Protestors of Georgia soldier school pledge to continue

PEKIN, ILLINOIS - Seven women, including three Roman Catholic nuns, were released from federal prison Monday, all pledging to continue protesting at a Georgia school that trains Latin American soldiers. <br> <br> Forty-four-year-old Rebecca Kanner of Ann Arbor, Michigan says they won&#39;t stop until the school is closed. <br> <br> The women spoke at a news conference after their release from the Pekin Federal Prison Camp, where they had served sentences for trespassing at what was formerly known as the School of the Americas at Fort Benning, Georgia. <br> <br> Critics contend that alumni have been linked to murder, torture and other human rights abuses in Latin America. The U.S. Army says it tries to instill the tenets of democracy in the students. <br> <br> The women&#39;s imprisonment last summer stirred international publicity because of the novelty of nuns behind bars. <br> <br> The School of the Americas moved to Fort Benning from Panama in 1984. It closed in December 2000 and reopened a month later as the Western Hemisphere Institute for Security Cooperation. Responsibility for the school has been transferred from the Army to the Department of Defense, and it has a new curriculum. <br> <br> Each of the eight convicted of trespassing in the November 2000 demonstration had been arrested for trespassing before, but not prosecuted.