This is the case now. VICTORY for Ehren Watada!!!!! The army has DROPPED the appeal to retry him on the counts which he was tried on in his Feb. 2007 court martial. They are NOT appealing Judge Settles ruling of double jeopardy.
The coast is not completely clear yet because two charges of conduct unbecoming had been set aside without prejudice in the first court martial. Ehren stipulated that he had done the interview with Sarah Olson and had also spoken the words which Dahr Jamail transcribed from a Veterans for Peace rally. He did this out of HONOR to stop the army's subpoenas of Sarah and Dahr. The army has not indicated if they will refile these charges.
Ehren, tears are streaming down my face as I write here. Three years, more than two after the miscarriage of justice in your mistrial and you are not going to be tried on those charges again!!!!! Your refusal to get on board that plane to fight in the ILLEGAL war in Iraq was the bravest thing imaginable. You were willing and did face the music for your decision because you Ehren, are an officer, a gentleman and a man of HONOR.
Army drops appeal in Watada case
The Army has decided not to proceed with its appeal of a federal judge's ruling that 1st Lt. Ehren Watada cannot face a second court-martial on three of five counts resulting from his high-profile 2006 refusal to deploy to Iraq with a Fort Lewis brigade, his attorneys said today.
Seattle Times staff
U.S. Army 1st Lt. Ehren Watada
The Army has decided not to proceed with its appeal of a federal judge's ruling that 1st Lt. Ehren Watada cannot face a second court-martial on three of five counts resulting from his high-profile 2006 refusal to deploy to Iraq with a Fort Lewis brigade, his attorneys said today.
Watada's first court-martial, in February 2007, ended with a mistrial.
U.S. District Judge Benjamin Settle in Tacoma ruled on double-jeopardy grounds in October that Watada could not be prosecuted by the Army on charges of missing his redeployment to Iraq, taking part in a news conference and participating in a Veterans for Peace national convention.
But Settle left open the possibility that the Army could retry Watada on two counts of conduct unbecoming an officer resulting from his media interviews.
It is unclear if the Army plans to pursue those charges. (source)
RECENT post concerning the Nina Rosenblum documentary, "A Consciencious Objector for our Times"
For a source of most of the posts written here on Ehren, link HERE and then go to more links at the bottom.
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