NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Two Catholic peace activists who vandalized a uranium storage bunker were released from prison Saturday, their lawyer said.
Attorney Marc Shapiro said 66-year-old Michael Walli and 59-year-old Greg Boertje-Obed were let out of prison after they, along with 85-year-old nun Megan Rice, were ordered released Friday.
The order came after the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Cincinnati last week overturned their 2013 sabotage convictions and ordered resentencing on their remaining conviction for injuring government property at the Y-12 National Security Complex in Oak Ridge.
The activists have spent two years in prison. The court said they likely already have served more time than they will receive for the lesser charge.
On Thursday, their attorneys petitioned the court for an emergency release, saying that resentencing would take weeks if normal court procedures were followed. Prosecutors on Friday said they would not oppose the release, if certain conditions were met. Shapiro said he expected Rice to be released later Saturday.
Rice, Walli and Boertje-Obed are part of a loose network of activists opposed to the spread of nuclear weapons.
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