Tim DeChristopher Faces Maximum of 10 Years in Sentencing on July 26

At 3p.m. Tuesday July 26, 2011 Tim DeChristopher will find out the sentence for his conviction earlier this year on two felonies for "misrepresenting himself and placing fake bids at a federal auction."

From The Salt Lake Tribune:

So how should Tim DeChristopher be punished for interfering with an oil and gas lease auction? Probation or prison? Light slap or heavy fist? Hard time or soft landing?

The opinions split about as cavernously as the politics of the pro-extraction and pro-preservation camps.

But just days before the bogus-bidder-turned-environmental folk hero learns his fate in Salt Lake City’s federal court, this much is resolved: DeChristopher says he is unafraid of jail.

"I can handle that. I can do the time," he says. "And I’ll keep right on fighting when I get out."

Civil disobedience is something that he continues to encourage others to do as part of the climate change movement. As he told The Guardian earlier this year, "The big question for us at this point is how we as citizens are going to respond to that, what we as citizens are going to be willing to do to our fellow human beings in the name of just following the law. When the government tells us that it's not our job to question whether that law is right or wrong, as the judge did in this case to the jury, I think we need to be prepared for that moment, and make a more conscious decision of what we want our role to really be."

This message and others are explored in today's radio piece on KCRW The Descent, co-produced by Alex Chadwick, which takes the two men into the refuge of nature:

The Descent tells the story of two men whose troubles and tragedies find respite in the raging rapids of Cataract Canyon. Tim DeChristopher is a renowned climate activist who is awaiting sentencing on two felony convictions for fraudulently bidding on oil and gas leases at a federal auction. It was a deliberate act of civil disobedience, something he still encourages in others. Alex Chadwick comes to know Tim through his circle of journalistic contacts in the climate and energy arenas. He's in trouble too, reeling from the loss of his wife and his job, and seeing no way forward. A mutual friend, knowing their personal situations, offers to guide them through the Cataract Canyon rapids. Though the rapids can be treacherous, an experienced guide knows "the line" to travel to navigate them safely.

Stay tuned for updates on DeChristopher's sentencing here on the blog and on our Facebook and Twitter pages.