A former U.S. Army contractor was arrested today in Newport News, Va., for allegedly killing one sailor and seriously injuring another in a vehicular collision in Kuwait[.] Hanks is charged under the Military Extraterritorial Jurisdiction Act (MEJA), a statute that gives U.S. courts jurisdiction to prosecute crimes committed outside the United States by, among others, contractors or subcontractors of the Department of Defense. If convicted, Hanks faces up to 10 years in prison. The case was investigated by the U.S. Army’s Criminal Investigative Division and is being prosecuted by Senior Trial Attorneys Micah D. Pharris and Steven C. Parker of the Criminal Division’s Human Rights and Special Prosecutions Section (HRSP) and Assistant U.S. Attorney Eric Hurt for the Eastern District of Virginia.

According to Jeff Paterson of Courage to Resist, an Oakland-based organization dedicated to supporting military objectors like Hall, he was not jailed for the song, but was instead jailed “in retaliation for his formal complaint of inadequate mental health services available to him at Fort Stewart. The Army used an angry song that Spc. Hall, a combat veteran of the Iraq War suffering from post-traumatic stress, had produced criticizing the stop-loss policy as the pretext.” What put the 34-year-old New York City native in the brig were, according to Paterson, Hall’s persistent assertions of inadequate mental health care that culminated in a December 7 complaint to the Army Investigator General. Just five days after that, Hall was charged with violating “good order and discipline” at Fort Stewart, Georgia, and was shipped out of the country for a court martial in Kuwait. On Feb. 20 Hall wrote, “A charge that was not a threat before, but all of a sudden became a threat now. I communicated a need for mental evaluation – not a threat.”

The last of four soldiers accused of tormenting Pvt. Keiffer Wilhelm, the Huron County teen who killed himself in Iraq last summer, was found guilty of minor offenses and will apparently escape serious punishment. Staff Sgt. Bob Clements was convicted of obstruction of justice at a court martial that ended Sunday night in Kuwait. He was given a written reprimand and demoted one pay rank, according to a U.S. Army official.

Justice Files, a catchy name for McGuire AFB.

This article is a summary of results for Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst Airmen who received both courts-martial and non-judicial punishment under Article 15 of the Uniform Code of Military Justice for the month of March. There was one special court-martial, two non-judicial punishment actions and twelve administrative discharge actions.

CAAFLog reports a new Bluebook is due out soon. Here is the website, you can buy an online membership.

Marine Corps Times reports:

Corpsman turned to pot to deal with stress By Gidget Fuentes – Staff writer, Sunday Apr 11, 2010 8:35:07 EDT OCEANSIDE, Calif. — The enemy’s bullet tore into his arm, knocking Hospital Corpsman 2nd Class William Osborn out of commission during a firefight May 4, 2009, in Afghanistan.

Mansfield News Journal reports.

A war resister who fled the U.S. for Canada, but was deported to face a court-martial, has been released from confinement. Cliff Cornell spent less than a year in a military prison at Camp Lejeune in North Carolina, and was released this morning [15 January 2010]. Cornell, who fled the U.S. for Canada in 2005 to avoid having to fight in Iraq, wants to return to Gabriola Island, B.C., Canada.

Canadian Press reports.

In a 16 January 2010 post Overlawyered blog notes:

Army seeks to court-martial soldier in Afghanistan for possessing “child pornography” when his mother sends him family photos that include a four-year-old in a swimsuit. [AP/WaPo via Riehl; WQAD]

If you’ve been following this one you’ll know that the charges also include possession of other adult pornography, all of which would be a violation of General Order #1. The accused has been held in Afghanistan, and has apparently now been there 17 months – a significant passing of the 400 days boots-on-the-ground policy.

Terri Miller said she had great respect for members of the armed services, but the way her son’s case was being handled had changed her mind about the military. “This is nothing against the troops,” she said, “but the military can go to hell.”

pjstar.com reports.

A military judge has decided to move the trial for one of three Navy SEALs accused in connection with the alleged assault of a suspected terrorist to Iraq. Cmdr. Tierney Carlos, the trial judge for the court-martial of Special Warfare Operator 2nd Class (SEAL) Jonathan Elliot Keefe, has agreed with defense motions to move the April 6 trial to Camp Victory in Iraq so Keefe can face the alleged victim, Ahmed Hashim Abed, whom the government sought to depose in lieu of a trial appearance. “If he is available for a deposition, then he is available for trial,” Carlos said.

Navy Times reports.

Based on my own experiences going to Camp Victory, this is going to be expensive. Maybe they can get the NAF at Norfolk to put together a flight of all participants to Kuwait, and then arrange a flight from Ali Alsaleem up to Baghdad. Plus there are going to be some interesting logistics.

[Correction] Daily Press reports that it’s actually two of the three trials: Keefe and Huertas. So one would think the third will be also?