Posted on 09/30/2022 1:24:51 PM PDT by Red Badger
(UPI) -- A sailor accused by the Navy of setting fire to and destroying an amphibious assault ship was acquitted Friday by a military judge.
Ryan Sawyer Mays, 21, was found not guilty by Capt. Derek Butler of starting the fire that destroyed the $1.2 billion USS Bonhomme Richard.
"I am so grateful that this is finally over. It's been a long two years," Mays said outside the court building, flanked by his wife, parents and defense team, according to USNI News. "I've been waiting a long time."
The Navy had accused Mays of starting the fire because he was angry at being dropped from the training course to become a Navy SEAL.
In 2020 Mays was confined for three months, but was released without being charged. In July 2021, the Navy formally charged him.
Defense attorneys argued that the Navy's investigation failed to present any specific strong physical or forensic evidence that Mays was in the deck at the time and had set the fire.
"Seaman Mays' life has been put on hold," Lt. Cmdr. Jordi Torres, the lead defense attorney, said Thursday morning during closing statements. The sailor who claimed to have seen Mays in the Lower V "is the only evidence the government has ... if there's even an arsonist to begin with."
After the verdict came down, Mays said that the past two years had been the most difficult in his entire life.
"I've lost time with friends. I've lost friends," Mays said. "I've lost time with family, and my entire Navy career was ruined. I'm looking forward to starting over."
"I'm thankful for the judge that heard the evidence and cleared my name," he added. "And thank you to those of the media who tried to tell my team story. You don't understand how grateful I truly am."
The USS Bonhomme Richard caught fire on July 12, 2020, in San Diego, and more than 60 people suffered minor injuries. Left with extensive structural, electrical and mechanical damage, the ship was decommissioned on April 15, 2021, and sold for scrap.
UPI - a truthful statement? Presumably not.
Presumably found not guilty of intentionally setting fire or of negligently setting fire.
I trust the Lying Leftist Media as far as I can throw them.
i thought he was in a gay tizzy!
If he is not guilty, they can make a movie about how they defamed him, and the lawyer who wanted justice
I have no idea what is the point of your rant.
Will his next duty station be the USS Harvey Milk?
Letting off steam I guess.
It happens.
We have a real problem if our ships are spontaneously combusting & and shipboard fire fighters are unable to contain them.
In the old Navy, the commanding officer always had full responsibility for the ship.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Iowa_turret_explosion
The Navy has a history of finding scapegoats to cover up bad accidents.
On the other hand, there is a history of people setting fires on Navy ships
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Miami_(SSN-755)
“i thought he was in a gay tizzy!”
I can’t find any articles that substantiate that.
Donald Trump made him do it.
“In the old Navy, the commanding officer always had full responsibility for the ship.”
And?
They either screwed up prosecution on what should have been an obvious conviction
OR
They tried to hide systemic or leadership failures by pinning the blame on some low-level sailor.
Is there another option?
It totally wasn’t him...it was his lighter!!!
And so there you have it.
Not the first Naval OOOPS!
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Honda_Point_disaster
Question:
If a ship is in dry-dock undergoing major maintenance does it have a commanding officer?
Genuinely curious. Don’t know Navy regulations on that.
Have what?
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