There are many problems with the current military judicial system. This is the beginning of our list…
- Jury members selected (hand-picked) by the convening authority
- Convening Authorities write the OERs or FITREPS on the jury members, or have influence over the people who do write the OERs and FITREPS.
- The prevalence and frequency of Unlawful Command Influence
- The military tactic of file loading to ensure a conviction
- Over-sentencing military members
- Only 75% of the jurors are necessary to convict
- Political influence on the military judicial system
- and there’s more…
Why should Americans encourage their sons and daughters to join the military, especially if they know their children will have far less legal rights than civilians, or even terrorists?
In 2009, four Somali pirates hijacked the MV Maersk Alabama and took the Skipper hostage; the hijacking was the inspiration for the movie “Captain Phillips.” Navy SEALs killed all but one of the four pirates involved.
The sole survivor, their leader named Abduwali Muse, had been persuaded back on board the Alabama to negotiate Phillips’ release. SEALs captured Abduwali, and he was transported to the Federal District Court in NYC for prosecution.
The minute Abduwali entered the jurisdiction of the Federal District Court, he immediately had more legal rights than the SEALs who laid their lives on the line to kill his fellow pirates and capture him.
Members of the military have fewer legal rights than does a terrorist. The bottom line is that the very Patriots willing to write a “blank check in the full amount of their blood” have fewer legal rights than the citizens whose rights they are protecting with their lives.
This has got to be fixed. The military judicial system needs to be fully reformed.
A fairly good explanation of the UCMJ can be found on Wikipedia HERE.
STILL UNDER CONSTRUCTION