Posted on 08/23/2011 7:16:55 AM PDT by NECAWA
Below is a letter Lt. Behenna has just sent out.
To all of my supporters,
I wanted to write this letter to the thousands of people all over the world who continue to support me and still have hope that justice is indeed attainable in the military justice system. It is an attempt to show my mindset here in prison to the people whom I have not had the opportunity to meet.
Recently the Army Court of Appeals ruled against my request for a new trial. As odd as it may sound, I have been preparing for this day for over a year. That is, I was prepared for an unfavorable decision whereby the court would uphold my conviction and sentence. Like Shakespeare said, ‘Expectation is the root of all heartache’ because expectation leaves one vulnerable to disappointment. Expectation is not the same as hope and I promise you I have not lost that. I was recently reminded of a quote from the movie Shawshank Redemption where the main character (another man who was unjustly sent to prison) says ‘Hope is a good thing; maybe the best of things.’ So while my hope was for a good outcome, my expectation was much more practical for a person sitting behind bars with a lot of time on his hands. And because I kept my expectations in check the decision by the Appeals Court did not emotionally harm me; for it to do that it would have had to come from within. No one can harm the man who refuses to harm himself.
So this court decision does not discourage at all. Furthermore, I am not bitter or angry, nor do I hate the people that had anything to do with putting me in prison. If I hated them they would still be controlling me and I refuse to give them that power. They may have confined my body and taken my physical freedom away, but my mind remains as free as any mans. I am never left with nothing so long as I retain the freedom to choose how I respond. While we cannot always control what happens to us, we can control our emotions and how we react to what happens to us.
I remain hopeful that in the end justice will prevail and that I may have a fair, impartial trial where all the evidence may be heard. As Judge H. Lee Sarokin said ‘If trials are indeed searches for the truth rather than efforts to conceal it, full and fair disclosure is necessary to protect and preserve the rights of the accused.’ May more people like you begin to shine a light on the unchecked and ‘under the table’ injustice that runs rampant in our military justice system; a system that we here at Leavenworth have known firsthand, and now the public is getting a glimpse of. This system cannot be “for justice and not against injustice.’
May the military courts learn something from the wisdom of King Solomon about being just and fair rather than abusing power. King Solomon had a dream in which God came to him and said “Ask me anything and I will give it to you.” King Solomon answered “I am but a little child. I know not how to go out or to come in, but I am a servant of thy people. Give me, therefore, an understanding heart that I may judge thy people wisely and fairly.” And God said “Because you did not ask for the lives of your enemies, did not ask for longevity, did not ask for riches, because you asked only for this one thing…understanding, I will give you understanding. There will be none wiser than you on this earth.”
So each day I strive to not focus on the bad, but to find the good. I immerse myself in books that take me a thousand miles from this place of concrete and steel. I push forward in my quest of self-discovery and self-observation seeking wisdom to call my own. From the small window in my prison cell I can see a cornfield where a farmer toils in the hot summer air and I find myself longing to walk that field and feel the earth beneath my feet and the sun against my face. My hopes are to someday have my own land upon which I will raise cattle and spend all my waking hours in that warm sun upon my horse whose name only I will know.
Gratitude is not something one would expect to find behind these walls, but it is here where I found it…waiting to teach me what really matters in this life. And while I sleep she gently reminds me how truly blessed my life is.
To my family I want to express my heartfelt gratitude for the strength, support, and unconditional love you have given me all the days of my life.
To my Uncle Rick who is facing his last days on this earth I want you to know how much I love you and admire the life you have lived.
To my girlfriend Shannon for standing beside me I offer up this quote: ‘….and though the road’s end is out of sight, I do not think of the end, for it’s the loving I so love’. I am so grateful for the love we have for each other and know that it far outweighs the frustration of not being able to have each other like we both want.
I want to thank each of you who continue to support me with your kind letters and your thoughts and prayers. It shows that there are people who still care about me and are willing to strike out against injustice. At the grave of Robert F Kennedy there is a quote which says: ‘It is from numberless diverse acts of courage and belief that human history is shaped. Each time a man stands up for an ideal or acts to improve the lot of others, or strikes out against injustice, he sends forth a tiny ripple of hope, and crossing each other from a million different centers of energy and daring, those ripples build a current that can sweep down the mightiest walls of oppression and resistance.’ You are those ripples in my life that give me hope and for that I am eternally grateful.
Respectfully yours,
Michael
[1]www.defendmichael.com
What was his major in college? The letter is inspiring.
he should be released NOW this is more of the RINO Bush Compassionate War BullCrap,He was in self defense and attacked by a savage.the ones who are behind this need to be imprisoned!
Quite frankly I don’t care why he shot the man. He was the enemy. Soldiers are trained and equipped to kill the enemy. They are not policemen.
Screwed up country we have here. We are trying to turn our soldiers into policemen and our policemen into soldiers.
That is a fact!!!
Behenna chose University of Central Oklahoma and graduated in 2006, with a degree in General Studies, minoring in history and military science.
“Quite frankly I don’t care why he shot the man. He was the enemy. Soldiers are trained and equipped to kill the enemy. They are not policemen.
Screwed up country we have here. We are trying to turn our soldiers into policemen and our policemen into soldiers.”
He shot a rabid animal,nothing more.
I agree. BTTTP!
The police used to be taught to Mirandize and the military was taught to Vaporize." It's becoming the other way around which is so wrong.
Wow! Judging by his letter, Lt. Behenna is among the very best our military has to offer...and he is locked up for defending himself. What an upside down world we live in.
When in the course of human events the citizens of a nation become aware that Justice and Redress are not forth coming from their government officials, it becomes necessary that the citizens take up the responsibility of correcting the malfeasance of those officials.
Can this correction be accomplished short of simply hanging the officials?
bttt
That sounds wonderful but in RFK's case those "ripples that formed a current" were to carry his boat, period.
He was known as one of, if not the most ruthless man in the country -- at least in politics. Some mass murderers may have been worse, pound for pound.
I recall this from the time. "The McClellan [1950s Senate] Committee became another national obsession, with Bobby Kennedy the star during televised hearings in which Kennedy grilled leading Mafia figures of the day, most of whom repeatedly invoked their Fifth Amendment rights against self-incrimination. Bobby Kennedy taunted his adversaries relentlessly; during one such grilling of Chicago Mob Boss Sam Giancana, the wiseguy erupted into a nervous giggle, prompting Bobby Kennedy to taunt: 'I thought only little girls giggled, Mr. Giancana!'"
Talk about being cocksure. This was when few knew of the Kennedy's outside of the plutocracy.
This young man is a far better man than to admire anything of the Kennedy's -- except maybe the junior Joe Kennedy.
Could a future president grant this man a pardon ? I’m not sure if a military prison differs somehow from a “ civilian” prison in this case ?
I’m not a lawyer, but inasmuch as the president is the Commander-in-Chief of our armed forces, I assume it would be well within his authority to grant a pardon. Our current pResident certainly seems to be able to do whatever he pleases, regardless of the Constitution or the rule of law.
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