs in the Refuge.
A conviction for knowingly littering carries a maximum penalty of one year confinement, a $100,000 fine or both. In determining an actual sentence, Judge Guerin will consult the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines, which provide appropriate sentencing ranges. The judge, however, is not bound by those guidelines in determining a sentence.
Staton deserves some type of punishment for two reasons:
1. He snubbed his nose at previous warnings
2. He’s technically abetting criminals, no?
What do you think?
Is a year in prison and $100,000 a ridiculous maximum punishment?
Should he punished at all?
Is No More Deaths doing the right thing?
Deport him too.
Waterboard his azz and then deport him.
“one year confinement, a $100,000 fine or both”
Well one year confinement will certainly keep him from littering for a year(Or until the liberal penal system releases him for good behavior) and the $100,000 fine would put a crimp in his pocketbook to keep him from buying more water jugs I would guess(Unless he is wealthy as the devil.).
I would have to commend the judge if he has the sufficient guts to sentence this lawbreaker to the max. He deserves it, given his prior statements and his participation in a group that has been flaunting U.S. Immigration law for some time while also littering the desert.
Put unfiltered Tucson tap water in the jugs. The illegals will leave, disgusted.:)
Yes, it is definietely littering. I live in three points, and guess where those empty water bottles end up. Yup, on my road. Now I know who to send a bill to for my time when I pick them up and throw them away.
It is also pretty silly to encourage someone to endanger their life, by “helping” them. Obviously he doesn’t really care, or he would try to PREVENT people from making the decision to make that trip. I guess he wants them to die???
Are you guys kidding me? Water board, deportation? Just pick up the damn jugs and know that they may have saved a life you morons. You may find yourself on the other side of the fence one day.
He knowingly broke the law and predicted he would. Blatant behavior is different than making a mistake and he deserves a sufficient fine to show others the law is the law until it is changed.
Walker, if you would ever take your head out of your colon, you might get enough oxygen to think rationally. Aiding and abetting lawbreakers seems to be your goal in life. Mine is to put your kind behind bars.
r walker needs to move to mexico along with all his water jugs. think of all the homies you could save with your big heart, wanker.
I hope this guy serves some prison time because he’s so arrogant. He follows the Raul Grijalva doctrine that if you think it is “bad law” you should defy it. I have actually received more than one letter from Raul Grijalva where he states this. These people don’t give a hoot that it is LAW!
Ryn Gargulinski publishes:
Staton deserves some type of punishment for two reasons:
1. He snubbed his nose at previous warnings
2. He’s technically abetting criminals, no?
Imagine the outrage from pandering Gannett traffic-generator Ryn Gargulinski of The New Tucson Citizen, if Staton had left behind a cucumber…
Ha!
If it were a cucumber left behind it would not be littering because:
1. It would rot and break down into the sand, unlike plastic water jugs
2. It wouldn’t be around for long because javelina, coyotes and Sawyer would eat it before anyone had time to write a littering citation or make an arrest.
I find this all ironic, if Jesus were here today, on our southern border he to would be arrested for aiding and abetting the poor for fleeing poverty, fingered by the minute men, rambo want-a-be’s whom threw away their white hoods & robes for camoflauge, and of course the border patrol would be like the Roman’s obligated to arrest the offender for the modern day Pharisee’s whom so consumed with their xenophobia, racism, would demand he be punished! How ironic, and of course the lip service christians will comment on “give to Caesar that which is Caeasrs and God to gods” twisting that passage to mean what they wish it to be, not what it was meant to be, a pagan worshiping man whom self proclaimed his subjects worship him as a earthly god, how ironic when passage meant worship god not mankind whom sets themselves up as earthly gods”, but xenophobes, racists can have their day of justice on judgment day when they face Jesus and get to be in awe and shock at having ignored the poor, hungry, naked those sick and in prison, and get to spend all eternity in that lake of fire debating how “end justified the means of how they lived their lives and felt government ought to work!
I agree that because this is not his first time around, and because he so arrogantly flaunts the law and seems to want to be a martyr, something must be done.
Let’s hope he has a wise judge .
Walter Staton is what is known as a humanitarian. A humanitarian is a person who has empathy and understands that we all have a responsibility to aid other human beings. He is a kind and gentle person who braved the wrath of the Federal government to do right by other human beings. Some will say he lost the battle. He has not because he is still the same humanitarian who has been treated so shabbily by our government.
People are crossing in this area because the Border Patrol has funneled all crossing activity to the desert area of the Buenos Aires National Wildlife Refuge. Notice the “Refuge” part is designated for wildlife, not humans. The desert is a harsh place and people are ill-prepared for crossing it. Providing water and some elementary first aid does not encourage people to cross the border, it simply makes it less likely that people will die in the desert.
The death of a human being diminishes us all. No one deserves to die in the desert.
Yes, I realize that trash gets left in the desert. Trash can be cleaned up and leave little if any impression upon the desert. That cannot be said about all of the additional roads and other changes the Border Patrol has made to the landscape of the Refuge!
The implications of this conviction are clear. Our government does not value human life. The recent slashing of jugs of water by the Border Patrol is evidence that life is not valued by the people who interpret our laws. The court found that the water bottle was trash; whereas we know water is LIFE. Thus, the court considers LIFE to be nothing more than trash. How tragically fatal to humanity!
While this conversation revolves around garbage and life, I ask us all to keep in mind the value of water in the desert. How can a lifeline possibly be trash? If our concern truly is litter, we need to hold accountable those who built this life threatening and garbage creating situation with policies and actions that force people into the middle of the B.A.N.W.R. land. Render unto Ceasar indeed. Death is the currency being exchanged here, while Staton and his kind are giving gifts and selflessly endangering themselves to stop up a deluge. While we are swallowing whole the lie that water is trash and the garbage is the end all of the problem, companies such as Boeing, Wackenhutt and the Border Patrol are raking in our tax dollars destroying the environment we are supposedly so concerned about by creating a security system that is so ineffectual that not only does it fail to stop undocumented migration but also creates a situation in which people die. Complain about the trash all you want, it won’t stop the bodies from piling up.