“When a defendant pleads guilty, whether in a civilian court or a military court martial, they give up their right to appeal.”
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Not only that, but he must sit down with the judge and convince her that he understands what it means to plead guilty — in this case, it means acknowledging that he knows the orders he disobeyed were legal orders.
If he’s not able to do that convincingly, the judge must reject the guilty plea and he will face trial on those counts.
This makes me want to spit on the United States military. I have never been so ashamed of this country at any point in my life. To have to sit down and grovel before Lind, to try to convince her that she’s holding up 3 fingers when he knows she’s holding up 1, is reminiscent of George Orwell’s “1984”.
I can’t stand this.