[armyguy]

Ok, Got it.
Yes I'm an Army guy. I'm currently in Iraq nearing the end of a year-long deployment. I have been under a lot of stress and I think that's a least part of what precipitated the situation I find myself in today.
I am facing a court martial for larceny that is likely to result in a federal felony conviction.
As an Army officer, that's the end of my career at a minimum. I also face the possibility of five years in prison and forfeiture of all pay and allowances.
I am having such a hard time of this and don't know what's in store for me or for my family.
I have a wife and four children who live at our home in the states. And I'm worried that I will loose them too when this is all said and done.
To make matters worse, I am sitting at nineteen and a half years in the Army right now. The convening authority has decided not to take any mitigating circumstances into account and allow me to face the full brunt of the General Court Martial.
The mitigating circumstances in my case are:
1. I have been trying to cope with a teenage son with drug addiction and depression for the past five years. It's literally made a mess of our lives.
2. I was forced to deploy to Iraq, despite pleas from doctors and my chain of command not to deploy me.
3. I suffer from depression and have for the past three plus years - and am on anti-depressants
4. My wife suffers from depression and was not prepared for me to leave.

I need to know how to cope with what I see as a very bleak future. I realize I made a mistake - a huge one.
I need help and advice on how to go forward.
Please feel free to ask me anything. I need help and will be grateful for any that I receive.

[ScottGem]

The army should be supplying you with legal representation. You should also have counselors available to deal with the stress you are experiencing. I urge you to avail yourself of these resources while you can.

Many people can and do cope with situations even worse than yours. I'm not minimizing your situation, just trying to give you some hope that it can be resolved. But I don't see how much help a site like this can provide. We can give moral support, suggest you get professional help (which, since you are on anti-depressants, you probably have) and offer our sympathies. But none of that is going to resolve anything. The only way I see a resolution is by talking with your legal counsel (or getting outside counsel) and working with a qualified therapist.

I wish you good luck.

[armyguy]

Thanks for your comment.
Perhaps I didn't make myself clear - or this is really the wrong place to be. I am availing myself of all the help available here. That is counseling and legal assistance.
I need help trying to find out what to expect or what not to expect in life as a convicted felon. I know that I will loose my right to vote and that many job opportunities will not be open to me.
Where does someone in my position look?

[ScottGem]

This is not the place to get legal assistance. You NEED to speak to your attorney about that. While there are a couple of attorneys who do answer questions here, most of us are just knowledgeable people who draw on their experiences. We may be able to give some advice to use when talking to your attorney, but we are no substitute for that.

Similar with counseling. I'm not sure if there are even any professional counselors here.

I'm sure the army has professionals who can help you contact support groups that deal with people in your situation to prepare for prison and life after it.

[excon]

Hello Armydude:

What I said to the other fellow!

Plus, you are PRE-conviction right now, so you have more options. The best way to avoid problems as an exconvict is to not become a convict in the first place. You seem to be pretty convinced that you'll be convicted in court. Why? Did you lay down for them already? Probably (they do employ torture, I hear)! Don't do it again! That's not meant to make you feel bad. It's meant to make you wake up!

You need an attorney. Maybe the military will give you a great one for free. Maybe not. If they do, cool. If they don’t, HIRE one - the BEST you can afford. I know, you don’t think you can afford a lawyer, but I think you can’t afford not to hire one.

For what it's worth, mitigation is only of value at the time of sentencing. It's not going to help you beat the charge unless you are actually nuts. Don't dismiss that! You might legally BE nuts. I was in Nam, dude. PTSD is a REAL illness.

I don't know squat about your case, but I would view each day as a brand new opportunity to clear yourself, instead of them being nails in your coffin. If you DO get convicted, we can talk about that later.

I know, I know, you probably did it. In the general scheme of things, that's not good. Don't do that again, either. But, I don't think that act requires you to throw yourself on your sword.

excon

[armyguy]

The mistake I made was being open and honest and waiving my rights to have an attorney present. I freely admitted to what I took and actually gave up items I bought, but did not have receipts for, since they (the Military Police Investigators threatened to take everything I didn't have a receipt for. While I will end up with some type of federal conviction (felony or misdemeanor) I have to be prepared for the worst.

[excon]

Hello again:

Cool, dude. If you wan't to lay down, go for it. But I ain't going to help you.

excon

[excon]

Dude:

I'll give it one more shot.

>>>The mistake I made was being open and honest and waiving my rights to have an attorney present.<<<

That's true! It's a mistake you made THEN. The mistake you are making TODAY (and apparently insist on continuing with) is NOT changing up.

I know, it's not looking good, but you have NOT been convicted yet. And, you may not be. But, you surely will be if you continue to lay down.

excon

[armyguy]

You're right, I haven't been convicted yet. That is true. Instead of laying down and taking it I should pull out all the stops. That's what I'm trying to do now.
Where I seem to get stuck is in my inability to accept that the convening authority in my case does not want to intervene (and consider the whole picture). My trial defense attorney is as frustrated with my inability to accept his lack of compassion as she is with the fact that he is showing none. Does that make sense?
I (and my trial defense attorney) have done everything possible to appeal to his sense of fairness - to no avail. So, now the strategy must be to try and minimize additional punishments that could be imposed. And you're exactly right... Nothing has been imposed yet.
Currently we have submitted an Option to Plead Guilty to a lesser offense - two misdemeanors instead of a felony. It is unlikely that the general will go for it - and we won't know for a few days in any case. If, as is likely, he disapproves, then my case goes before a General Court Martial as a felony.
That said, I am prepared to defend myself. I do have many character references and statements from the doctors I have been seeing - all of which support punishment less than a CM. Also, there is the fact that all of the merchandise I shoplifted was recovered, thus no monetary loss.

[ScottGem]

So, If I understand the current situation. The General tasked with making the decision on how to prosecute the case (roughly equivalent to a District Attorney) has refused to consider any mitigating factors in deciding HOW to prosecute. Apparently insisting on a GCM.

But that still leaves you with your day in court. You will still have the opportunity to present your defense. Its possible the General's stance may backfire on him as the court might decide its wrong to prosecute you on the higher charge and have the only alternative as aquittal. Not knowing enough about military justice I can't say how possible that scenario is.

The point is the war isn't over. There are several more battles to be fought and the outcome is not assured.

[excon]

Hello armydude:

Yeah, it makes a lot of sense to me. The three of you are living in lala land. Everybody looks around and sees somebody OTHER than who's there. The general is a real a**, but you both think he should be a sweetheart. You're actually a wonderful fellow, but the general somehow can't see that. You're defense attorney is frustrated with you, and you don't trust her (as you absolutely should not). Yeah, I think I understand it. Sounds like our justice system at work. What? You were expecting something else?

Ok, you're coming around a little bit, dude, but you're still being pretty wussy. I see the only options you outline, are "where should I lay down for them?"

What about the possibility that, in spite of what you, and your "defense" attorney think, you may actually NOT BE GUILTY?? I know that it's a hard concept for you to grasp right now, that's exactly why you NEED another opinion.

Maybe, a better strategy would be to play offense instead of defense. Maybe, (even if you ARE guilty) the courts marshal dudes don't want to go through the expense of a long drawn out hard fought trial. Maybe they're busy with other cases more pressing than yours. Maybe they know that the MP who busted you is ALSO a crook. Maybe they’re just lazy. Maybe, if you hire a very BIG gun, they’ll be the ones intimidated. Maybe, maybe, maybe. The justice system isn’t about right and wrong. It’s about who wins.

You may very well get a better deal out of them by playing hardball, instead of shuffling your feet, and telling them how misunderstood you are and how difficult your life has been.

Plus, I believe, that given only the very limited amount of information you gave about yourself, you absolutely have a shot at being not guilty, by reason of whatever...

You were smart enough to ask for another opinion here. Be smart enough to take my advice. What's the worse it can cost you? Time and money? What?? Those are important now?

excon

[CaptainForest]

The mitigating circumstances in my case are:
1. I have been trying to cope with a teenage son with drug addiction and depression for the past five years. It's literally made a mess of our lives.
2. I was forced to deploy to Iraq, despite pleas from doctors and my chain of command not to deploy me.
3. I suffer from depression and have for the past three plus years - and am on anti-depressants
4. My wife suffers from depression and was not prepared for me to leave.

I am confused about something.

What does any of those above mitigating factors have to do with the fact that you stole something?

The only one that possibly can help you is 2 and 3. But how does 1 and 4 help your defence?


BEST ADVICE:
Get an attorney. You have everything on the line here, so hire yourself a really good one.

Perhaps someone who is familiar with Military Law.