Biography
Jerry Berrigan was an anti-war protester who painted anti-Iraq-war messages on the Syracuse federal building during Operation Desert Fox (December 1998 U.S./UK bombing of Iraq). Berrigan family elder; brother of Daniel and Philip. Charged with felony plus misdemeanors.
Life-date sources
- Thomas J. Pirro Jr. Funeral Home memorial — identifies Jerome C. Berrigan of Syracuse and gives December 20, 1919–July 26, 2015.
- National Catholic Reporter obituary — independently identifies the Syracuse peace activist and reports his death at home on July 26, 2015.
Contemporary anti-nuclear custody report
The update reports Jerry Berrigan sentenced March 31, 1982 to ninety days for his Griffiss Air Force Base action, with reporting scheduled May 10. May 10 was a future reporting instruction, not confirmed physical admission in this issue; no actual intake, discharge or served ninety-day total is inferred. This historical action is distinct from the later existing case.
National No-Nukes Prison Support Collective newsletter No. 11, April 15, 1982, original pages 5.
Separate 1986 Griffiss sentence admission; forecast not release
Jerry Berrigan was individually named in the November 19, 1986 Griffiss Air Force Base sentencing report. The action occurred August 6; that action day alone is not entered as a physical jail admission. Berrigan began actually serving the thirty-day term December 1. The article and current-prisoner directory establish actual continuing custody in this distinct 1986 episode. December 19 for Rumpf and year-end for Berrigan were anticipated releases, not confirmations of physical discharge. No completed thirty-day total is assigned.
The Nuclear Resister No.43, December 12, 1986: Original PDF page 6 (printed page 5); Original PDF page 4 (printed page 3).
The October follow-up confirms Berrigan actually served three months beginning May 10, 1982 for his December 30, 1981 Griffiss action. This converts the earlier reporting instruction into a verified admission; the actual discharge day is not calculated backward or forward.
The January 2016 Hancock memorial account describes Jerry Berrigan’s antiwar witness alongside his brothers Daniel and Philip. It recalls his regular vigils at the drone base and his appeal to the Fourth Geneva Convention’s protection of civilians. The account records his death on July 26, 2015, the same date already documented in his biography.
The sheriff’s roster reproduced with the April 22, 2011 Hancock Field protest report individually named Jerry Berrigan among the people arrested outside the base in the anti-drone demonstration. The article reports trespassing and obstruction-of-justice charges. It describes handcuffs, a wait, and boarding a bus intended for Justice Center processing; it does not establish an individual jail-admission or release time.
Sources: The Nuclear Resister, report 893.
