© Reuters / Max Whittaker
On Wednesday, Sadie Renee Johnson, 23, was sentenced to 18 months in prison by US District Judge Marco Hernandez. In May, she pleaded guilty to sparking a fire that burned through 51,000 acres southeast of Portland, Oregon, back in July 2013. The fire ravaged the Warm Springs Indian Reservation for more than a week and cost almost $8 million to extinguish.
Johnson will also perform 200 hours of community service in the affected area, a sentence that Hernandez reportedly considered light, according to the Associated Press.
"You owe them much more than that," he said to her in court.
The fire began when Johnson threw a firework out of her car and lit up some brush, as noted by Reuters. Two days later, with the fire still raging, Johnson posted a status update on Facebook that read, "Like my fire?" which led detectives to detain her. Johnson eventually claimed that she started the fire because her friends in the fire department "were bored and needed work."
The young woman has also stated she does have substance abuse problems, something that was taken into account by the judge as he determined her sentence. She could have potentially faced five years in prison.
Comment: It is not enough to awaken social consciousness, we must also awaken social responsibility. Obviously the U.S. congress doesn't have either, especially if they are rulled by Israeli propaganda and U.S. corporate profit while closing their minds, eyes and hearts to civil atrocities such as the blatant slaughter in Gaza. It is not enough to disagree, have druthers, or disown one's government, one has to stand up and be accountable to the change that is pleading to be made. If the only thing you can do is put the message out there...DO IT.