Even Rapists Have Rights
Soldiers who tore off the rank of a convicted rapist may now face punishment for their actions:
A U.S. military judge in South Korea will hold a hearing next month into an incident in which soldiers stripped rank chevrons, ribbons and other items from a soldier who’d just been sentenced on a rape conviction, officials said Monday.
The incident occurred Aug. 4 at the Camp Humphreys courtroom just minutes after the judge sentenced Pvt. Mikel A. Reynolds, 19, to six years in prison, a dishonorable discharge, forfeiture of all pay and allowances, and reduction to the lowest military pay grade, E-1.
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After sentencing, Reynolds was led to the rear of the courtroom and a team of soldiers put him in handcuffs and leg irons — a common procedure before escorting defendants to jail.
But as he stood there, they also began methodically stripping his Class A green uniform jacket of everything but his buttons and name tag.
Public humiliation is something you have to be very careful about in the military. I saw a battalion commander get in trouble before when he paraded a soldier that was convicted for drunk driving in front of the battalion formation.
I doubt anyone will get in too serious of trouble for this but this should serve as a lesson to everyone that even convicted rapists have certain rights that have to be respected.
I was at an Article 15 reading where a E-6 Platoon Sergeant had his chevrons cut from his BDU's after he had been reduced for getting one of his soldiers pregnant. He looked like he was going to cry. Later that night he made a suicide gesture and was found unconscious in his shower. The sentencing or non-judicial punishment is enough on one hand, but on the other, sometimes you really want to stick it to soldiers who do some despicable act. The end truth is that you just can't.
I made an underage drinker cut our 365-day alcohol incident-free streamer off the guidon with scissors in front of formation. I hoped it would humiliate her, but she just giggled as she was doing it.
She later got chaptered and now she's starring in amateur porn movies.