Arrest made in fire at planned Wyoming abortion clinic

[TheProle]

Source: AP

CHEYENNE, Wyo. (AP) — A woman was arrested on charges of setting fire to a building in Wyoming that was being renovated to house the state’s only full-service abortion clinic, authorities said Wednesday, hours after a judge temporarily blocked a ban on abortion that went into effect a few days ago.

Lorna Roxanne Green, 22, of Casper, was arrested on Tuesday by Casper police and agents from the FBI and the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, Wyoming U.S. Attorney Nicholas Vassallo said in a statement.

Green faces up to 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine if convicted, according to the statement. She is scheduled to appear in federal court in Cheyenne on Thursday morning.

The fire was set on May 25, 2022, at a stucco house in Casper, the state’s second-largest city and the site of frequent anti-abortion protests.

Read more: https://apnews.com/article/abortion-clinic-fire-wyoming-arrest-036bb71e1666465e7692e22fca603694

[hlthe2b]

1. I hope her indoctrination-fueled violent act was worth the loss of the next two decades of her life.

What a pathetic act.

[Thomas Hurt]

2. well unless a christiofascist nullifies the jury.

[localroger]

4. A mistrial doesn't mean you walk free

It's up to the DA whether to retry the case. For a cut and dried arson case, it's almost certain to go back to trial.

[Thomas Hurt]

8. I am saying, given this is WY, the likelihood of a christofascist getting on the jury will acquit...

no matter what the evidence is because she burned an abortion clinic.

At this point it would not surprise me if the DA made some excuse to drop the case entirely.

Hobbs has radicalized more people and emboldened them.

[OneCrazyDiamond]

9. Jury nullification and mistrials are differnet.

Jury ignores the law and finds not guilty (nullified).
A mistrial means that the defendant is neither convicted or acquitted, and can be retried.

[localroger]

13. Exactly. Nullification requires a unanimous vote to acquit.

I cannot imagine any DA not retrying a solidly provable arson case because a single juror hung the jury. DA's are about win-loss statistics and they don't like to lose.

[maxsolomon]

16. I thought it was a unanimous vote to CONVICT.

That's why Jury Nullification works so well.

[localroger]

17. It's either way. A non-unanimous verdict is not binding and can be retried.

It doesn't matter if it's 11-1 to convict or 1-11, that's a mistrial. Jury nullification is hard because it requires the entire jury to agree that the law is wrong. That's why you don't see it much. Now the DA might look at 1-11 to convict and decide it's not worth the expense of a retrial, but that doesn't mean the result of the mistrial is definite. A hardass DA or a DA who is under political pressure might press it until blood comes from the defendant's pores. There were a few states that allowed non-unanimous jury decisions to stand but that was recently struck down by the SC. Right now those states are all deciding whether to retry or walk away from cases that were decided by non-unanimous juries.

[homegirl]

11. A wise prosecutor

would only charge her with arson and never mention the proposed Planned Parenthood clinic location. Her attorney would also be wise to avoid her background, and certainly not put her on the stand.

[localroger]

12. This, exactly

A single juror refusing to convict does not jury nullification make. For that the entire jury has to unanimously agree to vote to acquit. A hung jury results in a mistrial, which in a juicy arson case like this almost certainly results in a retrial. And the fact is she set fire to a building. This is an extremely serious crime no matter what her motivation was and I can't imagine any DA just letting it go.

[leftyladyfrommo]

18. These people never seem to consider consequences.

It comes as such a surprise.

[bucolic_frolic]

3. She'll be a martyr in that town

[rickford66]

5. Karma could strike her if she gets off.

She has a number of reproductive years ahead of her.

[Probatim]

6. And a whole list of willing suitors for her act of "heroism".

I hope she gets what she deserves.

[electric_blue68]

7. So distressing, and aggravating! May she "enjoy" her prison "vacay".

[republianmushroom]

10. like it

[Brenda]

14. A lot of planning and cover-up you coward

Green was living in Laramie at the time of the crime.

She told investigators she went to the Walmart there and bought two gas cans and aluminum pans she used in the arson. Green then drove directly to the Wellspring clinic in Casper, about two and a half hours away.

When she arrived, Green said she put the gas cans and pans into a trash bag and threw a rock twice at a glass door, causing it to break. She then entered the building and started pouring gas throughout the facility.

Green said she intended to light the gas in every room she poured it into, but the fire started spreading too quickly and she decided to exit the building. She left one gas can at the scene.

Green’s account aligns with the surveillance video, the complaint says.

She said she then returned to her Corolla and drove through the night directly back to Laramie, arriving around dawn. It was there she threw away the pants she was wearing, but kept the sweatshirt and pink shirt she had on that night. Green said she washed them multiple times to get the gasoline smell out.

At some point later, she also removed the black trim from her Corolla, but didn’t say whether this was done to hide her identity in relation to the arson.

https://cowboystatedaily.com/2023/03/23/wyoming-woman-says-she-set-fire-to-casper-abortion-clinic-to-quiet-her-nightmares/

[ck4829]

15. K&R