5 of 7 Animal Rights Activists Pick Jail
Five of seven animal rights activists charged with misdemeanors after protesting medical experiments on cats at UCLA, chose jail time rather than probation when they were sentenced this week in the case.
Seven members of the group, Last Chance for Animals, were arrested after they went to the Brain Research Institute on the UCLA campus on April 21, 1988, and photographed the cats.
Their Los Angeles Municipal Court trial ended Thursday with a mistrial declared on trespassing charges. But all seven activists were convicted of failing to leave the campus and two also were convicted of malicious mischief.
Five of seven were sentenced to 90 days in jail after saying that they would not abide by probationary sentencing issued by the court, said Christine Bounce, one of the defendants in the case.
Two of the defendants will serve a two-year probation term during which they must perform 100 hours of community service and are subject to a “stay away order” from the UCLA campus. Fines for the malicious mischief convictions are still pending, Bounce said.
Start your day right
Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
