He aimed a fully loaded automatic weapon at a child standing 15 feet away, then cut the child down in a hail of bullets. He then grabbed the hair on the top of the head and pulled the child’s bloody face up out of the dirt, displaying his “kill” like a trophy while posing for a photograph. Finally, he cut a finger off the corpse to keep as a momento.
He wasn’t the only one who scored a prize kill that day. At least one of his buddies had done even better. They were all United States soldiers, members of the U.S. Army 5th Stryker Brigade, marauding about the countryside murdering unarmed, defenseless Afghan civilians for sport. Just for the fun of it.
Pfc. Andrew Holmes pled guilty to this murder in a military courtroom just south of Seattle last week. Earlier this year Holmes’ team leader, Spec. Jeremy Morlock, pled guilty to the premeditated killing of three civilians.
So, what’s an appropriate sentence for a soldier who murders a civilian child in cold blood, poses for photographs with the corpse and keeps a part of the victim’s body as a prize, all for nothing more than amusement? What kind of punishment does he deserve?
The death penalty? Life in prison?
No, the United States Army feels that Pfc. Holmes will be adequately disciplined by serving seven years in prison with credit for time already served. He’ll be out in five years or less.
Remember Spec. Morlock? What do you think the thrill killing of three Afghan civilians will get you? Morlock was sentenced to only twenty-four years behind bars.
Are you sick yet?
During his hearing Pfc. Holmes told the judge, “There is a mindset that what happens in Afghanistan stays in Afghanistan.” The judge observed that Holmes had apparently not confronted “the awful moral gravity” of his crime. Evidently, neither has the judge. Neither has the American public.
Last week the State of Georgia executed Troy Davis for a murder he almost certainly did not commit. Davis maintained his innocence to the end.
No matter who committed the murder for which Davis received the death penalty, there was no suggestion that the killing was premeditated. No one mutilated or dismembered the corpse of the victim. No one posed for celebratory photographs, and nothing suggested that the murder was done just for the fun of it.
Eyewitnesses said that Troy Davis was not the killer. No physical evidence linked him to the crime. Thoughtful and responsible people from former FBI Director William Sessions to President Jimmy Carter to the Pope were convinced of his innocence. So were millions of others who paid attention to his case.
Still, Troy Davis is dead. Stone cold dead. The State of George snuffed him out last Wednesday night, and he will not be eligible for parole. And all those dead civilians in Afghanistan ruthlessly murdered by Morlock, Holmes and their band of brothers on a thrill killing spree—well, they won’t be coming back either.
Think about that. Sleep on it if you can.
{ 4 comments… read them below or add one }
Prentice, I haven’t read your blog for a long time – way too long. This posting sure isn’t a rosy welcome back!
People killing other people “for the fun of it” make me ill. Doubly ill when the killers are active-duty US military and the killed are residents of an occupied or host country. And a child to boot. I feel a rising need to vomit, and if I saw the photo you allude to, of the vicious murderer with his “trophy” I most certainly would vomit!
Also sickening to me is the recent news of the judicial murder of Troy Davis. Capital punishment IS judicial murder! Mr. Davis maintained his innocence until they murdered him, and responsible people accepted his innocence. But, as you say in your title, justice got beaten up.
Mr. Davis died — for a murder he probably didn’t do. (And if he did, has his death brought back to life is alleged victim? No!) Meanwhile US soldiers who murdered children and civilians in cold blood get what amounts to a slap on the wrist. And the USA gets odious in the eyes of any Afghans who witnessed those murders!
Life certainly is not fair. Neither is death. Certainly!
Glan Alan, we’re glad to see you back here at the blog. We’ve been focused on other projects over the past several months, but hope to get back to more regular blogging. This article, I should point out, is Mary Ann’s… not mine. I’d be happy to claim it, though.
It makes me sick that American soldiers are committing the crimes we are told only our enemies commit. For every incident that we learn about there are probably dozens more that never come to light. How can these kinds of things happen in our military? Where are the officers who are supposed to be in command of our troops?
The sentence given to the soldier is outrageous. It amounts to a free murder.