to bad all innocent people dont do this. i think it is great that they are demanding a trial instead of copping a plea to a crime they didnt commit. Original Article Volunteers to reject plea deal over aid to immigrants Feds allege the pair transported migrants Susan Carroll Republic Tucson Bureau Jul. 22, 2005 12:00 AM TUCSON - Two volunteers with a border humanitarian group accused of transporting undocumented immigrants plan to reject a plea agreement offered by the federal government, saying they did nothing wrong. Daniel Strauss and Shanti Sellz, both 23, are scheduled to appear in U.S. District Court today on charges of aiding and abetting and transporting undocumented immigrants, crimes that carry a maximum penalty of up to 5 1/2 years in prison. The two members of No More Deaths were offered a plea deal July 13 that would have dropped the charges in exchange for an admission of guilt, participation in a diversion program and a year's probation, according to their attorneys. Sandy Raynor, spokeswoman for the U.S. Attorney's Office, declined Thursday to comment on the case. "Shanti and I are not accepting this plea," Strauss said at a news conference in the airy sanctuary of Tucson's Southside Presbyterian Church, reading from a prepared statement, "because we have committed no crime." Strauss and Sellz were volunteering for No More Deaths, a group that offers food, water and medical aid to undocumented immigrants in the Arizona desert, when they were stopped by U.S. Border Patrol agents July 9 with three undocumented immigrants in their vehicle. Lawyers for the volunteers said the three immigrants were rescued in the desert near Arivaca suffering from severe dehydration and were being transported to Tucson only for medical care. But Border Patrol officials said the undocumented immigrants didn't need medical treatment and refused hospitalization. Border Patrol officials in Tucson declined Thursday to comment on the case. Bill Walker, Sellz's attorney, said the volunteers' actions, including turning down the plea agreement, were "very courageous." "We don't believe that any jury of Pima County citizens or citizens anywhere in the United States will convict them once the true facts are known," Walker said.