A Brazilian court has sentenced a rancher to 30 years in prison for ordering the murder of Dorothy Stang, an American nun and human rights activist, in a land dispute in the Amazon rainforest.

Judge Raymond Moises Alves Flexa handed Vitalmiro Bastos Moura Brazil’s maximum penalty on Tuesday.

The verdict was welcomed as a triumph for justice in the lawless Amazon, where violent conflicts are common but punishment is rare.

Human rights defenders called the court decision “historic” in a state where nearly 800 people have been killed in land-related conflicts over the past 30 years.

Worthwhile visiting the life and cause of a leader who fought and cared for the poorest of the poor, the Salt of the Earth.



  1. god says:

    Compare the life and work of this nun with her “boss”, the pope. You end up with the classic contradiction between rank-and-file believers who just happen to consider the ethics of their morality a standard to live up to – and another political hack whose life is dedicated to fundraising and staying in power.

  2. Angel H. Wong says:

    Why do I get the feeling that if this happened in the USA the court would bury the case?

  3. Li says:

    Prison is too good for this scum. However, buying injustice is far too easy in far too many places, and it is refreshing to see a little of it.

  4. K B says:

    god (#1), eloquently stated.

    And I’ll say it again–
    Little old ladies in tennis shoes are highly underrated.

  5. joshua says:

    I’ve followed this case since it happened. To be honest we never thought the Brazlian police would even bother to try to find her killer/killers. This is amazing.

    33….Angel……while the US system may not always be as fair as we might like…..all in all it’s far fairer and better than any other system around. I won’t make the usual comparisons to third world countries, but I will compare it to the UK…..defendents in this country have far more protection than they do in British courts. And rules of evidence here are much, much better than the UK. And I won’t even discuss France or Germany. And lets face it, there isn’t such a thing as *fair* or *just* justice systems south of the US border.

  6. Angel H. Wong says:

    #6

    I wasn’t referring to that type of justice, that kind of “justice” is common all over the world.

    I think I didn’t explained myself; I was referring to nuns protecting illegal immigrants from the ranchers who use patriotism as an excuse to hunt them down.


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