Being accused of a crime in the U.S. military can mean spending years in prison before going to trial, and in some cases, being found not guilty.

 

A review of the military’s court system by McClatchy Newspapers found numerous problems plaguing it, including delays at every stage of the legal process, records getting lost, delays in trial transcriptions, attorneys getting distracted or being sent off to war, and judges acting indifferent or being unqualified.

 

For example, Marine Corps Gunnery Sergeant Brian Foster spent nine years in Leavenworth prison after his estranged wife accused him of rape. Convicted in December 1999, he was released in February 2009, when the Navy-Marine Corps Court of Criminal Appeals finally got around to his case and reversed his conviction. The military court said Foster had been a victim of “judicial negligence.”

 

McClatchy also identified numerous other cases in which sailors and marines had to wait four years or more for appeals to be heard.

-Noel Brinkerhoff, David Wallechinsky

 

Accused Sit in Jail as Military Courts Drag Feet on Appeals (by Michael Doyle, McClatchy Newspapers)

Evaluation of Post-Trial Reviews of Courts-Martial within the Department of the Navy (Inspector General of the United States Department of Defense) (pdf)

Innocent Marine Freed after 9 Years in Prison (by Gidget Fuentes, Marine Corps Times)