Five soldier sentenced in Uijeongbu case

mike · #1 05-03-2006, 07:40 PM

All five U.S. soldiers were sentenced to 3 1/2 to 4 years for the Christmas 2005 night assault and robbery of a taxi driver.

Quote:

Pvt. Kidrem Cortez Porter, 21, received four years in prison, minus 67 days of time served at a Seoul detention center.

Four others received sentences of three and a half years in prison: Spc. Nicholas John Durkin, 21; Pfc. John D. McCall Jr., 21; Pvt. Javon Joshua Reid, 20; and Spc. Ivey Nathaniel Westbrook, 21, who received credit for two days of time served in detention.

It looks like they got off easy and could have gotten 7 years each.

Quote:

The soldiers should be imprisoned for at least seven years under South Korean law, Cho said. However, Cho said he sentenced the soldiers “as leniently as possible” after considering their ages, their remorse and the taxi driver’s wishes after each soldier came to a financial settlement with the driver.

What is amazing is this was premeditated robbery and another reason to stop sending young GIs to Korea. I hope this tough sentencing is shown to all young GIs as an example.

Quote:

The soldiers were drinking on Christmas night when Porter suggested they rob a taxi driver, according to testimony. However, they said, they did not take him seriously at the time.

The soldiers hailed a taxi driver at Uijeongbu Station and asked him to take them to Camp Stanley. When McCall asked the cab to pull over so he could urinate, Porter struck the driver over the head with a beer bottle.
Porter said he’d drunk nine glasses of liquor that night, in addition to the beer he was drinking in the taxi. He was restricted to base pending his appeal of the March 2005 robbery but left anyway.

Full story here.

sejongeb · #2 05-04-2006, 03:41 AM

Quote:

“The court cannot accept that you were so intoxicated that you could not make a good judgment,” ...You are all military personnel of the U.S. Army and therefore must respect Korean law,” .... “You committed this act forgetting your duties. Therefore, you need to be punished severely.” Cho said.

My favorite quotes of the article.

chucksnee · #3 05-04-2006, 04:19 AM

I'm ashamed that those people are called americans. The only good thing is (I HOPE) is that the time served is in a Korean Jail for americans. Which there are only 2-3

willy · #4 05-04-2006, 06:28 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by chucksnee

I'm ashamed that those people are called americans. The only good thing is (I HOPE) is that the time served is in a Korean Jail for americans. Which there are only 2-3

There are three places they can be incarcerated.

One of them is the Seoul Detention House, which is located around 45 minutes south of Yongsan in the city of I-wang. That facility is only for people who are awaiting trial though. Once they are tried and convicted, they are sent to either Daejon or Chonan.

In all cases, they are kept in a section of the prison specifically set aside for SOFA personnel.

The MPs at Camp Humphreys bring them mail and food a couple of times a week. They have a kitchen area and prepare their own food (it's basically chow hall food). They have a tv, but no cable or satellite, so they do not get any AFN channels.

They can receive visitors pretty much on a daily basis. Visitors have to sign in with everyone else (i.e., with those coming to visit the Korean prisoners), wait anywhere from 30-60 minutes, and then you get exactly five minutes of visitation (the bell rings - the person(s) in the visitation room comes out - you go in - five minutes later the bell rings - you come out - and the next visitor goes in).

Once every month or two, SOFA personnel are authorized special visits that last 15 minutes, and are held in a room with no barriers so you can have personal contact. Regular visitation is done in a room separated by a wall where you talk through a small window. In all cases, the conversations are recorded on a notepad by a guard (sort of... most of them can't understand English well enough to really follow the conversations - I think they just write down what they think is being said).

By and large, the SOFA prisoners get treated very well - much better than anyone else at the prison - and much, much better than the other foreigners (who get the worst treatment).

And yes... the reason I know is because I had a soldier who spent some time there.

chucksnee · #5 05-04-2006, 09:39 PM

AS long as they are in Jail, thats all that counts.

GI Korea · #6 05-05-2006, 08:45 AM

I'm a Choenan Prison veteran myself. I had a soldier in jail there as well. I had to visit him every month. He actually liked Choenan much more than the confinement facility at Camp Humphreys. I actually took some of my "high risk" soldiers with me to Camp Humphreys to visit a soldier in jail there just so they could see the conditions there. I think it made an impact.

Porter and his gang are idiots and I'm glad the ROKs gave them some decent jail time.

sejongeb · #7 05-05-2006, 09:00 AM

That is strange for some one to like a ROK facility over a military one. Strange thing I came across was a soldier who like his 30 day confinement and wanted to be in his words 'the PT instructor'.

willy · #8 05-05-2006, 06:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sejongeb

That is strange for some one to like a ROK facility over a military one.

It's not Club Med at the ROK prison, but as I mentioned previously, they have their own section of the prison all to themselves, and they are treated differently (better) than any of the other prisoners. Unless they act up and do something stupid - the ROKs pretty much leave them alone and don't bother them. They're supposed to have lights out at 2200 or 2300, but they can actually stay up as late as they want and watch tv or videos (yep - got DVD players) as long as they do it quietly. And they can sleep in if they want. They are well fed and get to make their own food anytime they want. They can take college courses also.

I don't know what it's like at a US military confinement facility - but I'll bet you can't do a lot of what I just described.

Hiker · #9 05-06-2006, 05:23 AM

It appears this is as close to the club med as they will come. These are people who have committed crimes against other people and they are able to live a life of luxury. If the Korean people were to see this lifestyle in contrast to the conditions of a military confinement facility I believe their attitude would change. There treatment should be no different then the others. As someone mentioned this was premeditated. Has the military began recruiting thugs?

chucksnee · #10 05-06-2006, 05:39 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hiker

Has the military began recruiting thugs?

It was proved a few years ago that gangs like the Bloods and Cripps were enlisting people in the Armed Forces to get training (Ranger) and then bring there traing back to there gangs.

Forums	Arcade	Gallery	Links	Register	FAQ	Members List	Calendar
Classifieds	Articles	Quizzes	Search	Today's Posts	Mark Forums Read

Thread Tools
Show Printable Version Email this Page
Display Modes
Linear Mode Switch to Hybrid Mode Switch to Threaded Mode