Clemency and battlefield crimes

Pres. Donald J. Trump

Fox News has this report on requests for executive clemency in court-martial cases arising from battlefield crimes. Excerpt:

[1LT Michael] Behenna, now 34, is one of about a dozen veterans who were paroled or continue to be held in Leavenworth because of combat-zone crime convictions that many military experts and political leaders say never should have happened. They are seeking a pardon from President Donald Trump, who has so far granted just two--one to former Sheriff Joe Arpaio of Arizona, and the other to a former Navy sailor, Kri[s]tian Saucier, who took photos of classified areas in a submarine and served a year in federal prison.

"If these guys messed up, there are administrative ways to handle it. But we charge them with murder," Scott Behenna told Fox News. "These guys are put on multiple tours, and they're stressed out. We're fighting an enemy that has no uniform. These guys had no criminal record, I'd have any of them as my neighbor, even living in my home. They're phenomenal people. We second-guessed them and put them in prison."

It will be interesting to know what position the Judge Advocates General take on these pardon applications. That information may never become public, unless media representatives ask about it at some White House press briefing.