Reports on families of crime victims reflection of veterans' families

In each of these articles what comes after violent events for families are told.

Collateral Damage: Advocates Aim To Save Children From Impact Of Violence
Collateral Damage: Families Struggle To Care For Victims Of Violence

Lloyd Fox • Baltimore Sun-TNS / Alice Oaks holds the Christmas ornament that will be hung on the tree at the Survivors Against Violence Everywhere (SAVE) holiday gathering in remembrance of her two sons that were both killed. SAVE holds an annual event for those that are impacted by the loss of a family member or friends from violence.

Collateral Damage: Relatives Of Murder Victims Struggle With Grief

All of what they are going through is what families of veterans go through when they face the outcomes of inept attempts to avert them.

Families struggle with health issues after homicide,

Scientists at Johns Hopkins and other institutions have found that grief can cause biological changes.

The immediate grief after a death can weaken the heart and increase the risk of heart attacks. The lingering anger associated with this grief can also cause heart problems, a Harvard University study found. Other research connects intense grief to high levels of stress hormones, a weakened immune system and trouble sleeping.

Relatives interviewed in Jeanna M. Mastrocinque’s York College study attributed illnesses such as cancer, heart attacks and death to their grief. Many complained of feeling physically sick, and some lost so much weight that they dropped three or four clothes sizes. One described it this way: “I think this has changed me on a molecular level.”

Mastrocinque’s study recommended that primary care physicians pay more attention to the health status of the relatives of the murdered, given all the problems they reported.

“Homicide is one of the leading causes of death for many age groups,” said Mastrocinque, an assistant professor of criminal justice. “I don’t think people think about how much homicide ripples through communities.”

Michelle Randolph considered herself fairly healthy before her only child, Wesley Lewis, 19, was found murdered in August 2010. After his death, the Baltimore woman couldn’t control her blood pressure and suffered from panic attacks and depression.

They also suffer after family members come home from combat where they risked their lives to save others yet fell so hard that they ended up being killed by police officers.

The next time you read about a veteran and police officers facing off, remember, after the headline comes the reality of the event for the families and the officers. Remember, as with the above reports, families often suffer in silence and people walk away from them when they need support the most.

The next time you read about a veteran, remember one more key detail in all of this. They were willing to die for the sake of someone else and shouldn't have died because we managed to pay more attention to the "crime" in the headline instead of the people assuring us they were doing everything possible to help them come home.

UK Combat soldiers more likely to commit violent crimes?

Somehow I doubt this study is true. Considering here in the US there are more reports about suicides than crimes, and we have a lot more veterans with a lot more deployments, this study should have all of us scratching our heads.

Combat soldiers more likely to commit violent crimes: study
By Kate Kelland
LONDON
Fri Mar 15, 2013

Men who had multiple traumatic combat experiences had a 70 to 80 percent higher risk of becoming violent criminals.

(Reuters) - British soldiers who have served in Iraq and Afghanistan - particularly young men and those who have seen active combat - are more likely to commit violent crimes than their civilian counterparts, according to research published on Friday.

The study of almost 14,000 British soldiers deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan is the first to examine the link between military service and violent crime by using official criminal records.

Researchers said the findings could help military officials improve their risk assessment of violence among serving and ex-military personnel.

They stressed that although the study points to a serious problem for those affected, it does not mean all ex-soldiers will become violent criminals.

"Just as with post traumatic stress disorder, this is not a common outcome in military populations," said Professor Simon Wessely, co-director of the Centre for Military Health Research at King's College London, who co-led the study.

"Overall you must remember that of those who serve in combat, 94 percent of those who come back will not offend."
read more here

Phrase changed but not opinion on PTSD crimes

Tuesday, January 15, 2008

121 NY Times veterans had no criminal history before
Iraq Vets Commit PTSD-Fueled Murders in the Wake of Returning HomePosted by Amanda Marcotte, Pandagon at 12:05 PM on January 15, 2008.Unlike the majority of civilians who commit murder, the majority of the 121 veterans documented by the Times reporters had no criminal history.This story about Iraq and Afghanistan veterans who've come back from the war only to commit acts of violence at home is a must-read. The NY Times found 121 cases of murders committed by veterans back from these wars, 1/3 of which were domestic murders, and the reporters suspect this is only a percentage of the actual murders committed, because they got that number by scouring newspapers around the country, not from statistics cultivated by the Pentagon, which, surprise surprise, doesn't collect such data. The numbers are not insignificant.

When I posted the links to the NY Times piece, I tried to point out that these veterans, these combat veterans, came home changed. Some came home changed because of PTSD and some came home almost as if the brutality of war penetrated their souls. It is possible and it is a human condition when you go through some of the things they go through. Statistically however, these incidences are few and far between. Some come home changed because of PTSD and the medications they are given or the propensity to self-medicate with alcohol and street drugs. We have years of documented suspected links between medications such as Lariam and crimes. I will continue to use the "suspected" link because we simply do not know for sure if it was the PTSD and Lariam or Lariam alone.

What I was saying, but put it rather inadequately, is that if they need help, they should get it no matter if they are in jail or in the hospital. If they are so deeply changed by what they went through, prison serves no purpose or justice. If they were only slightly changed then they need therapy even in prison. If they were just using it to try to get them off the hook, then throw the book at them.

The research I did for the suicide video lead me to numerous incidences of crimes committed by veterans. Most of the time they were against family members or significant others. These were not random crimes. We have a lot of veterans in prison right now directly tied to drug use and alcoholism otherwise known as "self medicating." We also have crimes committed because they are in fact a lot like the general population and some of us commit crimes too. No one should ever get a "get out of jail card" free for any reason, unless of course they are innocent or impaired. We all need to take a serious look at all the ramifications of combat and stop putting them into group A or B. None of them go into combat the same or for the same reason and none of them come out the same as their buddy does. The only one thing connecting all of them is that they are rare and they faced death because they served in a time of horror. Some times it comes home with them and we need to deal with it, step up when it did and try to provide the right response to it.

121 NY Times veterans had no criminal history before

Iraq Vets Commit PTSD-Fueled Murders in the Wake of Returning Home

Posted by Amanda Marcotte, Pandagon at 12:05 PM on January 15, 2008.


Unlike the majority of civilians who commit murder, the majority of the 121 veterans documented by the Times reporters had no criminal history.

This story about Iraq and Afghanistan veterans who've come back from the war only to commit acts of violence at home is a must-read. The NY Times found 121 cases of murders committed by veterans back from these wars, 1/3 of which were domestic murders, and the reporters suspect this is only a percentage of the actual murders committed, because they got that number by scouring newspapers around the country, not from statistics cultivated by the Pentagon, which, surprise surprise, doesn't collect such data. The numbers are not insignificant.


The Times used the same methods to research homicides involving all active-duty military personnel and new veterans for the six years before and after the present wartime period began with the invasion of Afghanistan in 2001.


This showed an 89 percent increase during the present wartime period, to 349 cases from 184, about three-quarters of which involved Iraq and Afghanistan war veterans. The increase occurred even though there have been fewer troops stationed in the United States in the last six years and the American homicide rate has been, on average, lower.

Unlike the majority of civilians who commit murder, the majority of the 121 veterans documented by the Times reporters had no criminal history. The anecdotal evidence points to a trend of PTSD-fueled overreactions that led to the murders. The opening story of the piece is about a man who shot some guys who confronted him on the street in Las Vegas for violating some gang turf boundaries that the veteran appears not to have cared much about. He shot them with an AK-47, and generally seemed to be confusing the incident with events that he witnessed in Iraq.
go here for the rest
http://www.alternet.org/blogs/peek/73860/

What will the bloggers who went after the NY Times say now? They just weren't caught? War changes people and it's about time everyone understood this.

Across America, Deadly Echoes of Foreign Battles

New York Times

Across America, Deadly Echoes of Foreign Battles
The New York Times found 121 cases in which veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan committed a killing in this country, or were charged with one, after their return from war. In many of those cases, combat trauma and the stress of deployment — along with alcohol abuse, family discord and other attendant problems — appear to have set the stage for a tragedy that was part destruction, part self-destruction

Another non-combat death was reported as well.

01/12/08 MNF: W Marine dies of non-combat related cause
A Marine assigned to Multi National Force – West died Jan. 11 in a non-combat related incident in Al Anbar province. The name of the deceased is being withheld pending notification of next of kin and release by the Department of Defense.
Stories linked from ICasualties.org

Coming Home Changed to Fort Carson

Fort Carson doctors diagnosed 615 soldiers in 2007 with post-traumatic stress disorder, up from 102 cases in 2003, when soldiers started returning from their first tours in Iraq and Afghanistan. It was the fifth straight year with an increase in the number of soldiers being diagnosed with PTSD.

Coming home changed


Stress can play part in crimes, experts say
By DENNIS HUSPENI and TOM ROEDER
THE GAZETTE
December 23, 2007 - 7:35AM


CRIMES LINKED TO CARSON VETERANS

Here are some notable criminal cases involving Iraq war veterans stationed at Fort Carson.

- Colorado Springs police allege two veterans from the same platoon are tied to a crime ring that could be responsible for the homicides of two soldiers.

Spc. Kevin Shields was shot to death and his body was found Dec. 1.

Pfc. Robert James was also shot to death. His body was found in a car parked in a Lake Avenue bank parking lot in August. The suspects are: Louis Bressler, 24, who was discharged and complained of suffering from PTSD; Pfc. Bruce Bastien Jr., 21; and soldier Kenneth Eastridge, who was an infantry rifleman. Authorities have charged or plan to charge all three with homicide, court records show.

- Former soldier Anthony Marquez, 23, admitted Thursday he shot and killed a 19-year-old Widefield resident and suspected drug dealer Oct. 22, 2006, during a robbery attempt. Marquez’s public defenders attempted to introduce PTSD as a possible defense, but dropped the effort when a judge ruled against them, court records show. According to the plea agreement, Marquez will spend 30 years in prison when he is sentenced in February.

- Pueblo police last month arrested Spc. Olin “Famous” Ferrier, 22, on suspicion of shooting taxi driver David Chance, 52, on Oct. 30. No charges have been filed.

- Former Pfc. Johnathon Klinker, 22, was sentenced to 40 years in prison in July for killing his 7-week-old daughter, Nicolette. Klinker blamed the baby’s October 2006 death, in part, on “war-related stress.”

- Former Pvt. Timothy Parker of the 3rd Heavy Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, was convicted by court martial of manslaughter for beating Spc. Piotr Szczypka to death in a November 2005 fight at an apartment complex near the base. Both men had been drinking before Parker hit Szczypka with a fireplace poker, trial testimony showed. Parker was sentenced to seven years in a military prison.

- Nine days after 2nd Brigade Combat Team Pfc. Stephen S. Sherwood, 35, came home from Iraq in August 2005, he drove to Fort Collins and shot and killed his wife of seven years, Sara E. Sherwood, 30. The soldier, described by his commanders as a hero who fought bravely in Iraq, then turned the gun on himself and committed suicide.

click post title for the rest