Makah judge tosses whaling trial
May 15th, 2008 - 6:24am
(Neah Bay) -- The Makah Tribe couldn't put together a jury to try five tribal members for a rogue whale hunt last fall.
So tribal judge Stanley Meyers put off prosecution for the five men for a year and would drop the charges if they stay out of trouble for a year.
The judge called more than 200 people from Neah Bay to serve on the jury. But almost all of them were either related to the whalers or had strong feelings about the case.
Three of the five whalers took a plea deal to avoid jail and fines from federal charges in the case. Two others went to trial and were found guilty.
Last September the five took two motorboats into the Strait of
Juan de Fuca, and shot a California gray whale.
The men did not have the tribe's permission for the hunt, nor
did they have a federal permit to kill the whale. The whale eventually bled to death and sank in the strait.
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