Army Clemency Board Hears Behenna Case

January 7th, 2010 · No Comments

The Army Clemency Board met this morning in Arlington, Va., to hear the case of Army Ranger 1st Lt. Michael Behenna, a young officer now serving a 20-year sentence at Fort Leavenworth, convicted of premeditated murder in the self-defense shooting death of a known Al-Qaeda operative.

The video above features an interview of Vicki Behenna, the lieutenant’s mother, conducted yesterday by The Oklahoman‘s Capitol Correspondent Chris Casteel. It accompanies a NewsOK.com story published early this afternoon about this morning’s hearing.

Not mentioned in the story was the fact that more than a dozen supporters from as far away as Washington state traveled to Arlington to show support for Lieutenant Behenna, a native of Edmond, Okla.

Also not mentioned was the fact that all seven members of the Oklahoma Congressional delegation signed a letter (right) addressed to Army Col. James Gray, commander of the United States Army Disciplinary Barracks at Fort Leavenworth that echoes the argument put forth by Vicki Behenna. Dated Oct. 14, the letter contained the following plea:

As you consider 1Lt Michael Behenna for clemency, we respectfully request you consider not only the nature and circumstances of the case, but also ensure that any sentence adjudged be consistent with the crime for which he was convicted.

Of course, the elected officials were, as one might expect from politicians, measured in their language and the NewsOK.com article was limited in its explanation of the case. Someone who was not measured or limited in her reporting of the true circumstances of the case was BMW contributor Carrie Fatigante.

In a series of articles published last month, Fatigante outlined this travesty of justice: