Whalers slapped on the wrist

Makah judge fails to empanel jury to prosecute whalersThey promised tough prosecution, but in the end the Makah Nation couldn't put together a jury to try five whalers who were charged with illegally killing a gray whale off Neah Bay last fall.

Tribal Judge Stanley Myers on Wednesday instead granted the men one-year deferred prosecution and promised to dismiss the charges if they committed no offenses during that time. The whalers also were each ordered to pay a $20 fine.

The deferral came after the judge summoned more than 200 people from the remote village of Neah Bay on the Olympic Peninsula to serve as potential jurors. But the judge gave up on empaneling a jury because just about everyone was either related or said they had strong feelings about the case, according to one of the whalers, Wayne Johnson.Comment:  For more on the subject, see The Makah Whale-Hunt Controversy.