Two men sentenced in Great Falls for "stolen valor"

[KBlagburn]

This discussion thread was locked as off-topic by Yonnie3 (a host of the Latest Breaking News forum).

Source: www.krtv.com

GREAT FALLS — On Friday, two men in Great Falls were sentenced for crimes committed while pretending to be military veterans.

Judge Greg Pinski placed some unique requirements on their sentences.

Read more: https://www.krtv.com/news/military-matters/two-men-sentenced-in-great-falls-for-stolen-valor

[RGinNJ]

1. That sounds fair to me.

[Skittles]

2. I bet they are MAGAts

[Gore1FL]

3. I submit, that veterans should not get special treatment under the law.

Them claiming to be veterans to get those benefits would not have happened if the system was equitable in the first place.

[iluvtennis]

12. I'm a veteran and I agree with you. You do the crime, you do

the time - same sentencing for all.

[Grins]

17. I'm a vet in favor of CLOSING all VA hospitals.

OK; calm down.

The only reason to close them is if we have UNIVERSAL HEALTH CARE. Under UHC you would not need them at all*.

And with UHC we couldn't have to watch Jon Stewart battling, blaming, and shaming Republicans to get health care for police and firemen in NYC because of the after-effects from 9-11.

The "September 11th Victim Compensation Fund Act" is expected to cost 10.2B in funding, on top of the $5B already spent - for just the first 10-years, and no cap for the next 70-years! Seventy!

That's money that should go to UHC.

* Yes, I know; impractical. There are some things that will require specialized VA services. But in the big picture...!

[Sgent]

4. I'm ok with some of that

not big on the public shaming or the 3 years in prison for possession.

[yaesu]

10. exactly, this goes too far plus if they were rich elite they wouldn't even be going to prison

our one sided police state is bad enough, adding public shame is a tRumpster move.

[Jake Stern]

5. Honestly, I just don't give a fuck about "stolen valor" anymore then someone who claims to be a PhD

What DOES piss me off is that there is a special, dedicated court for veterans which apparently hands down more lenient sentences or these two cons wouldn't have tried to take part in it.

Talk about inequality before the law - if you put on a uniform, you get kid glove treatment but if you didn't then you can lump in with the rest of the dregs.

Getting shot at in Fallujah shouldn't entitle you to have time chopped off your sentence.

[LuvNewcastle]

8. I agree.

I'm not saying that people who go to war shouldn't receive benefits for signing up, but they shouldn't be spending less time in jail than others who commit the same crimes. It looks to me like military veterans are considered greater citizens than those who don't join, and I can't go along with that. Most people in the military sign up for the benefits that are promised to them; it isn't like they just join up out of a sense of duty for their country, at least not in most cases. I appreciate what war veterans do, but I think they're just as responsible for their actions as anyone else.

[yaesu]

11. Agree, our policce state 1984'sh trumpian empire at its worst. nt

[bitterross]

16. We have made service in the military equl to "Hero" and special. That IS wrong.

You are right. There shouldn't be a special court for people who volunteered to be in the military. No one made them sign up.

The GOP has turned service in the military into the equivalent of being a Marvel Superhero. It's not. They followed that up with continual war. The GOP also does its best to make the military a recruiting ground and conversion program for Christianity.

Very disgusting and angering.

[JustABozoOnThisBus]

6. I think they'll win the appeal.

Sentenced to hold signs at memorials which proclaim their shame? How about a scarlet letter? This is an "unusual" sentence that I bet gets struck down.

Maybe the sentences for the actual crimes will stand, but not any additions due to "stolen valor". Not when our president wants to award himself a Purple Heart and a Medal of Honor.

[Submariner]

7. The prison system should treat them like they are in military boot camp

To keep 'boots' in line, the military shaves every millimeter of hair off your head as a means of discipline training.

Don't let the long bearded guy keep it, shave it off and take his individuality away.

[Tarc]

9. Is there a significance "441", the # of hours of community service they must complete?

It doesn't ring a bell.

[AllaN01Bear]

13. didnt trump claim he had some kind of military award that he had but didnt?

stolen valor there ? never heard of that term untill this post nor for the special vet court.

[left-of-center2012]

14. "stolen valor ... never heard of that term"

Been around a long time.
A lot of folks claiming to be Vietnam vets, just for the ‘glory’.

Story in the news not long ago of a man in his early twenties, panhandling while holding a sign that read:
“Vietnam vet -- please help”. (The war ended 44 years ago)

Obama signed the latest law against "stolen valor" in 2013.

[bitterross]

15. Judge went too far. We abandoned the stocks in the public square for a reason.

I get that they should be punished. They were. There is a federal law making Stolen Valor a crime. There does not appear to be a MT law. They were not charged under the federal law. The judge acted inappropriately with the requirements to have them wear signs at the Veterans Memorial. Public humiliation does not serve anyone and is simply an act of revenge - not justice.

[Yonnie3]

18. Locking after a review by Forum Hosts

The hosts have received alerts on this post and have determined that this is not important news of national interest as required by this forum's statement of purpose.

Please consider a re-post in General Discussion