Army charges Iraq vet over self-inflicted gun wound

[Lone_Star_Dem]

Source: The Washington Post

WASHINGTON — In a nondescript conference room at Walter Reed Army Medical Center, 1st Lt. Elizabeth Whiteside listened last week as an Army prosecutor outlined the criminal case against her. The charges: attempting suicide and endangering the life of another soldier while serving in Iraq.

Her hands trembled as Maj. Stefan Wolfe, the prosecutor, argued that Whiteside, now a psychiatric outpatient at Walter Reed, should be court-martialed. After seven years of exemplary service, the Army reservist faces the possibility of life in prison if she is tried and convicted.

Military psychiatrists at Walter Reed who examined Whiteside, 25, after she recovered from her self-inflicted gun wound diagnosed her with a severe mental disorder, possibly triggered by the stresses of a war zone. But Whiteside's superiors considered her mental illness "an excuse" for criminal conduct, according to documents obtained by The Washington Post.

At the hearing, Wolfe, who had warned Whiteside's lawyer of the risk of using a "psychobabble" defense, pressed a senior psychiatrist at Walter Reed to justify his diagnosis.

Read more: http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/nationworld/2004047625_reed02.html

[Bigmack]

1. Shot herself???

Shiiiiit....in the Corps, they'd bust her for "damaging government property."

(For the irony/sarcasm deprived: :sarcasm:

[ManiacJoe]

2. And for poor marksmanship!

:evilgrin:

[Jackpine Radical]

3. I really love the compassion I find on this board.

Extreme depression if often a concomitant of PTSD. When I hear about these suicides, I can't help but wonder what tragedies, maybe even atrocities, or combat forces have seen and maybe participated in.

[ManiacJoe]

4. There is nothing wrong with a little dark humor

to lighten up a bad situation. As an unrelated third party, I can laugh about it or cry about it; both get me to the same place.

[Vinca]

5. A court martial for a person who is mentally ill? That's insane. nt

[Javaman]

6. Don't worry, I'm sure the military will file her suicide attempt as a pre-existing condition. nt