Bergdahl released, but eventually charged...

AV8N

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Re: Bergdahl released

Wait, I thought he was bravely trekking to another base to report his rapscallion comrades for war crimes and such. Now we're saying he was severely mentally ill? Would his stories have been reliable then?
 

mittman

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Re: Bergdahl released

Wait, I thought he was bravely trekking to another base to report his rapscallion comrades for war crimes and such. Now we're saying he was severely mentally ill? Would his stories have been reliable then?
That was my fist take too. That said, he would have to be extremely stupid or mentally ill to think he could pull off the trek. Who knows the defense just might make that work. :rolleyes:
 

formersoldier71

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Re: Bergdahl released

Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl is expected to plead guilty to charges of desertion and misbehavior before the enemy, according to reports from the Associated Press.

Bergdahl, 31, faces up to five years on the desertion charge and a life sentence for misbehavior.

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Bergdahl was scheduled to go on trial in late October, opting to let a judge as opposed to a military jury determine his fate. The guilty plea will eliminate the need for that trial but a sentencing hearing is set for Oct. 23.
http://www.al.com/news/index.ssf/20..._home?li_source=base&li_medium=default-widget
 

formersoldier71

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Tidewater

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Re: Bergdahl released

His case was really weak. Playing the "Donald Trump's comments made a fair trial impossible" comments is an appeal for sympathy.
I have a higher opinion of the military officers and NCOs that were going to be on the jury. No comment by candidate Trump (or any other candidate) would influence me to convict an innocent man if I was on the jury.
Plus, pleading guilty because you can't get a fair trial is like setting your house on fire to prevent an arsonist from burning it down.
 

MattinBama

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Plus, pleading guilty because you can't get a fair trial is like setting your house on fire to prevent an arsonist from burning it down.
Not saying in this case necessarily but this isn't really true in our system. Even if you're innocent but think you could lose the trial pleading guilty could mean years less time on your sentencing.

Tons of innocent people take plea agreements and plead guilty.
 

Tidewater

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Not saying in this case necessarily but this isn't really true in our system. Even if you're innocent but think you could lose the trial pleading guilty could mean years less time on your sentencing.

Tons of innocent people take plea agreements and plead guilty.
True enough. My best friend from high school is an attorney now and does a lot of public defense. He advises clients that they can go to trial, and if found not guilty, they walk. If found guilty they could do ten years (for example), or plead guilty and accept a year and a half. Completely their call, since they are the ones that will do the time.

In SGT Bergdahl's case, I seriously doubt that potential jury members would curry favor with the president. How would the president know said jurors and what form would that favor take? In all probability, SGT Bergdahl knew his case was really, really weak and took the reduced sentence his attorney negotiated with the prosecutor in exchange for his guilty plea. Then he publicly played the "Trump made it impossible to get a fair trial" card to curry favor with the "I hate Trump's guts" crowd.
 

AUDub

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Give me ambiguity or give me something else.
His JAG attorney nailed it. This guy should be spending 25 to life behind bars. Instead he gets out with a dishonorable discharge. You know why? Because the world's largest toddler serving as our CIC could not keep his gob shut. They entered a guilty plea on the premise that he couldn't get a fair trial based on Trump's comments. A fair and legal argument. This is why politicians don't usually open their mouth on legal matters. The judge even called it a mitigating factor.

Comments from someone of the president's stature can create doubt that it was truly a fair and unbiased trial. Hence the lesser punishment.

This is not politics. No elected official worth their office, R or D, sticks their nose into an unruled case. Doing so gives the defense an easy mitigating factor. When the office is POTUS, it gives the judge, his subordinate, very little room to ignore undue influence.

....!
 

jthomas666

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His JAG attorney nailed it. This guy should be spending 25 to life behind bars. Instead he gets out with a dishonorable discharge. You know why? Because the world's largest toddler serving as our CIC could not keep his gob shut. They entered a guilty plea on the premise that he couldn't get a fair trial based on Trump's comments. A fair and legal argument. This is why politicians don't usually open their mouth on legal matters. The judge even called it a mitigating factor.
Comments from someone of the president's stature can create doubt that it was truly a fair and unbiased trial. Hence the lesser punishment.

This is not politics. No elected official worth their office, R or D, sticks their nose into an unruled case. Doing so gives the defense an easy mitigating factor. When the office is POTUS, it gives the judge, his subordinate, very little room to ignore undue influence.....!
And of course, Trump promptly turned around and did it AGAIN with the driver in Manhattan.
 

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