Nuns spill blood, go to jail. (News).

DENVER--Supporters are hoping for a light sentence, but three nuns convicted of sabotage and malicious destruction of property during a peace protest at a U.S. missile silo say they are prepared for the worst.

"If we have to spend the rest of our lives in prison, we will," Sister Ardeth Platte told the Associated Press. Platte, 66, Jackie Hudson, 68, and Carol Gilbert, 55--all Dominicans--face a jail sentence of up to 30 years and fines of up to $250,000 for interfering with the nation's defense and causing property damage of more than $1,000. Their lawyers argued that their actions were symbolic and never threatened national security.

The three were arrested after cutting through a fence and breaking into a Minuteman III missile silo in northern Colorado on Oct. 6--the anniversary of the start of the war in Afghanistan. They also drew crosses with their own blood on the wall of the silo.

The nuns said they were obeying President George W. Bush's call to dismantle weapons of mass destruction and felt compelled to act because the United States has never promised not to use nuclear weapons.

A Denver Post editorial called for the judge to give them the nine months they will have already served by their sentencing on July 25. The nuns declined to be released on their own recognizance because they would have had to agree to avoid demonstrations.