Pennsylvania Soldier's Double-Murder Trial Set for August
Published February 23, 2011
| Associated Press
HOLLIDAYSBURG, Pa. -- The trial of an Iraq war veteran who is raising post-traumatic stress disorder as his defense in a double-murder case is set for jury selection Aug. 15.
Thirty-year-old Army veteran Nicholas Horner, of Altoona, contends his mental condition drove him to kill a 19-year-old clerk and a 64-year-old bystander while taking about $130 from an Altoona Subway store on April 6, 2009.
Blair County Judge Jolene Kopriva on Tuesday ruled the jury will be picked locally, contrary to a defense request that media publicity makes picking an out-of-county jury fairer. The judge says pretrial publicity has died down and noted much of it has not been inflammatory.
The judge delayed the trial until August to give prosecutors time to hire experts to review psychiatric reports prepared by defense experts.
Read more:
http://www.foxnews.com/us/2011/02/23/pennsylvania-soldiers-double-murder-trial-set-august/#ixzz1EokUfKXD
With all the PTSD comments surronding this trial I need to make it clear that now that this tragedy has happened, my sister-in-law the surviving victim, now suffers with PTSD as well. She could not even watch fireworks this year with my kids because they sound to much like gun shots. There is two sides to every story and what mos of the people are saying is he should be taken easy on. If she snaps and starts killing people should she too get the sympathy this man is getting?
ReplyDeleteI am sorry for your sister-in-law. PTSD hits after traumatic events, and it hits hard.
ReplyDeleteI think your sister-in-law is a victim, but not just because of what Nicholas did, but what was done to him first. He didn't get the help he needed. Justice now demands he pay the price but it also demands that he is judged, not just by his actions, but what caused them.
Servicemen and women go through trauma after trauma yet civilians do a lot better job of responding after just one event. There are many across the country like Nicholas but unlike him, they do not commit any crimes. Too many just kill themselves instead.
Your sister-in-law can recover but she'll need the help of her family and friends to be there for her. Listen to her. Don't tell her to just get over it and do not judge her. Just love her.
Thank you for responding so quickly. As for him falling through the cracks and our vets not getting the medical attention they deserve, it is very wrong. However, I know many Vietnam vets that also get flashbacks but, I have never felt scared for my life with them around. The goverment is so screwed up when it comes to our military. These people deserve so much more than what they are getting. I have a friend that was left paralized from the waist down he was told he would never walk, after 4 years and much therapy he can walk but they are offering him 20,000 settlement. how is this fair?
ReplyDeleteNot much is fair about any of this and never will be unless the American public demand better for their sake and everyone's sake.
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