Lawyers Say UW Verdict Based On 'Climate Of Fear'

Lawyers for the woman found guilty of arson for the 2001 ecoterror fire at the University of Washington say they will appeal the court’s decision because the recent “Street of Dreams” fires in Woodinville created a “climate of fear” and negatively influenced jurors, reported KIRO 7 Eyewitness News.

The decision to appeal came minutes after Briana Waters was found guilty in a Tacoma courtroom Thursday.

“Before we and the judge had the opportunity to address the jury, it was the lead story all over the news,” said Robert Bloom, an attorney for Waters.

Waters has been ordered jailed until her sentencing on May 30. Waters’ lawyers claim she is not a flight risk because she has a 3-year-old daughter.

The 32-year-old from Oakland, Calif., faces a prison term of five to 20 years.

Waters was convicted on two counts, but the jury deadlocked on three other charges of conspiracy and using a destructive device in a crime of violence, which would have carried a minimum 30 years in prison.

Waters closed her eyes and bowed her head as the verdict was announced.

Waters was the lookout when the Earth Liberation Front set fire to the university's Center for Urban Horticulture. It cost the university $7 million to replace the building in Seattle.

The ELF claimed responsibility for the fire because it believed, mistakenly, that a researcher was genetically modifying poplar trees.