Military Legal Matters
Retrial Set for Plymouth Native in Iraq War Crime Case
CAMP PENDLETON, Calif. – On June 08, 2015, a retrial was set to start for a Marine who was convicted in a high-profile court-martial involving the 2006 killing of an Iraqi civilian. Sergeant L. Hutchins III, a native of Plymouth, was scheduled to be tried again at Camp Pendleton in California, according to the Los Angeles Times.
Ethnic Slur Causes Air Force General’s Resignation
An offensive comment last month derailed an Air Force general’s career. Maj. Gen. M. Keltz said four words that weren’t taken lightly: “Drunker than 10,000 Indians. ”On Tuesday, a spokeswoman for Air Education and Training Command confirmed the ethnic slur, which was first reported in a blog written by a former U.S
Judge Refuses to Lighten Mandatory Minimums for Former Blackwater Guards
On Monday, U.S. District Judge Royce Lamberth refused to deviate from the mandatory minimum sentences that four former Blackwater security guards face for the 2007 shooting that injured dozens and killed 14 Iraqi civilians.
Soldier serving in Italy Retained Despite Government Argument that He Should Receive an Other than Honorable Discharge
Vicenza, Italy – April 2015, after a long and often heated battle with skilled Government counsel, Attorney Bryan DePowell of Crisp and Associates Military Law Division convinced a lawfully empaneled Administrative Separation Board to retain his client.
Conduct Unbecoming an Officer and a Gentleman
Under Article 133 of the United States Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ), conduct unbecoming an officer and a gentleman is an offense that subjects a service member to a court martial. An “officer” is understood to include cadets, commissioned officers, and midshipmen of both sexes. Hence, the offense is often referred to as conduct unbecoming.
Murder
A Fort Hood soldier recently killed three people, including his 28-year-old wife, before turning the gun on himself – making this the third murder-suicide involving troops stationed at Fort Hood in less than a year. In recent years, Fort Hood has been the center of several gruesome incidents, with a total of 64 soldiers and civilians being injured or killed in mass shootings.
