Vietnam vet suffering from combat stress to be executed for killing deputy, website reports

A Vietnam war veteran whose attorneys say suffers from severe post-traumatic stress disorder is scheduled to be executed at a Georgia prison Tuesday night, Military Times reported. The state parole board on Monday declined clemency for Andrew Brannan, after the 66-year-old Army veteran's attorneys argued he was having a flashback when he killed a deputy sheriff 16 years ago.

I did want to know, thanks for the information.

I had two forward observers who worked for me. They were not infantry as you assert, but they certainly spent every day with an infantry rifle company and, in my company, they served as the de facto second in command of the company as they served as a part of the company command group. Neither of them have murdered any law enforcement officers. Nor have I for that matter, nor any other member of my rifle company or my long range rifle platoon when I was serving in that position. When their combat tours were complete, they went back to the United States and have lived normal lives.

If this guy was a nutter in Vietnam, it would have become obvious because of his unique position of responsibility and he would not have completed his tour. Whatever his problems, they arose after his service in combat and most likely from a mental disorder than had little to do with his combat service. Certainly, a very few of these nut cases were set on their course into na na land by some traumatic experience of combat, there were plenty of those to go around. But, I for one, don’t buy into this liberal nonsense that the awful experience of combat turned a perfectly normal human being into a crazed psychopathic killer. Psychopathic killers to end up in combat and afterwards they sometimes to what they are wont to do. Most FO’s don’t, although they sometimes get a round in a place it isn’t meant to be.

Spare me the bullshit.

Yes, it's very tough to watch - and it makes me wonder how much of a part Dinkheller's employer, the Laurens County Sheriff's Department, played in his death through their leadership & training - or lack of it. Dinkheller lost control of the situation from the very start and never recovered. Discipline collapsed into hysterics - Brannan was encouraged and took advantage of it - Brannan basked in that fear which emboldened him to escalate his belligerence upon Dinkheller until it finally became deadly. Brannan identified himself as a predator that day, making me wonder who else he may have harmed before then.

The clincher for me was when Brannan turned around, walked over to Officer Dinkheller to fire more rounds into him as he was laying on the ground. No question about it—a death penalty case.

Then I did some reading.

Brannan was a Vietnam Vet who served with honor. He had no criminal record. He suffered from Post Traumatic Stress as well as a diagnosis of bipolar disorder. I am of the opinion his mania was more of a factor than the PTS.

I am not against the death penalty. Some crimes are so heinous, the death penalty is the only option. There are also times other factors need to be considered. If what I read was accurate, if ever there was a case to commute the sentence to life without parole, this was it.

I also read a few weeks before he was murdered Officer Dinkheller had been written up for being too quick to draw his weapon. No other details were cited so I do not know if a complaint had been filed. I cannot get into his mind, but I wonder how much that contributed to his losing control of the situation.

I am in no way blaming Officer Dinkheller for his own murder nor am I excusing Brannon for his actions, just looking at all of the pieces of the whole.

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