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Bay Area Marine Gets Six Months IN Jail For Opposing Illegal War
NEW ORLEANS (Reuters) - A military jury found an anti-war U.S. Marine reservist guilty of unauthorized absence and sentenced him to six months in jail for refusing to report to his unit during the Iraq war, his lawyer said on Sunday.
NEW ORLEANS (Reuters) - A military jury found an anti-war U.S. Marine reservist guilty of unauthorized absence and sentenced him to six months in jail for refusing to report to his unit during the Iraq war, his lawyer said on Sunday.
The verdict was less than the desertion charge the U.S. military had sought, which could have put Lance Cpl. Lawrence Funk behind bars for a year, but defense attorney Stephen Collier said he would still appeal for a lighter sentence.
Funk, 21, has said he was the target of unfair prosecution because he was a conscientious objector who spoke at anti-war rallies. He was the only one of 28 Marine conscientious objectors to the Iraq war to face prosecution, but the military said that was because he was the only who did not report for duty.
A jury of four Marines reached the verdict late on Saturday after two days of testimony in a court martial at the 4th Service Support Group command, headquarters for the Marine Reserve, in New Orleans, which is where the Marine Corps processes conscientious objector cases.
Collier argued that Funk did not respond to his unit's call up on Feb. 9 because he claimed conscientious objector status and believed he would not be deployed. His unit, based in San Jose, California, loads cargo for transport.
But prosecutors said his refusal to report was a simple case of desertion.
Funk also informed the military he was gay, but military Judge John Maksym forbade that from being an issue in the court-martial.
Collier said Funk, who was immediately sent to jail, took the jury's decision well.
"Stephen was ready to serve some time. He knew this was likely to happen," he told Reuters.
Funk also will receive a bad conduct discharge from the military, Collier said.
http://wireservice.wired.com/wired/story.asp?section=Breaking&storyId=779759
The verdict was less than the desertion charge the U.S. military had sought, which could have put Lance Cpl. Lawrence Funk behind bars for a year, but defense attorney Stephen Collier said he would still appeal for a lighter sentence.
Funk, 21, has said he was the target of unfair prosecution because he was a conscientious objector who spoke at anti-war rallies. He was the only one of 28 Marine conscientious objectors to the Iraq war to face prosecution, but the military said that was because he was the only who did not report for duty.
A jury of four Marines reached the verdict late on Saturday after two days of testimony in a court martial at the 4th Service Support Group command, headquarters for the Marine Reserve, in New Orleans, which is where the Marine Corps processes conscientious objector cases.
Collier argued that Funk did not respond to his unit's call up on Feb. 9 because he claimed conscientious objector status and believed he would not be deployed. His unit, based in San Jose, California, loads cargo for transport.
But prosecutors said his refusal to report was a simple case of desertion.
Funk also informed the military he was gay, but military Judge John Maksym forbade that from being an issue in the court-martial.
Collier said Funk, who was immediately sent to jail, took the jury's decision well.
"Stephen was ready to serve some time. He knew this was likely to happen," he told Reuters.
Funk also will receive a bad conduct discharge from the military, Collier said.
http://wireservice.wired.com/wired/story.asp?section=Breaking&storyId=779759
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Is illegal. Sedition and treason is illegal. When you sign up for a commitment for the Marines, or any branch of the U.S. Armed Forces, YOU ARE MAKING A COMMITMENT. Changing your mind is not an option when you want to weasel out. Now he gets to "be a man" in prison.
This guy will never get a job or be respected for rht remainder of his life, because he could not keep a commitment. It's cowardly, just like abandoning your family. Being a C.O. (argueable in its own right) is one thing, but be a reservist and have the country counting on you to perform a noble deed and later changing your mind, is cowardly and deserves jail time.
Why did he get JUST 6 months? We need scum like this off the road for years............
This guy will never get a job or be respected for rht remainder of his life, because he could not keep a commitment. It's cowardly, just like abandoning your family. Being a C.O. (argueable in its own right) is one thing, but be a reservist and have the country counting on you to perform a noble deed and later changing your mind, is cowardly and deserves jail time.
Why did he get JUST 6 months? We need scum like this off the road for years............
Is illegal. Sedition and treason is illegal. When you sign up for a commitment for the Marines, or any branch of the U.S. Armed Forces, YOU ARE MAKING A COMMITMENT. Changing your mind is not an option when you want to weasel out. Now he gets to "be a man" in prison.
This guy will never get a job or be respected for the remainder of his life, because he could not keep a commitment. It's cowardly, just like abandoning your family. Being a C.O. (argueable in its own right) is one thing, but be a reservist and have the country counting on you to perform a noble deed and later changing your mind, is cowardly and deserves jail time.
Why did he get JUST 6 months? We need scum like this off the road for years............
This guy will never get a job or be respected for the remainder of his life, because he could not keep a commitment. It's cowardly, just like abandoning your family. Being a C.O. (argueable in its own right) is one thing, but be a reservist and have the country counting on you to perform a noble deed and later changing your mind, is cowardly and deserves jail time.
Why did he get JUST 6 months? We need scum like this off the road for years............
The U.S. armed forces are a criminal organization. They are the hit squad for the AmeriKKKan ruling class, the worst bunch of gangsters on the planet. Changing one's mind after joining them is no worse than changing one's mind after joining the Mafia or Hitler's SS.
All decent people around the world will honor Stephen Funk and those like him. And those who are not brainwashed by pacifism will also and especially honor Hasan [Asan] Akbar, presently on trial for fragging his officers.
Only resistance from within the imperialist military, as happened on a large scale in Vietnam, will make it possible for imperialism to be defeated.
All decent people around the world will honor Stephen Funk and those like him. And those who are not brainwashed by pacifism will also and especially honor Hasan [Asan] Akbar, presently on trial for fragging his officers.
Only resistance from within the imperialist military, as happened on a large scale in Vietnam, will make it possible for imperialism to be defeated.
Members of that military are the reason little children like yourself can voice your opinion openly. Your use of 'KKK' is an insult to the thousands of African-American servicemen and women. You must be proud of yourself.
The so-called patriots are so full of shit.
Not only did the troops rebel in Nam to end the war, but most of the Tonkin Gulf sailors said fuck the war also and were sent back to the states.
Most of my division from the U.S.S. Midway went A.W.O.L. in 1972 after landing in Hunters Point and being told that Japan was the next destination after refurbishing the ship.
Thousands of us landed in legal hold at the 31st Street Naval Base in San Diego for being A.W.O.L., and refusing all orders.
It took about 4-6 months to get processed out with a General-Under Honorable Conditions Discharge.
We tore the place up in the mean time....
By early morning muster, we'd lay in bed with a bottle of wine in one hand and a joint in another...
Then we would stumble down to muster for the morning count, and run off afterwards refusing to join the assigned work parties.
It was an honor to refuse to be a part of uncle sams mass murderers...
I strongly urge all military personal to refuse to serve in Iraq for the oil barons...Theres no regrets in refusing to be a killer for the military industrial complex corporations.
A.W.O.L. with love....
Not only did the troops rebel in Nam to end the war, but most of the Tonkin Gulf sailors said fuck the war also and were sent back to the states.
Most of my division from the U.S.S. Midway went A.W.O.L. in 1972 after landing in Hunters Point and being told that Japan was the next destination after refurbishing the ship.
Thousands of us landed in legal hold at the 31st Street Naval Base in San Diego for being A.W.O.L., and refusing all orders.
It took about 4-6 months to get processed out with a General-Under Honorable Conditions Discharge.
We tore the place up in the mean time....
By early morning muster, we'd lay in bed with a bottle of wine in one hand and a joint in another...
Then we would stumble down to muster for the morning count, and run off afterwards refusing to join the assigned work parties.
It was an honor to refuse to be a part of uncle sams mass murderers...
I strongly urge all military personal to refuse to serve in Iraq for the oil barons...Theres no regrets in refusing to be a killer for the military industrial complex corporations.
A.W.O.L. with love....
Right on dude!
Just because you sign up for the military doesn't mean you have to toss aside your intelligence or your soul. Our brave young men and women sign up to defend our country, not to secure oil reserves and make money for Bectel and Haliburton.
Just because you sign up for the military doesn't mean you have to toss aside your intelligence or your soul. Our brave young men and women sign up to defend our country, not to secure oil reserves and make money for Bectel and Haliburton.
Photos from Stephen Funk's court martial in New Orleans:
http://neworleans.indymedia.org/news/2003/09/310.php
http://neworleans.indymedia.org/news/2003/09/310.php
in response "i's" to comment;
"by i Monday September 08, 2003 at 09:01 AM
Members of that military are the reason little children like yourself can voice your opinion openly. Your use of 'KKK' is an insult to the thousands of African-American servicemen and women. You must be proud of yourself.";
recruiters lie.
this desperate administration's lies far outstrip any previous administration's lies.
free speech has been set upon by brown shirts such as yourself in greater numbers and with greater zeal than ever before since the bogus invasion if Iraq for OIL for our OIL COMPANY administration.
this administration has courted the racist right to the maximum extent they could openly get away with and inflamed racist feelings to blind a large minority of loyal, but very gullable, supporters for their desperate robbery of Iraq's assets. this evil and Godless administration is the personification of insult to all minorities, racial, sexual, lovers of democracy and freedom among others.
this administration failed miserably to defend us on September 11th 2000 when the last of the airliners sailed around our eastern corridor for nearly 2 hours prior to slamming into the headquarters of our military, the pentagon; their bellicosity is no substitute for military and administrative competence and Mr. Bush should be court martialed and executed for that and the deliberate and unrelated destruction of Iraq and Afghanistan and massive loss of life directly incurred during the assault and battery.
military personel should have a greater right to speak, especially on military matters, when not in the heat of battle; military secrecy and national security are and have been extremely abused by inept and crooked administrations for a long time now to the extreme detriment of this country. (the national archives still has two sealed PALLET loads of documents concerning our operations in North Vietnam in the 60s and 70s)
loyalty to traitors like Bush Inc. is NOT patriotism or in our national self interest in any way.
God bless Mr. Funk.
For more information:
http://www.treasoninc.com
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