Veterans' get out of jail free card

[jackfaire]

I read an article today in the Wall Street Journal that talked about how some judges are sentencing vetrans based on their having served in Iraq.

Basically if you are now, real example, dealing drugs and you served then you get off with counseling and probation because your choice to deal drugs was clearly related to the trauma you suffered over there.

"I, too, lost soldiers," Mr Cherry said at a 2006 hearing. "I didn't come back and sell drugs."

John Cherry is a federal prosecutor that also served in the military in Iraq.

Excerpted from WSJ 31 December 2009

ACLU is taking issues with this because they are talking about holding entirely different trials for veterans regardless of the crime.

Opinions?

[Tanasi]

Sounds like they're trying to bring PTSD into this another way. Speaking as a combat veteran I say veterans deserve the at least the same sentance as civilians and IMO harsher because of the oath they took upon entry into the military.

[XiaoTortuga]

I'm not a veteran.

War can fuck you up. So can a lot of other things. I think each case should be looked at individually, vets and non-vets alike, to try to see what is going on, why people are committing crimes, what future harm a individual is likely to cause, and what can help prevent that, if anything.

But silly me, I think the system should be about rehabilitation when possible. Punishing people for committing crimes is fine, but without attempts at rehabilitation we are just making the world a crappier place. (I could go on and on about this, but I think my posts are too long. )

[Boozy]

War can fuck you up. So can a lot of other things.

Exactly.

You can't tell me that there aren't thousands of undiagnosed PTSD cases wandering the streets of Baltimore, Detroit, Philly, Chicago....

War is hell, but so is the reality of living in some of these neighbourhoods -- and unlike with that of veterans, much of the trauma is endured by young children. Why give only veterans a pass?

[jackfaire]

Exactly and my whole thing with it is I don't mind a case by case basis for sentencing but that should be for everyone.

However unless you can point at a crime and directly relate it to their condition then I say it has no bearing.

For example someone who dealt drugs before their service and does so while in the service can't use their deployment as the reason why they did it.