Marine's attempted suicide prompted punishment instead of help

UPDATE Marine on trial for suicide attempt Posted Tuesday, Nov. 27, 2012 on Star-Telegram

Marine's suicide attempt was a cry for help. Was it also a crime?
By TRAVIS J. TRITTEN
Stars and Stripes
Published: September 12, 2012

CAMP FOSTER, Okinawa — Is the Marine Corps out of line for jailing and punishing a private for attempting suicide?

That’s the question awaiting the military’s highest appeals court.

Pvt. Lazzaric Caldwell’s failed suicide in 2010 at an Okinawa base led to a court-martial conviction, 180-day prison sentence and a bad-conduct discharge. The only such case prosecuted by the Marines in at least two years has provided a rare public view of the tension between the military’s desire to punish self-injury and its recent outreach efforts amid a suicide epidemic across the services.

The U.S. Navy-Marine Corps Court of Criminal Appeals in Washington, D.C., backed the conviction in December, saying it believes the military’s right to try such cases should be unfettered. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces has agreed to hear Caldwell’s appeal, with oral arguments scheduled for Nov. 27. Its decision could provide legal grounds for future prosecutions or lead to an appeal to the U.S Supreme Court by either side.

The appeals court said it will rule specifically on whether the military can punish a suicide attempt as self-injury under an article of the Uniform Code of Military Justice that refers to good order and discipline.

Caldwell was not available for an interview. In February, he told The Associated Press he was surprised to learn he would be charged.

“I thought it was unfair and I thought it was just kind of morally wrong to punish somebody for something of that nature,” Caldwell said.
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