Re: Ex soldier sent to prison - fair or not?


"The Todal" <deadmailbox@xxxxxxxx> wrote in message
news:4a1qc4Fr11n9U1@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"Flying Rat" <me9@xxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
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In article <4a1ompFr105oU1@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>, The Todal says...
Lance Corporal Piotrowski, suffering from PTSD after a gruelling tour
of
duty in Iraq, steals a SA80 rifle and makes threats about using it on
police. He is sentenced to a rather staggering 7 years 4 months in
prison.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/4896696.stm

No he wasn't.
He was sentenced to 7 years and 4 months by a court martial and will be
held in military custody, not 'in prison'. Military custody is outside
the civilian prison system.

Thanks for clarifying that. What sort of conditions can he expect in
"military custody" and would it be more, or less, luxurious than say
Brixton
Prison?

Military prison tends to be austere and tough but fair. He is far more
likely to leave military prison fit, healthy and often reformed characters.
A guy that worked for me once had done 90 days in RN Detention Centre, then
gone on to take part in the feild gun race at the old Earls Court show. He
was a completely reformed character and an excellent sailor after his spell
behind bars.


He is now regarded as expendable, his life and career no longer of any
concern to us, a man who has done his duty but can be discarded.

Except you are wrong once again. Whilst in military custody he will
still be a soldier. Only when his period in military custody ends will
he be discharged from the army.

That must be a great consolation to him. Presumably he is at liberty to
polish his brasses and to march up and down his cell.

He will do his marching outside, and will have plenty of work and physical
excercise.

This is an Army disciplinary matter. Stop spinning it. If he is found to
be mentally incapacitated then there are avenues available to discharge
him from the Army and into mental health facilities if needed. Courts
martial are not medical boards.


Does a tour of duty in Iraq cause damage to the soldiers? Does it
cause
men
to become psychopaths, and should they be punished for that? This was
the
defendant's letter to the Guardian:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/Iraq/Story/0,,1751351,00.html

Was he really given justice? The tabloids believe they are supporting
our
troops by cheering them into battle. Wouldn't it be more supportive if
we
gave them more help after their return, and were more lenient when
dealing
with their antisocial behaviour?



are you now going to be honest enough to add to your post that this was
done by a court martial, and 'we' in this case is not the civilian
courts or police?

How is that relevant? Are you saying that a court martial has nothing to
do
with us, and that it must know best?


Still, anything to bash the Government. I'm waiting for the usual
wailing 'Bliar' crap which these threads attract from the usual
crackpots and Cameron apologists.

I wasn't bashing the Government at all. The Government would no doubt say,
as it always does, that the law must take its course and the government
should not interfere with the decisions made by judges in the military or
civil courts.

I was saying that this particular prisoner has had a very raw deal. I
don't
suppose there will be pressure groups campaigning for his release, but
there
ought to be. Some brave soldiers get medals and photo-opportunities and
book
deals, others get sent to the glasshouse. They aren't necessarily free to
choose.

I have a suspicion that your suspicions may have some element of truth in
them, today's military is loath to accept that service can affect people,
fear of litigation I suspect as much as anything else. The UK is not very
good at looking after those who are damaged by military service.

Peter


.

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