Biography
A former Maryknoll priest whose activism was shaped by experiences in Guatemala, Melville became part of the Catholic antiwar movement in the United States and joined the Catonsville Nine action in May 1968. He participated in the removal and burning of draft records in Catonsville, Maryland, and accepted arrest as part of a deliberate civil-disobedience strategy.
Convicted in federal court, he was sentenced to three years in prison. Afterward, he and his wife continued public work focused on U.S. foreign policy, human rights, and Latin America.
Thomas Melville was a former Maryknoll missionary priest expelled from Guatemala for solidarity with Indigenous peasant land struggle. He joined the Catholic Left in the United States and was one of the Catonsville 9 — the May 17, 1968 raid on the Catonsville, Maryland draft board. He was convicted in October 1968 and sentenced to 3 years in federal prison. He and Marjorie Melville married after the action.
