European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - January 16, 1981, Darmstadt, Hesse                                January 1981 the stars and stripes Pago 11 letters of the editor pretrial confinement As precaution against repeat offenders there was an article in the edition of the stars and stripes that raises a question that i would like to direct to the 2nd army div the article describes the incidents Lead ing up to a general court martial and conviction of a 23yearold private from the 15th arty det in this individual was convicted of aggravated As Sault and this Man robbed a German civilian on and exactly 15 Days later committed the assault on a Mem Ber of the dutch armed which resulted in the dutch Soldier being Hospital these two incidents alone should have been enough evidence to place the individual behind bars for pretrial confinement in order to protect the civilian and military Community from any further criminal acts from this yet this action was not the european edition Rose  editor chief Mert editor Elmer fran production manager Henry Epstein circulation manager this newspaper is an authorized unofficial publication for armed forces the stars and stripes is published in conjunction with the armed forces information program of the department of contents of the stars and stripes Are not necessarily the official View of the the depart ment of defense or the european the appearance of displays in this newspaper concerning commercial publications does not constitute an endorse ment of the department of including the military military address the stars and Apo International mall the stars and Postrach 11 10 d6100 Darmstadt Tel Griesheim c prefix 06155 811 m Darmstadt Airstrip prefix 2376 telex new York office room 252 seventh Mew York Tel area code 212 second class postage paid at new news bureaus Rudl building Carl Schurz Bremerhaven military 8659 or Bremerhaven 88782 Ger Roy building Pulaski Vogel Weh military 2226 6585 or Kaiserslautern 0631 52104 John build ing William Darby Nuernberg military 7256 or Nuernberg 712563 John Patch Patch military 27298449 or Stuttgart 730826 Jim Arylne and Gary Raf Apo military Auto on extensions or civilian Mildenhall 0638 713882 telex 817885 Grace Oas spa the room Washington 202 circulation offices Germany civilian Mil 6187 Bremer Civ Psi 8119 Civ 692050 Civ Mil Vogel Weh 6050 Civ 6901503 or Mil 6556 Civ Mil 7256 North German Rhel Maln Mil 7103 or 6025 Civ Mil Greece Civ Italy Vicenza Civ Spain Madrid Civ 2057546 or Torreon air base Mil Turkey Istanbul Civ telex 26174 sans United kingdom Greenham common Civ Newburg 0635 military Newbury 0635 46263 accomplished by this mans Chain of com he was allowed to continue to enjoy his Freedom to move about in our to do As he regardless of the fact he had already displayed his dangerous Poten tial to commit crimes of violence and had demonstrated his contempt for the Laws of our of Mech forces and Host nation because no action was taken to lock this criminal away behind he was still walking the streets a free Man when on March he again committed a felony by raping a 30yearold German i feel that this woman could have been spared this crime if this mans commander had the guts to lock the Punk up after his first crime was this is an example of what happens to the discipline within a unit when this mans Peers realize they can just go out and raise hell without any fear of any personal actions being taken against them for their and this sort of attitude will spread like wildfire within a unit that is weak on leadership to begin this Man was finally sentenced to 20 years hard labor for his but this is Only one example of what appears to be the general attitude of today commanders either acting too slowly in dishing out Essary punishment or letting some soldiers get away with so to my question to the commander is who was responsible for allowing the German lady to be raped by this Man and is any thing done to ensure that inactivity on the part of the Chain of command is being dealt with in sure the rape victim would like to a have the question withheld Germany editors note Gerald staff judge 2d army replies the writer correctly states the Basic facts of the Case involving Thomas which was tried on the Case resulted in a conviction on charges of aggravated assault and rape with a sentence of dishonourable discharge from the reduction to the Grade e total forfeiture of All pay and allow ances and confinement at hard labor for 20 the investigation of the first offence was completed around the same time As the occurrence of the second offence and the soldiers Chain of command moved rapidly to charge the place him under restriction and have the two charges investigated under article 32 of the uni form code of military the immediate commander of the accused considered pretrial confinement due to the facts of the no serious physical injury or harm to the victim of the the accused claim of his innocence of the robbery and the fact that the assault of the dutch Soldier began As a Mutual pretrial confinement was not considered Given these facts and the rigorous Stan Dards established under the Law governing pretrial it was the opinion of the commanding 2nd army div that the unit commanders decision to restrict the accused was reasonable and in accordance with military Law and Perti nent Thomas was restricted to his unit area As of 1980 and was on re Striction at the time of the rape As events subsequently the accused broke his restriction and went to a local where he met the rape lured her outside to a secluded and there committed the the United states court of military appeals has often addressed the subject of pretrial in the United states the court in that pretrial confinement should Only be used where there is a substantial risk that the accused May flee to avoid trial or that he May foreseeable engage in further Misc on the court also held that pretrial confinement should Only be used when lesser forms of restraint prove these standards have been incorporated into regulatory guidance for the Mil itary Usa eur supplement 1 to army regulation provides that pretrial confinement is a waste of manpower and should be resorted to Only when absolutely As a general an accused should continue to per form Normal duties while awaiting these standards Are sensible and normally i understand the frustration and anger that our soldiers and dependents feel when an individual Given certain protections under our Legal system abuses those protections and commits other the answer is not to scrap the fair and sensible Legal standards which have been established to Deal with pretrial for that the accused in this Case was placed in pretrial confine ment after the alleged assault on the dutch Soldier and was thereafter found innocent of the i am certain the writer of the letter would believe that an injustice had the of is to proceed promptly and effectively in strict compliance with Law and regulations handling each Case on its own i Hope that this answer will explain the commands action in this particular concerned about elected officials pen pals during the past few Days i have become quite disturbed by what i see occurring with our elected groups of congressperson Are establish ing hit lists for elections in two get Ting our warfare strategy in the House and Senate setting up procedures for punishing party members who vote with the Side too worst of were going to make sure that any of his Bills have a rough time the list goes on and what is going on Here where is the government for the it appears that regardless of How Good or bad a piece of legislation May be for the its passage or failure is going to depend on which party introduced it partisan poli tics at its i see groups of politicians More intent on furthering nebulous political or party goals than trying to get our country economically physically and morally to those self serving congressmen of All shame on remember just exactly who you and who put you where you most remember Why you Are where you Are to make this a bet Ter not a better Gary Bright Germany i am a 17yearold girl in Tunisia who Speaks and this is my third year of in interested in writing English so i can practice in this my hobbies Are and seeing Good Ben Abo Lallah 30 cite Soufiane 2070 la Marsa Tunisia reminder writers Are encouraged to include phone number and Economy especially if they desire a fast because of the Large volume of mail this column receives letters that Are Brief and to the Point have a much better Chance of being keep up with the news Home delivery accept my subscription to stars name please Street Telephone 1 will pay the Home delivery Carrier when he comes to collect area Good morning take advantage of the stars stripes Home delivery service in most government housing delivered to your Mailbox daily for a please Complete this form and mail to stars 09211 attn sales promotion