An 84-year-old nun is going to jail for what could be the rest of her life after breaking into what is supposed to be the one of the most secure places in the country.
The Y-12 National Security Complex is where, among other things, the U.S. government stores bomb-grade Uranium. (Via Wikimedia Commons)
But that didn't stop peace activist Megan Rice, and her two accomplices, from breaking in to the facility in July 2012 and defacing the property, singing songs in peaceful protest and hanging out inside for at least an hour before security showed up. (Via WXYZ)
Armed with nothing but bolt cutters, the three vigilantes maneuvered their way into the complex and then threw human blood on the building that houses about 400 tons of the enriched uranium.
Rice was sentenced to almost three years in prison but asked for much more that that. According to the TennesseanRice told the judge, "Please have no leniency with me ... To remain in prison for the rest of my life would be the greatest honor for me."
As you might imagine, some have called it the "Fort Knox of Uranium" and it pushed the Department of Energy to clean house.
According to the Washington Post, the private contractor who handled security for the plant was docked $12.2 million in fees and lost its 10-year contract for the Y-12 plant and another plant in Texas where nuclear bombs are assembled. Together both contracts were worth $23 billion.
The judge's three year sentence for Rice was a lot less than the government recommended but some believe the 84 year-old nun should be thanked for exposing such poor security. (Via WLS-TV)
"If you care about security at that facility then you have them to thank for exposing the flaws in it, but now they're going to prison. Was justice really served here?" (Via MSNBC)
After the break-in, Rice received hundreds of letters in support of her cause and reporters say the court house was packed to the brim with other peaceful protesters when the sentencing came down Tuesday.
