WHO ARE THE FIVE?They are Cuban men, Rene Gonzalez Sehwerert, Ramon Labanino Salazar, Fernando Gonzalez Llort, Antonio Guerrero Rodriguez, and Gerardo Hernandez Nordelo, who were convicted June 2001, are currently facing life sentences in U.S. federal prison, for defending their country of Cuba from terrorists based in Miami. They spent 17 months in solitary confinement despite the fact that the law does not allow an inmate to be in "the hole" for longer than 60 days and that is only after committing a crime while in prison. Since these men were placed in solitary confinement upon entering prison it is not possible for them to have committed any prison crime. However, all that could be done to keep these men apart has been done. After conviction, they were placed in separate prisons throughout the country making it close to impossible for family and friends to have contact with them.The Court Case On February 24th, 1996 two Brothers to the Rescue planes were shot down by Cuba. According to the Cuban government, the aircraft had violated their airspace. A few days later the attack is condemned by President Clinton. The United States goes to the United Nations in order to impose a sanction against Cuba. On February 27, 1996, the United Nations issued a statement strongly deploring Cuba's actions, and noted that "states must refrain from the use of weapons against civil aircraft in flight and must not endanger the lives of persons on board and the safety of the aircraft"(0). On September 12, 1998, the Cuban Five were arrested for their involvement with the incident. They were accused of conspiracy and failure to register as agents for a foreign government. After their arrest, the Five were kept in solitary confinement cells (frequently called “the holeâ€) for 17 months, and were denied bail for 33 months prior to their trial(1). After a seven month trial, the Five were convicted on June 8th 2001, for conspiracy to commit espionage and conspiracy to commit murder for Gerardo Hernandez. Prior to the February 24th incident, Hernandez had sent a message to the other four, telling them to stay off the flights which were later shot down. In December of 2001 the Five received the maximum sentencing for their crimes. Gerardo was sentenced to 2 life terms and 15 years, Antonio Guerrero and Ramon Labanino received life and 18 years, Fernando Gonzalez received 19 years and Rene Gonzales received 15 years.On November 13, 2002, Leonard Wineglass lawyer for Antonio Guerrero, appealed to the Miami Federal District court. The appeal was denied by Judge Joan A. Leonard. Wineglass and the rest of the Five’s lawyers brought the case to the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals. Their argument for the appeal was fivefold (2):1. Count 2 (conspiracy to commit espionage) and count 3 (conspiracy to commit murder for which Gerardo Hernandez was convicted) were not supported by a sufficient amount of evidence. 2. The Five’s sentencing was excessive. They had received the maximum suggested jail term for each count they were charged with. 3. Mistreatment of the defendants based on the length of time they spent in solitary confinement, and because certain documents needed by the defense had been classified by the US government, and could no longer be obtained because of the Classified Information Procedures Act. 4. Judge Joan A. Lenard threw out the Necessity Defense, otherwise known as the “lesser evil defenseâ€. 5. The government broke into the defendant’s homes and downloaded information from their computers in violation of US law.On March 10th 2004, the Cuban Five’s lawyers were allotted 15 minutes (3 minutes per defendant) to make their appeal to the 11th Circuit Court, however they were allowed to extend that time by a few minutes. In addition to the fivefold argument, Assistant Federal Public Defender Richard Klugh argued that Antonio Guerrero never violated the Air Force base’s security regulations, he had only “counted airplanes to see if there was a buildup†which would have indicated a threat to Cuban security (3). Wineglass also argued that the trial’s location was an impediment to the defense. He cited an incident which had occurred at the beginning of the trial, when Cuban rightists (see anti-Castro exiles) dressed in military fatigues and wearing pictures of bazookas had entered the courtroom. Wineglass requested that the trial be moved 25 miles away to Fort Lauderdale (3).When it was the prosecution’s turn to present to the appeal judges, prosecutor Caroline Miller asked the judges to infer that since Hernandez had told his partners not to fly with Brothers to the Rescue on February 24th, he must have known that the planes were going to be shot down. Miller was interrupted by Judge Phyllis Kravitch who argued that Hernandez could not have known that the plane would be shot down in international airspace. In the judges’ eyes the attack would not be considered murder if it occurred within Cuba’s airspace, but defense of that countries’ sovereignty (3).In a press conference after the appeal, Wineglass argued that the US government cannot prove without a reasonable doubt that the planes were attacked in international airspace. Washington has issued a statement saying that the planes were shot down between 8 and 12 seconds outside Cuban airspace, however Cuba has said that the attack occurred 20 seconds inside their airspace. During the trial, the prosecution even acknowledged that a third plane from Brothers to the Rescue had entered Cuban airspace, but had not been attacked (3).At the appeal Lead Judge Stanley Birch indicated that the court might reduce the Five’s sentences, even if a new trial is not ordered.As of December 2004 the judges have not made a decision about a retrial.