Their refusal to report for duty while their CO applications were pending was, according to government interpretations of the Uniform Code of Military Justice, an "unauthorized absence". They were rail-roaded to jail, with some receiving jail sentences of more than four years. Initially, they faced trumped-up charges of "desertion in time of war" with the threat of death sentences.
All other Marines who were convicted of unauthorized absence but who were not conscientious objectors were given Special Courts-Martials, a slap on the wrist, and a minimum term of a few months or less in the brig.
But Jones was singled out for special persecution because he took his opposition to the Gulf War to the court of the American people. Jones, a Black, working class youth, became a featured speaker at many of the events organized by antiwar coalitions and local groups.
In mid-June, a Marine Corps court martial in Camp LeJeune, North Carolina, sentenced Jones to six months in the brig and a dishonorable discharge. With time off for "good behaviour" he is expected to be free in six months.
Jones's attorney, John Murcko, said that all seven motions to dismiss the charges against his client were denied. The most important of these was a motion to free Jones immediately on the grounds that his right to a speedy trial was denied. Murcko has demonstrated, to no avail, that the Marines' own rules regarding time limits to proceed against Jones were grossly violated
Being both judge and jury, the Marines managed to lose Jones's CO application and misfile charges against him, all in an effort to delay proceedings in order to maximize the time Jones was confined to camp LeJeune while he awaited his "day in court"
Similarly, Jones's motions regarding the use of "illegal command influence" and "selective persecution", were also dismissed.
Appeals of these decisions have been filed by Murcko, but a positive result is doubtful. Friends and supporters can write to Jones as follows:
Corporal Tahan Jones USMC, Social Security Number 564-43-9533, Confinement Facility, Marine Corps Base, Camp LeJeune, NC 28542.
- Jeff Mackler (Reprinted from the July issue of Socialist Action). *
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:F Ti _an
WIC SE NEDEJE. JEN ZAS NĚJAKÝ OTŘESY NA LONDÝNSKÉ BURZE. .
(analogies to Lidové noviny cartoonist Vladimir Jiranek) (apologies to Lidové noviny cartoonist Vladimir Jiranek) 27 October 12, 1992 • # 236 International Viewpoint
ROMANIA Elections prolong uncertainty "COMMUNISTS tap well of nostalgia in Romania" ran the headline of the International Herald Tribune on September 30, 1992, commenting on the results of that country's parliamentary and presidential elections the previous Sunday.