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Poll: Almost half in U.S. creationist
SAO PAULO, Dec. 11 (UPI) -- Two Brazilians have been found guilty of killing a U.S.-born Catholic nun who fought ranchers and logging companies on behalf of local peasants.
Rayfran das Neves Sales was found to have shot 73-year-old Dorothy Stang on a muddy track in the rainforest, the BBC reported.
He was sentenced to 27 years and his accomplice, Clodoaldo Carlos Batista, to 17 years in prison.
Prosecutors hope the convictions will open the way for three other men to be tried on charges of paying for and ordering the murder, the BBC said.
The case is being seen as a crucial test of Brazil's ability and willingness to clean up vigilante violence in the Amazon, where illegal land-clearing is threatening the future of the world's largest rainforest.
More than 770 land activists have been killed in the last 30 years, but there have been fewer than 10 convictions in that time, the BBC said.
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