Jailed Activist Sentenced to Read

Convicted animal and environmental rights activist, Rebecca Rubin, was given some serious homework when she was sentenced on Monday. From CBC News:

U.S. District Court Judge Ann Aiken said Monday in federal court in Portland, Ore., that Rubin showed contrition and lived in "an emotional prison cell" during seven years as a fugitive in Canada, from December 2005 to November 2012. 

Aiken said she understood Rubin's desire to see a change in how animals and the environment are treated, but she said Rubin's actions, which included contributing to several arsons, did serious damage.

"That kind of damage is not how democracy works or how true change is accomplished," Aiken said.

But Aiken had a plan to help Rubin understand the true error of her ways.

Aiken included in her sentence an order to read two books: David and Goliath by Malcolm Gladwell, which Aiken said Rubin could learn non-violent means to protesting systems she perceives as unjust, and Nature's Trust by University of Oregon environmental law professor Mary C. Wood.

The full piece is here.