Crime and Punishment

Yesterday was Veterans Day and I placed my American flag outside to display it in honor of those veterans who gave the Supreme Sacrifice for our country. I hope you did likewise, or at least paused to meditate and reflect on the military heroes of America.

Unfortunately, there was a news report yesterday that marred the otherwise peaceful time of contemplation and, yes, thanksgiving. Here is a brief capsule of that story:

Lewis-McChord soldier found guilty of 3 murders in war-crimes case

An Army panel Thursday found Staff Sgt. Calvin Gibbs, the highest-ranking soldier charged in a major war-crimes case, guilty of three counts of murdering unarmed Afghan villagers and a dozen other crimes.

I do not want to delve further into the story in this column, but I do want to comment on the despicable action of that one soldier. He is a disgrace to the uniform and dishonors all those whose lives we celebrated.

Sergeant Gibbs received a sentence of life imprisonment for his crimes, but he will be eligible for parole in ten years. I wish he had been given the ultimate penalty instead. Every war has a few like him and they tend to be given lighter punishment than what they gave their victims. Their actions reflect badly on the whole military and at times cause reactions like the demonstrations that took place over the Vietnam War. They should be made to pay dearly in my opinion.

Why do we paint the entire establishment with the same brush when a rogue among them commits a crime? We should expect that there would always be psychopaths among the many who join the military. They see the battlefield as a place to commit their heinous crimes and “get away with it” in the fog of war. That is all the more reason to sentence them to the harshest sentence possible.

When Gibbs does come up for parole, who will represent the families of his victims? The only people to speak will be those who have a vested interest in his release. That doesn’t seem fair to me.

Several others were also charged and some will face court-martial for their part in the murders. As is often the case, a charismatic leader pulls others into his crime. In this case, however, the others were permitted to testify against him and will likely receive reduced charges.

If you care enough to read the entire article from the Seattle Times here is the link to it:
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2016739416_gibbsverdict11m.htmlhttp://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gifhttp://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gif

I sincerely hope that this case will not turn into another one like that of Lt. Calley in the Mi Lai incident. We don’t need another scandal to incite protesters.

I know that the day is past, but if you have some time this weekend, go to one or both of these websites and read the tributes there. You’re guaranteed to have a tear in your eye when you do so.

http://www.military.com/veterans-day/


http://www.legacy.com/soldier/MovingTributes.aspx