U.S. sailor pleads not guilty to murdering taxi driver, says voices told him to do it

Wednesday 10th December, 03:57 PM JST

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soldave at 08:45 AM JST - 11th December

He's in the wrong country if he thinks an insanity defence will get him a leaner sentence. Although saying that in Okinawa a man recently had a very similar plea in a rape case and was let off without punishment so maybe he will. That same week I think a US serviceman was involved in a crime in Okinawa and had a similar plea. His was rejected and he was sentenced to prison time if memory serves.

Can see this guy rightfully doing some time.
irishhighlander at 08:55 AM JST - 11th December

How can a foreign national serve in the United States military? I know that the Phillipines still has provisions where there citizens can serve in the US military. Or did that end? I read it in a Phillipines history book published in the early 1990`s
sangetsu at 12:57 PM JST - 11th December

Since when is a Nigerian national a "westerner"?
sangetsu at 12:59 PM JST - 11th December

How can a foreign national serve in the United States military? I know that the Phillipines still has provisions where there citizens can serve in the US military. Or did that end? I read it in a Phillipines history book published in the early 1990`s

A resident alien living in the US is permitted to serve in the US military on a restricted basis. They receive the regular pay and benefits, but are not allowed to serve in sensitive positions, or to obtain security clearances.
TheguyNextdoor at 01:26 PM JST - 11th December

I've been wondering when we were going hear about this guy. Took some time, thought it was open and close case. No need to have a trial....they found his cash card in the cab, "voices told him to do it"...its a wrap. No need to talk about this anymore.
Yelnats at 03:56 PM JST - 11th December

My grand mother used to hear voices too. Never led her to stab someone to run away from a 19,000 Yen taxi bill. What the voices said to him was stab and make tracks.
FreeInJapan at 04:24 PM JST - 11th December

Perhaps slightly more stringent recruiting methods? Ex. 'service does not guarantee citizenship'. It's not Starship Troopers.

Wow smithinjapan, what a suggestion that you’ve completely pulled out of your arse… FYI, service in the U.S. military DOESN’T guarantee citizenship. Whoops. And before you ask, yes, there is plenty to back that up. While military service does offer a more stream-lined process for any individual seeking naturalization, under INA Section 328, must still:

1 - Served honorably or have separated from the service under honorable conditions

2 - Served one year or more of military service

3 - Be a legal permanent resident at the time of his or her examination by USCIS

4 – Meet the Moral Character requirements which include no Criminal Record and telling the truth during your interview with the CIS

5 – Show a proficiency in the English Language

6 – Have knowledge of Civics (knowledge and understanding of the fundamentals of the history, principles and form of government of the United States)

Also, under current law, citizenship may be revoked if the service member is discharged under other than honorable conditions.

As for the act itself, I truly hope that this moron gets life… however the sad truth is that (if found guilty) he’s protected to such an extent by the SOFA agreement that he will not get the death penalty, and will serve his time in much more comfortable surroundings than the Japanese prison population. He’ll even have food delivered to him daily from the base. This is one aspect where I can’t agree with the SOFA… while it was put in place as a form of protection to ensure U.S. personnel receive fair treatment (and I agree with that), I do feel that if one is found guilty in a foreign country they should have to serve the same punishment as the locals.

For anyone who belly-aches about the screening process of U.S. military, I ask you this simple question: How do you propose (realistically) to fix the process that you feel so badly needs fixing? Seriously, I’d be very interested in a CONSTRUCTIVE comment (i.e. – not comparing it with a stupid sci-fi movie) on what could be done differently, and how the U.S. military hiring process is any different from any other large corporation. I don’t see anyone bagging on these Japanese companies that hired someone who turns out to be some kind of twisted perv/killer…

Lastly… apparently this guy’s “voices” weren’t so smart, seeing as how they forgot to tell him to take his belongings with him when he fled the scene.
TooFarGone at 04:57 PM JST - 11th December

Excellent post, freeinjapan.
FreeInJapan at 05:03 PM JST - 11th December

TooFarGone - Cheers mate
nandakandamanda at 05:09 PM JST - 11th December

From the list of his 'calculated' actions cited here, (in Japanese) http://headlines.yahoo.co.jp/hl?a=20081211-00000016-mailo-l14 it seems pretty clear the guy never appeared mentally incompetent to anyone around him, including his g/f and the base doc.
ultradodgy at 05:39 PM JST - 11th December

Slight digression - I'm shocked that the US military allows non-nationals to serve in its armed forces... Am I missing something? Is this common for other countries too?

Anyway, he certaintly sees batcrap crazy to have done this...
MisterRoboto at 08:19 PM JST - 11th December

About allowing non-nationals into the U.S. Military. It's all about meeting recruiting quotas, a supply-demand situation. There's always a few bad apples in the barrel.

About Filipinos - my understanding is that Gen. MacArthur, as Military Commander of the Philippines signed a 50-year treaty that allowed about 5,000 Filipinos into the U.S. Military (mainly the Navy) from 1945 to 1995. This was in recognition for their bravery fighting side-by-side against Japan's invasion of the P.I. during WWII. After the treaty expired in 95' leftists in the Filipino Senate pushed to not renew the treaty and the U.S. left its bases, handing them over to be mismanaged by corrupt politicians. Some say the U.S. didn't want to rebuild some of the bases which were virtually destroyed by the Mount Pinatubo volcano exploding. If I'm wrong about this, please correct the record.
TheguyNextdoor at 10:05 AM JST - 12th December

Nice post Freeinjapan.
mindovermatter at 06:32 PM JST - 14th December

FreeInJapan

For anyone who belly-aches about the screening process of U.S. military, I ask you this simple question: How do you propose (realistically) to fix the process that you feel so badly needs fixing?

Psyche Eval.....

Thousands of police departments do them religiously.... Not 100%, but Works pretty well.

The military currently doesn't do squat other than, screen people for domestic violence and financial stability.... and half the time they waiver anything they want... depending on needs of the service...

That's the Fact Jack...
bdiego at 04:43 PM JST - 16th December

FreeInJapan: Like mindovermatter points out, they currently don't do squat to screen soldiers. If someone has serious psychological or behavioral issues, send them to the domestic reserves. That would have easily prevented that brazen rape and murder of an entire family of Iraqis by one lunatic soldier (and accomplices), all so he could have sex with their underage daughter and mutilate her corpse. This is just a common sense first step.

Next, don't station non-US citizens in foreign countries. Don't station green soldiers. Make soldiers wear uniform at all times while outside of base (used effectively by many nations to deter crime). Expel anyone found drinking off base. All of these would be easy, many are already policy of other nations.