Ohio Court: ‘No’ to Jeffrey Belew’s PTS excuse
The Toledo Blade reports that the Ohio Supreme Court didn’t accept the excuse that Jeffrey Belew’s shootout with police in Oregon, Ohio was the result of PTS which he claimed stemmed from his tour in Iraq in 2008. The court refused to take up the appeal by a 4-3 vote. The majority didn’t issue a statement on the decision, but the minority did;
“I would respectfully suggest that one trial court judge, three appellate court judges, and the majority of this court simply do not get it,” [Justice William O’Neill] wrote. “PTSD is not an excuse. It is an explanation.
“There is more at stake here than garden-variety excuses for criminal culpability,” he wrote. “Belew was a marginal Marine recruit; he developed PTSD while on active duty; and he was turned out of the service with a bad-conduct discharge and little or no capacity to function safely in society.”
Justice O’Neill continued that the military “took a marginal recruit from an abusive family and turned him into a fighting machine.” He claimed that the shootout was an attempted “suicide by cop”. Well, except that people with PTS don’t normally try to hurt others and Belew actually tried to shoot officers.
According to prosecutors, Belew had a history of violent behavior as a juvenile offender before he joined the Marines. As a juvenile, the military wouldn’t have been informed of that history. The judge said that “PTSD is not an excuse. It is an explanation.” Well, it looks to me as if Belew is using PTS as an excuse for his bad behavior, if the prosecutor is to be believed and the Ohio Supreme Court made the correct decision, a decision best for the veteran community – you know, the vast majority of us who don’t use our military experiences as an excuse for our bad decisions.
Category: Veterans Issues
From the “Damn Few” … “He was a dick before he joined the military, he was a dick while in the military … Some people are just born dicks”.
Carry on!
↑↑↑↑↑ Because I couldn’t find the “Like” button, MCPO.
As for Justice O’Neill, he appears to suffer from the I’m Right, The World Is Wrong syndrome. Never mind, he’s a democrat. Yet, he’s a veteran, and he still buys into this bullshit. He’s also been a “civil rights lawyer” and a “union organizer”.
“…little or no capacity to function safely in society.”
So, then there’s no problem with locking up his sorry ass, right?
@ Justice William O’Neill:
Re: The collapsing respect for the rule of law and the loss of confidence in judges to have any real functional clue about that which their passing judgement, you’re not an excuse, you’re a reason.
Oh look, it’s more of that “Rambo, killing machine, vet” bullshit from the judge. If the Marine Corps turned him into such a “fighting machine,” please explain his poor marksmanship.
The guy was a shitbird who was able to enlist because the Marines didn’t have access to his juvie record. He was a shitbird while in the Marines, until they kicked his ass out. Surprise, surprise, he’s still a shitbird. And somehow it’s the Military’s fault that this shitbird sucks at life?
Any idea what this turd actually did in the Corps, other than get booted?
As I’ve said a gazillion times before, some members of the military aren’t helping the PSD stereotype thing by claiming PSD for every little problem in life, or using it to excuse bad choices in life.
I couldn’t agree more, Just ask my wife. I screw up on a daily basis and have never used PTSD as an excuse. Of course I know she would never believe it because she happens to know me, so…….