Justice in Combat

Monday, November 27 2006 | Send to a friend

Justice in Combat

Military lawyer Vince Gunter

Two war crimes trials resulted in verdicts this month. At Fort Campbell, a young soldier was sentenced to life in prison for the rape and murder of an Iraqi girl and her family. At Camp Pendleton, a Marine got nearly two years for the killing of a 52-year-old Iraqi civilian. 

Two and a half years ago, Vince Gunter got a call from his Army Reserve office calling him up for active duty in Iraq. From November 2004 to October 2005, he served as a military lawyer, or JAG, based in Mosul.

Vince at an Iraqi school

Shortly after he arrived, Vince observed a trial that deeply influenced his views on military justice. A sergeant was charged with murdering a wounded insurgent. While listening to the testimony, Vince found himself remembering a helicopter accident he'd survived just weeks before:

"I started to understand this whole thing they call diminished capacity, your ability to distinguish between right and wrong. What happens when your heart rate goes up, when all this adrenaline is flowing through your body…there's some weird things that are happening with your body.  I think it's important for the law to try to recognize that."

- Vince Gunter