Lucy Lawless Guilty of Trespassing, Faces Jail Time
Environmental activist Lucy Lawless pleaded guilty to trespassing after she boarded an oil ship in an effort to curb oil drilling.
In Auckland, New Zealand on Thursday, Lawless pled guilty to unlawfully boarding a ship after she was arrested in February along with several other Greenpeace activists who illegally boarded an oil-drilling ship in an effort to keep the ship from leaving to go to an oil site in the Arctic.
"For the first time in my life, I put my body and reputation on the line to stand up for my beliefs and do the right thing," she told the AP. "I hope I've encouraged other people to do the same."
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Lawless continually blogged from a 174-foot tower on the ship for 77 hours as she thwarted attempts to remove her. The oil ship was chartered by Shell Oil who said that she and the other activists put lives in danger which caused the company to take legal action.
"I had to do what I had to do," Lawless told the New Zealand Herald. "We want to tell (deep-sea oil drillers) absolutely under no circumstances is this a good idea. They are robbing our children of their birthright to a clean and healthy planet, and they know it."
Lawless is scheduled to be sentenced in September and is facing a possible jail term of three years for trespassing. However, since this is her first offense in the country, she will most likely not be sentenced to any jail time.
Lawless is known from her time on the successful television series ''Xena: Warrior Princess.'' She had also starred in the Starz cable television series ''Spartacus.''
Lawless stated that she plans on being an activist for the environment and will continue to support Greenpeace.
''But I've got no plans to jump on an oil rig again anytime soon,'' she quipped.
