Cambridge JSO student activist sentenced to four years in same jail as killer Lucy Letby

Cambridge student and Just Stop Oil activist, Cressida Gethin has been sentenced to four years in prison for “conspiracy to cause public nuisance”.

Cressie has been jailed in HM Prison Bronzefield, a women’s prison shared by Lucy Letby who killed seven babies and attempted the lives of six more.

The 22-year-old was a first year student studying music at Cambridge. She is now speaking out from the prison about what life is like.

In a call shared on X, Cressie and another convicted Just Stop Oil activists said: “If you’d asked us a couple of years ago if we could handle a four-year prison sentence we’d both have said there’s no way in hell but here we are and there is no other option than to rise and meet it. These aren’t just words”.

Cressie has been described by her mother as “unable to stand by when she sees injustice”, adding that “she has the courage of a lion, and the moral compass that compels her to step forward when she sees wrong”.

In 2023 the government introduced “conspiracy to cause public nuisance” as a criminal offence under the Public Order Act, which saw stricter sentences for those carrying out peaceful protests. The UK Parliament website explicitly names environmental protest groups Just Stop Oil and Extinction Rebellion as targets of the bill, accusing them of “diverting police from our communities”.

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Cressie Gethin and four other protestors from Just Stop Oil have been found guilty due to their plans to disrupt London motorways in 2022. The group’s protest action consisted of Cressie climbing the motorway gantry above the M25 on Wednesday 20th July 2022, one day after UK temperatures reached 40.3 degrees Celsius and two days after the government’s net zero plans were deemed unlawful, according to Just Stop Oil.

The London motorway is a key travel link to Heathrow airport, and the protest action lead to flight cancellations and delays. The protest also caused nearly 51,000 hours of disruption, according to BBC News.

Influential figures have spoken out against the sentence, with Chris Packham giving a witness statement in court. He shared that he was “attending court to support Cressie Gethin because I don’t think she is getting a fair trial”. He went on to argue that “the UK’s protest laws and sentencing of protestors are unjust, draconian, and in conflict with our basic human rights”.

Cressie with Chris Packham outside court. Credit: Denise Baker via JSO

The UN has also questioned the legality of the court proceedings.

At her trial, Cressie explained that she had attempted to cause as little harm as possible during her protest. She said: “It was always my intention to limit the harm caused by the disruption”. Adding that there would have been no disruption if “those in power had been taking their responsibilities seriously”.

At another point in the trial, Cressie asked: “Is it justice when the powerful are not held to account, and citizens are prosecuted for calling them out? This is why we have a jury system. Juries have common sense, and, other than us, [jurors] are the only ones that are not paid to be here.”

Outside Southwark Crown Court last week, Cressie’s mother Cathy Nelson commented on her sentence. She said in a statement: “Our politicians, our judiciary and our energy companies should be shocked and deeply embarrassed with how the court has dispensed its version of justice today”.

A Just Stop Oil spokesperson commented on the conviction, writing: “It would be extremely convenient for everyone if the climate crisis could be removed from our lives by the ruling of a Judge. If we could imprison the wildfires, if we could arrest famines, or if we could legislate against the rising sea waters that will leave parts of Britain submerged, that would be a fantastic outcome – but the reality is that we can’t”.

Yesterday a call with Cressie was publicised by Just Stop Oil on X, where she said: “Here in HMP Bronzefield, there are hundreds of women who have been objectively failed by society and by the British legal system. They are treated as though their lives are worthless and their souls are disposable”. She added: “The most terrible crime in history continues unabated. Climate and social collapse become more inevitable every day. It is more important than ever we stand strong and do what is right”.

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Featured image credit: Hugh Warwick via JSO