I am new to this and so have been asking lots of questions..thanks to DeNada and others for being patient and answering them..

since it seems i have to opportunity to get in touch with some congress members, i may be able to bring up some of these issues, like what goes on in the mail room. i dont know what God has in store for my man, me, but i have faith that we were put in this situation to somehow make a difference. i will pray and hopefully the answers will come. there are so many facets of the UCMJ that need changing; there is the issue of the nature of my man's crime, the conditions at the USDB. his family is starting a website, so hopefully soon i will be able to post it. its not the situation we hoped for, but maybe its the one we needed to cause some change.

candy,

I know I am late, but welcome to the military forum!

I have been in an out of hospital for the last week, so again I apologize for the late welcome.

I agree with you that there is so, so much of the UCMJ that needs to be revamped or done away with.

I have been out of the military legal field for some time, and the system was archaic then, however, with the war, bush, and rumsfeld in power - they have no want to change the system.

So, the pressure has to be put on them from the outside, from individuals such as yourself and your fiancee's family. Change in the military, unfortunately, comes slowly and with much resistance from those in the upper levels of the chain of command.

Keep pushing and stay strong!

Patti

Patti, I hope you're feeling better now and that your hospitalization wasn't for anything serious!

As for changes in the UCMJ...there has been much written (law reviews, journal articles, white papers, etc.) and some modifications have been adopted. I, for one, despite the courts seeming to want to move away from the Sentencing Guidelines, would strongly advocate that the military courts adopt them! The sentencing disparity is astounding. "Prejudicial to discipline and order" is the caveat that keeps the military sentencing in its arbitrary state. I could cite specific incidents that support my view, but will not as some might be offended by the comparisons.

Candy, the situation(s) at USDB might could be changed by outside influence by input from families and other interested parties, but we have to be careful not to bring undue attention to any inmate in case there are reprisals. I would hate to think that our efforts to bring about change resulted in making someone's life harder on the inside. Directly addressing the USDB as individuals may not be the best choice, at this point. Until the regulations are changed, and that must be done by congressional or presidential mandate or legislation since the Dept of Defense is an Executive agency, there really isn't a lot we can do, except petition our senators and representatives for the changes. There is a grievance process the inmates can use and I think that is the better route for now. I'm not trying to rain on your parade, but I've had first-hand experience with how the USDB can retaliate if "outsiders" such as ourselves make waves. It is not pleasant, I assure you. For now, contact whomever you think has enough power to actually effect changes.

~Lisa