Free Derrick Miller

[Darrell]

This burns my ass to no end. :mad

Army Guardsman, Sergeant Derrick Miller has been sentenced to life in prison with the chance of parole by the United States Military.During a combat mission in a hostile area of Afghanistan in September 2010, SGT Derrick Miller’s attention was drawn to an Afghani national who had penetrated the defense perimeter set up by the US Army. The Afghani man was identified by another soldier who recognized him from a detainment the previous day. The man in question was the driver of a truck reported by military intelligence as transporting members of the opposition to a nearby combat firefight. US military intelligence let the trucks pass.

SGT Miller questioned the Afghani national after observing the suspicious behavior of the man as he recon their defense perimeter. It appeared that the man was gathering information and since he was already identified as an enemy combatant, SGT Miller was acting instinctively to protect his unit by detaining this man.
During the questioning, which took place in an open area with another US soldier and an Afghani interpreter present, SGT Miller asked the man why he was within the perimeter. The man claimed to be an electrician who was responding to a downed power line but later he claimed to be there to fix a water pump. He had no tools with him. The man had also been accompanied by two men whom he claimed were his sons and helpers. Both of those men had returned to the village without having performed any electrical work. They were not present during SGT Millers questioning. During the harsh questioning, the Afghani insurgent attempted to grab SGT Millers weapon, he was shot and killed in the struggle.

Within a few hours, SGT Millers unit was attacked on three sides by the Afghani insurgents. During SGT Millers trial, all soldiers in that unit testified that the enemy had to have recon their position closely in order to attack in the manner they did. It was also testified that the incident with SGT Miller forced the entire unit into full alert/ 100% security and this prepared the soldiers for the attack. No American lives were lost because of their preparation.

As the details of the events of that day come to light, the US soldiers were suspicious of the Afghan man and the two other young men with him that he claimed were his sons and helpers. Yet at different times during the few hours that the Afghani was inside the perimeter, each of these men were sent back to the village. The Afghani interpreter testified that this happened. It is believed by the soldiers present at the time that these two men were carrying information to the insurgents detailing the most effective targets for the ensuing attack.

SGT Miller believes despite his conviction and sentence of life in prison for the murder of this Afghani insurgent that he was acting solely in self defense and with sound judgment.

http://derrickmiller.org/case/

 

[Joe the meek]

I would hope there has to be more to the story.

Perhaps a little different version

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...er-sentenced-life-Afghan-civilian-murder.html

I don't know what the truth is other than the fact it's for all intents and purposes it's a war zone.

 

[dancingpotato]

Harsh

 

[Tim]

It would be nice to know the truth before I decide if his punishment is just or not...

According to this...

Specialist Charles Miller, an eyewitness and Guardsman, testified that he had heard Mr Miller threatening to kill the man if he didn't tell the truth.
He also testified that Mr Miller straddled the man, who was lying on his back, before shooting him in the head.​

He got what he deserved. But according to the story Darrell posted, it was a travesty of justice...

But since he was convicted by a jury of his peers, I'll have to rely on their judgement for the time being since they heard all the facts...

 

[Darrell]

It would be nice to know the truth before I decide if his punishment is just or not...

According to this...

He got what he deserved. But according to the story Darrell posted, it was a travesty of justice...

But since he was convicted by a jury of his peers, I'll have to rely on their judgement for the time being since they heard all the facts...

Ah unfortunately, Tim, he was in fact NOT found guilty by a jury of his peers. He was found guilty by the GCMA (General Court Marshal Authority - Army may call it something different) and more often than not, the punishment seldom fits the crime.

On a side note, shit happens in war, I don't believe that this soldier outright murdered him, but I wasn't there either.

 

[dancingpotato]

As always there are two sides to every story and we probably only ever hear a mixture of the two. Guess we have to make up our own minds without knowing the full story.

 

[Tim]

Ah unfortunately, Tim, he was in fact NOT found guilty by a jury of his peers. He was found guilty by the GCMA (General Court Marshal Authority - Army may call it something different) and more often than not, the punishment seldom fits the crime.

On a side note, shit happens in war, I don't believe that this soldier outright murdered him, but I wasn't there either.

I was basing my statement on this...

The jury deliberated for under three hours before finding Mr Miller guilty.

are you sure that this wasn't deliberated by a jury?

 

[Natasha]

None of the stories change as far as one very important point, IMO...and that's the fact that the guy tried to take his gun. You do that...you die. *shrugs*

 

[Tim]

Spc. Charles Miller testified during an Article 32 hearing, which is similar to a civilian grand jury, that Sgt. Derrick Miller, 27, was a "squared away" soldier who acted "reasonably in pressure situations."
"I wouldn't question his judgment if he believed the use of deadly force was necessary," Charles Miller said.

Miller became suspicious and told Charles Miller and an interpreter to join him so he could question Mohammed near a latrine. Miller asked to borrow Charles Miller's 9-mm pistol before the questioning began.
As the interrogation went on, Miller became bothered with Mohammed's answers and pointed the gun at his head.
"I said, 'Look, if you don't tell me the truth, I'm going to kill you.' I was just using it as a scare tactic," Derrick Miller testified.
Miller said he shot the prisoner after he grabbed for the gun.
Charles Miller said he interpreted the incident differently.
He said Mohammed tried to create distance by pushing on Derrick Miller's chest.
"I never saw the man grab Sgt. Miller's weapon but he did try to create space between them by putting a hand towards his chest, however, he never created space between them," Charles Miller said. "Sgt. Miller then put the gun to the man's head and pulled the trigger. About 30 seconds went by between the time (he) tried to create space and when Sgt. Miller pulled the trigger."

This was from The Herald http://articles.herald-mail.com/201...er-1st-brigade-combat-team-taliban-stronghold

Again, I want to clarify... I DO NOT know the facts of the case. So I can't say if he is guilty or innocent.

 

[Tim]

None of the stories change as far as one very important point, IMO...and that's the fact that the guy tried to take his gun. You do that...you die. *shrugs*

But the eye witness accounts do not support that.

 

[Darrell]

I was basing my statement on this...

are you sure that this wasn't deliberated by a jury?

Yes, military courts do not have a jury. They have a tribunal of commissioned officers. They act collectively as judge and jury.

 

[Tim]

Yes, military courts do not have a jury. They have a tribunal of commissioned officers. They act collectively as judge and jury.

Again I will say that I don't know if the man is guilty or not, but this is pretty damning testimony from a man that was standing right beside him at the time.

"I never saw the man grab Sgt. Miller's weapon but he did try to create space between them by putting a hand towards his chest, however, he never created space between them," Charles Miller said. "Sgt. Miller then put the gun to the man's head and pulled the trigger. About 30 seconds went by between the time (he) tried to create space and when Sgt. Miller pulled the trigger."

This eye witness account could be enough to convict him if he was found to be credible.

 

[BadBoy]

That's how Shane rolls on The Walking Dead. :dunno

Its sort of ironic (or not) that new police officers undergo severe psych evals before becoming a police officer mainly because they will be carrying around a loaded weapon and interacting with the public, yet we freely give 18-22 year old kids loaded machine guns and expect them to make rational decisions in situations like this without any kind of psychological evaluation. Go figure.

 

[Panacea]

What a hot mess.