Tag Archives: al-qaeda operative

Parents Share Update on Wrongly-Imprisoned Son

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EDITOR’S NOTE: Below is the latest message sent by Scott and Vicki Behenna about their son, Army Ranger 1st Lt. Michael Behenna, a man who’s serving a 15-year sentence at Fort Leavenworth following his wrongful conviction, sentencing and imprisonment for killing a known Al-Qaeda operative in Iraq in self-defense:

Click to download brochure.

To all Michael Behenna supporters,

With the Freedom Ride for the Leavenworth 10 almost here I wanted to give all of Michael’s supporters an update on his appeal.  Seven long months after Michael’s lawyers filed his brief with the appellate court the government finally filed its response brief on July 20, 2010.  As a government lawyer myself I have to say that I am very disappointed in the government’s brief.  In my 22 years as a federal prosecutor I have never seen a government lawyer misrepresent facts to an appellate court as was done in this brief.  I understand that a lawyer must advocate his position, but as a young lawyer in the Department of Justice I was taught that my primary goal was to seek justice.  Justice requires that a prosecutor act fairly, ethically and in all things uphold the constitution which we are sworn to defend.

Unfortunately, the principals of justice and professional ethics have been completely disregarded by the military lawyers in Michael’s case. They seemingly created facts to fit their arguments rather than argue the case on its merits.  Michael’s lawyer, Jack Zimmerman, needed no less than 18 pages in his reply brief to correct the countless misrepresentations of fact repeatedly made by the government.  It is a sad day for the military justice system for the government attorneys to be so disingenuous in their arguments.

That being what it is the next step in the appeals process is for oral arguments to be made before the Army Court of Appeals.  Once this is done then we wait for their decision which we pray will come before Christmas.  We firmly believe that the truth will literally set Michael free when the appellate court applies the rule of law and reverses his conviction.  One truth that Michael has learned from this unimaginable experience is that events don’t define a person; rather it is a person’s reaction to those events that defines them.  We have seen our son at his best throughout this travesty of justice.  He does not wallow in anger or bitterness and is using his time in prison to help those around him and to gain a deeper wisdom beyond his years.  To paraphrase a few lines from the poem Invictus, ‘In the fell clutch of circumstance he has not winced nor cried aloud.  Under the bludgeonings of chance his head is bloody, but unbowed.’ Michael is a rock and no amount of injustice will break his unconquerable spirit.

We hope to see many of you at the Leavenworth 10 Freedom Ride and Rally at Leavenworth, Kan., Sept. 4.  This Rally is going to be very exciting and if you have not already visited L10FreedomRide.com please do as it contains all you need to know about this monumental event.  We have participants attending from all over the country and are honored to have Congressional candidate Lt. Col. Allen West, Army Ret., as our keynote speaker.  Our goal is to bring awareness to the plight of ten young men who served their country bravely on the front lines of the war on terror; eight of whom still find themselves behind bars.   We believe their stories deserve to be told and our prayer is that these soldiers, who were all charged with combat related incidents, will be given the same mercy and clemency as the Army is affording members of the Taliban in Afghanistan.

Note that the Freedom Ride is open to vehicles and motorcycles alike so please spread the word to join us in Leavenworth on the 4th. For additional details about the route of the Freedom Ride you can read this article in the Leavenworth Times.com.  You can also go to L10freedomride.com to purchase a flag, patch, or t-shirt for the ride to Leavenworth or to simply make a donation to help underwrite this event.

And finally please take a moment and watch Larry Mendte’s piece entitled Is that Justice? It is very thought provoking to say the least. Click here to watch this video.

Thanks again for your overwhelming support of an American soldier we proudly call our son. We hope to thank you in person at the Freedom Ride on September 4th in Leavenworth.

Scott & Vicki Behenna
Proud Parents of 1LT Michael Behenna
www.DefendMichael.com
www.L10FreedomRide.com

Army Hero Spends Another Birthday Behind Bars

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EDITOR’S NOTE: Below, I share a message that Scott and Vicki Behenna sent today to supporters of their son, Army Ranger 1st Lt. Michael Behenna, in conjunction with his upcoming 27th birthday, the second birthday he’s spent behind bars following his wrongful conviction, sentencing and imprisonment by an Army court-martial panel for killing a known Al-Qaeda operative:

1st Lt. Michael Behenna

To the thousands of supporters of Michael Behenna,

Many of you have been asking about the latest on Michael’s appeal.  Michael’s appellate brief was filed on December 22, 2009 and the military’s response brief was due January 21, 2010.  The military asked for and was granted a three-month extension to April 21, 2010.  Then sometime in early April the military filed for and received yet another three-month extension making their response brief not due until July 22, 2010!  But most amazing of all was that the extension was granted without notice being provided to Michael’s attorneys to argue against it.

From the start of this hell we have tried to put our trust in the military justice system.  But time and time again this ‘justice’ system has failed this young man who defended our liberties in the face of a ruthless enemy.  First it was the withholding of evidence in Michael’s trial and now this.  The government will have had seven months to respond to Michael’s appellate brief when it should have taken only seven weeks. It appears to us that the Army is deliberately doing everything it can to delay Michael’s appeal process.  And for what end you ask?  We may never know, just as we may never know what was really behind the Army prosecuting Michael in the first place.  But in the face of these delay tactics we have become even more convinced of the strength of Michael’s appeal (which the military is struggling to counter.)  As Thomas Paine wrote, ‘Tyranny is not easily conquered, but our consolation is that the harder the conflict, the greater the triumph.’

Despite everything Michael is faring well.  He draws strength from the many letters he receives and your continued correspondence will help him leave Leavenworth the way he arrived – with his head held high.  Michael ‘celebrates’ his 27th birthday behind bars on May 18th.  This will be his second birthday in Leavenworth Prison and is yet another reminder of how long he has been away from family and friends. Please consider sending Michael a birthday card to let him know he is not forgotten and to encourage him to keep the faith.  You can send your cards and letters to:

Click to download (pdf)

Michael Behenna #87503
1300 N. Warehouse Road
Fort Leavenworth, KS  66027-2304

Finally, good news was received this week concerning the two Navy SEALS exonerated of injuring an Al Qaeda leader.  In addition, Sgt Larry Hutchins, a Marine held at Leavenworth, had his case overturned in the Navy Court of Appeals.  These men are decorated heroes who have served this country honorably and deserve our support.  It is my hope that the pendulum is truly swinging back in favor of our soldiers and away from a capricious and political military justice system led by people who have NEVER been in harms way.  Please continue to contact your Congressmen and Senators and let them know that our soldiers deserve our unending support, especially when they are defending themselves in a combat zone.

Bless each of you for supporting all of our troops,

Sincerely,

Scott and Vicki Behenna, Defend Michael

To read previous BMW posts about Michael, click here.

To download an unofficial brochure about Michael’s case, click here or on the image at right.

Defend Michael Brochure Available for Download

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To assist in the effort to deliver justice for Army Ranger 1st Lt. Michael Behenna, the Edmond, Okla., native who is serving a 15-year sentence at Fort Leavenworth after being convicted of unpremeditated murder in the May 16, 2008, shooting death of a known Al-Qaeda operative in Iraq, I designed the Unofficial Defend Michael Brochure shown at right.

The brochure contains brief summaries of the facts of the case as well as a timeline of events and links to the Defend Michael web site where people can learn more and contribute to Michael’s legal defense.

Please share this brochure with anyone and everyone you know:

  • Download it;
  • Print and distribute copies of it to elected officials, members of the media, military veterans and anyone else who might be able to help and/or needs to know about it;
  • Upload it to your own web site and make it available to site visitors; and
  • Post copies of it — with permission, of course — in public places and on bulletin boards at schools, churches, workplaces, etc.

To read more than two-dozen posts I’ve published about Michael’s case to date, click here.

To read “The Michael Behenna Story,” Carrie Fatigante’s 25-page summary of Michael’s case (current as of December 2009), click here.

Thanks in advance for all you do to Defend Michael and help him and his family obtain justice.

Army Reduces Soldier’s Sentence to 15 Years (Update)

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The Army Clemency and Parole Board today reduced the sentence of Army Ranger 1st Lt. Michael Behenna from 20 to 15 years, according to a news release from Rep. Mary Fallin (R-Okla.).

Lieutenant Behenna, who is currently serving his sentence at Fort Leavenworth, Kan., was convicted of unpremeditated murder in the shooting death of Ali Mansur, a known Al-Qaeda operative, while serving in Iraq.

Previous cases of similar or more aggravating circumstances, where the defendants were found guilty of premeditated murder, have resulted in less severe sentences, which prompted the Oklahoma Congressional Delegation to appeal to the board for a careful review of this case and relevant precedent.

A copy of the delegation’s Oct. 14, 2009, letter to the board can be found here.

For the complete story in one document, read “The Michael Behenna Story (pdf),” a 26-page document (PDF) by Carrie Fatigante.

To read other BMW posts about Lieutenant Behenna, click here.

For information directly from the Behenna family, visit www.DefendMichael.wordpress.com.

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UPDATE 1/22/10 at 11:36 a.m. Central: See also Michael Behenna’s Parents Send Message Following Army Clemency Board Decision.

UPDATE 1/22/10 at 4:33 p.m. Central: Cross-posted at BigGovernment.com.

Army Clemency Board Hears Behenna Case

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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:

To read the complete story in one document, read “The Michael Behenna Story (pdf),” a 26-page document (PDF).

For information directly from the Behenna family, visit www.DefendMichael.wordpress.com.

EDITOR’S NOTE: As soon as I learn of any outcome(s) from the Army Clemency Board hearing, you can count on me to post the details here.

The Michael Behenna Story: Part Eight

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Michael-pre-deploymentEDITOR’S NOTE: On July 31, 2008, Army Ranger 1st Lt. Michael Behenna was charged with the premeditated murder of Ali Mansur, a known Al-Qaeda agent operating near Albu Toma, an area north of Baghdad.  Seven months later, the leader of the 18-member Delta Company, 5th platoon of the Army 101st Airborne Infantry Division was convicted of unpremeditated murder and sentenced to 25 years confinement at Fort Leavenworth. Below is the eighth installment of a multi-part investigative series detailing the spurious case against Lieutenant Behenna, now 26, adapted from “The Michael Behenna Story (pdf)” (26 pgs., PDF) by new BMW contributor Carrie Fatigante. It picks up from “The Michael Behenna Story: Part Seven.”

By Carrie Fatigante

Army prosecutors never presented any physical crime scene evidence to prove their premeditated execution charge against 1st Lt. Michael Behenna in the death of known Al-Qaeda operative Ali Mansur.  They did, however, take the time to secure immunity deals for at least two witnesses who admitted to lying previously for self-preservation purposes — specifically in regard to the timing of SSgt. Hal Warner’s initial report about the May 16, 2008, shooting.  One of those was Sergeant Warner himself.

The first few days of testimony went well for the prosecution, save for the conflicting testimonies of Sergeant Warner and Harry, Michael’s interpreter.  Intending to call their own expert to rebut the defense’s trajectory testimony, they were surely dismayed on Feb. 25 when the prosecution’s own expert witness, Dr. Herbert Leon MacDonell, presented the prosecution with his conclusions that corroborated Michael’s claim (i.e., that Mansur was standing with his arms outstretched when he was shot).

Dr. Herbert Leon MacDonell

Dr. Herbert Leon MacDonell

Michael was scheduled to testify the next day, and Dr. MacDonell, director of the Laboratory for Forensic Science in Corning, N.Y., assumed he would go under oath as well.  But Dr. MacDonell, a man whose forensic career spans five decades and includes such high-profile and complex cases as the assassinations of President John F. Kennedy, Sen. Robert F. Kennedy, Martin Luther King Jr., and the case against O.J. Simpson, was never called to the witness stand.  More disturbing still is the fact that the defense team was not notified of the doctor’s findings.

After the close of proceedings that Thursday evening, Dr. MacDonell approached defense attorney Jack Zimmerman with the statement, “I would have made a great witness for the defense. We’ll talk after the case.”

The following morning, Zimmerman approached the prosecution team asking why MacDonell would be a good witness for him.  The three Army captains denied any knowledge of what MacDonell could have meant.

Closing arguments began and ended with the prosecution claiming that Michael callously executed “helpless, hopeless, harmless” Ali Mansur while he was seated on that rock.  Again, this sitting position is essential to the prosecution’s case, because it is the only thing that negates Michael’s claim of self defense.

The prosecution never provided evidence to prove this claim, presumably because they knew it was false.

As a federal prosecutor herself, Vicki Behenna said such actions are inherently unethical and all three attorneys should be disbarred for their direct collusion to make knowingly false accusations.  As they closed their case to the jury, they explained their lack of expert evidence and testimony as unnecessary, because Michael’s case was so “unreasonable.”

Just before MacDonell left the courthouse that Thursday afternoon, “he picked up his coat from the prosecution room and told the three prosecutors, ‘The explanation that Lieutenant Behenna just testified to was the exact same scenario I told you yesterday.  Lieutenant Behenna is telling the truth.’” (Source:  www.defendmichael.wordpress.com)

Michael was convicted on Friday, and the only concession the jury made to Michael’s self-defense claim was convicting him of unpremeditated murder versus the original charge of premeditation.

Later that same day, Dr. MacDonell sent the following email to the prosecution team.  Text is copied below, but you can view original document here.

Friday, February 27, 2009
4:07 p.m.

Dear Captain Poirier:

I came home to an incredible pile-up of work but I shall try to send an invoice to you within a few days.  On that issue I should advice you that I may have exceeded what was appropriate because of staying two nights rather then one.  My estimate for my total cost was based on one night there but I shall still try to keep the total within your budget even if I have to reduce the number of hours I spent here in preparation for my testimony.

On another issue I am somewhat concerned that I did not testify and have a chance to inform the court of the only logical explanation for this shooting.  As I demonstrated to you and to the two other prosecutors, Dr. Berg, Sgt. McCaulley, and Sgt. Rogers?, from the evidence I feel that Ali Mansur had to have been shot in the chest when he was standing.  As he dropped straight down he was shot again at the very instant that his head passed in front of the muzzle.  Admittedly, this would be an amazing coincidence, however, it fits the facts and as I told you on Wednesday, it fits the facts and I can not think of a more logical explanation.

This scenario is consistent with the two shots being close together, consistent with their horizontal trajectory, consistent with the bloodstains on the floor, and consistent with the condition of the 9mm flattened out bullet which was tumbling after leaving Mansur’s head or body.  I do not know where this bullet was recovered but I would expect after impact to the concrete wall it fell very close to that wall.  The other bullet should have been close to the first and there should have been two impact points on the wall.

On Thursday afternoon when I heard Lt. Michael Behenna testify as to the circumstances of how the shots were fired I could not believe how close it was to the scenario I had described to you on Wednesday.  I am sure that had I testified that I would have wanted to give my reenactment so the jury could have had the option of considering how well the defendant’s story fit the physical facts.  This, of course, would not have been helpful to the prosecution case.  However, I feel that it is quite important as possible exculpatory evidence so I hope that, in the interest of justice, you informed Mr. Zimmerman of my findings.  It certainly appears like Brady material to me.

It was a pleasure meeting you and your team and I learned one thing; the military life is not for me.  You guys are getting up about the time we go to bed.

Respectfully Submitted,

Dr. Herbert Leon MacDonell, Director
LABORATORY OF FORENSIC SCIENCE

Stay tuned for “The Michael Behenna Story: Part Nine.”

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1st Lt. Michael Behenna

1st Lt. Michael Behenna

To read other BMW posts about Lieutenant Behenna’s case, click here.

To learn more about the case and the legal defense fund set up to help defray costs associated with Lt. Behenna’s defense, visit DefendMichael.wordpress.com.

Help Army 1st Lt Michael Behenna Find Justice

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Michael-pre-deploymentArmy Ranger 1st Lt. Michael Behenna finds himself in a cell at Fort Leavenworth. Join the effort to help him obtain justice — and freedom — by sharing the information below with bloggers, journalists, talk show hosts, elected officials and anyone with a forum to help the American people find out about his case:

WHY AMERICANS SHOULD BE INTERESTED:

On Jan. 7, a clemency hearing will take place in Arlington, Va.  At issue:  The Feb. 28 conviction of Army Ranger 1st Lt. Michael Behenna on charges of unpremeditated murder in the shooting death of known Al-Qaeda operative Ali Mansur near Baghdad several months earlier.

THE CONTROVERSY:

For reasons inexplicable, Army prosecutors opted not to call upon their own expert witness, Dr. Herbert Leon MacDonell, to testify in the case after they learned that he had discovered new information about the case that most believe would have resulted in Lieutenant Behenna being declared not guilty of the charges brought against him.

The information Dr. MacDonell discovered?  Forensic evidence not disclosed to him by Army prosecutors in advance of his arrival at the Fort Campbell, Ky., court-martial proceedings that led him to conclude that Lieutenant Behenna was telling the truth about having fired two shots in self-defense after Ali Mansur lunged toward him and the Glock 9 mm pistol he was carrying.

INTERESTING POINTS:

Ali Mansur was known Al-Qaeda operative — Bob McCarty has a copy of a previously-classified intelligence document that lists the names of describes the activities of several known Al-Qaeda operatives, including Ali Mansur, who were operating in the area where Lieutenant Behenna’s platoon was stationed.

Background of Expert Witness — Now serving as director of the Laboratory of Forensic Science in Corning, N.Y., Dr. Herbert Leon MacDonell’s forensic experience includes working on the assassinations of President John F. Kennedy, Sen. Robert F. Kennedy and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.  In addition, he worked on the double-murder case involving O.J. Simpson.

Lieutenant Behenna’s parents have law enforcement backgrounds — His mom, Vicki, was one of the federal prosecutors who convicted Oklahoma City bomber Timothy McVeigh.  His dad is an FBI intelligence analyst.

TAKE ACTION:

LEARN MORE — Visit www.DefendMichael.wordpress.com.  To read several posts about the case, visit www.BobMcCarty.com and click on the “DEFEND MICHAEL” icon.

READ – For the complete story in one document, read “The Michael Behenna Story (pdf),” a 26-page document (PDF) by writer Carrie Fatigante of BobMcCarty.com.

SCHEDULE AN INTERVIEW — To schedule a media interview about the case with either a member of the Behenna family or with blogger Bob McCarty, send an e-mail to bobmccartywrites (at) gmail (dot) com.