Making Excuses for Rape and Murder

And as well they should be [facing the death penalty]. I'm sorry, war or not, there is NO excuse that will EVER condone the rape and murder of an innocent YOUNG GIRL. You do the crime you face the time. The pathetic excuses of stress during combat will not invoke sympathy for a rapist/murderer in my book. There are many soldiers who face the same stresses every day and they do not rape and murder innocent young girls.

 

If they are found guilty of this crime they should face the full wrath of the United States justice system. There is no excuse for raping a child and willfully killing innocent civilians, none what-so-ever. If these guys could not handle the stresses of war they should have gotten help and left.

 

I agree!:thumbs:

 

I was thinking what a bunch of huey when I heard those boys excuses. Yes war is stressful, but that does not excuse that rape of an innocent girl and the murder of innocent people.
Faithgirl

 

Talk is easy....

What I am going to say does not in any way suggest that these men should not be made to face responsibility for their actions. There has to be an appropriate punishment for them.

However, there are mitigating circumstances that should be considered here.

First, and foremost, they are our soldiers. They could very well have been in any American town, working to earn a living in a decent and orderly manner, not worrying about incoming explosives, or at getting shot at and killed at the next corner, or of whether that plastic bag or strange looking object at the side of the road will blow their legs, arms, or heads away.

They could very well have been sleeping in good old American homes, with air-conditioning, instead of the 110 degree and above heat of the iraqi deserts and towns they are at. Their heads could very well be propped up in soft pillows, instead of the makeshift pillows they use in operations, or the hard GI issue ones if they happen to have any.

But, no, they are there, and there is truth to what they say that they do not know if they will be alive the next minute or not. Some people take that kind of stress well, some don't. They happen to be among those who don't.

They are there trying to give those idiots some semblance of democracy and freedom, and for that they get shot at, blown up, and verbally abused.

I have been in combat, in my own country, and I can guarantee you, the situation was not as intense as that which these men have been through, but, I know the feeling when the captain sends out a platoon on patrol because intelligence suggests activity in a certain given area. Heck, I've seen soldiers willingly abuse the civilian population so they can get transferred out.

These men have left girlfriends, wives, and loved ones, and have seen death up close, and have heard screams and watched their comrades writhing in pain from those IED's.

Let's punish them for the crime, yes, but, consider the mitigating circumstances, too.

 

The purpose of Boot Camp or Basic training in our military is to weed out those who have no fortitude. So the soldier under stress argument is a non starter. They train in the heat, they train under pressure, and our fighting military personal of the United States of America have to be of a stronger character than that. In our training of our troops this is emphisized and indoctrinated.
I am less likely to believe accusers of our military personel, especially when it comes to areas where terrorists are the enemy. Largely because this is one of the main tactics against our service men. But when they are actually guilty then no mitigating circumstances are reasonable. Period

It is not an impossible task to require our soldiers to not rape little girls. Even under the most stressful of circumstances. This isnt a stress problem, it is a character problem.

 

This is true. We need to severely punish any of our troops who has raped and murdered children, precisely because they are our troops.

Otherwise, we are no different than the rest. Let a court-martial convene, if the evidence is sufficient, and let the chips fall where they may.

There is no excuse for an American to act like that.

 

Agreed. No excuses whatsoever!

 

Good post, pinoybaptist.

 

We would have been better off if they had stayed home. If they are guilty, they should be executed. I don't care about mitigating circumstances. There are thousands of American Soldiers who proved themselves worthy of the pride and honor of the American uniform, even through the mitigating circumstances.

Joseph Botwinick

 

Combat stress is not a mitigating circumstance. There is no mitigating circumstance for rape.

 

They do not deserve to be tried and found guilty on the BB. Truly.

 

With this, I can agree. This is why I await the military trial and state that IF they are found to be guilty, they should be executed. There is no mitigating circumstance for rape and murder.

Joseph Botwinick

 

Why? Because they are soldiers? As others have pointed out, there are ABSOLUTELY NO MITIGATING CIRCUMSTANCES for the rape/murder of a young girl. As far as I can tell they have no other defense than that of, "I did it because being in combat is too stressful". That is pure baloney. Joseph was right they do not deserve to wear the uniform.

 

I did not say that. I said, if they are found guilty...

I agree with LE that they don't deserve to be tried here on the BB, partially because they are soldiers...but also because I don't think anyone should be. Let the military conduct the investigation and hold their trial. Let's wait for all the facts.

Joseph Botwinick

 

They confessed to it? That's enough for me. Give them the firing squad.

Joseph Botwinick