Veterans in prisons
The Bureau of Justice Statistics released in March of 2021 a report on the number of veterans in prisons using data from 2016.
The 2016 BJS report shows in Table 3 that male veterans who were incarcerated for a violent sexual offense made up 26.4% of male veterans in state prisons and 7.2% of male veterans in federal prisons. Male non-veterans who were incarcerated for a violent sexual offense made up 11.7% of male non-veterans in state prisons and 1.2% of male non-veterans in federal prisons.
A larger percentage of incarcerated male veterans were in prison for violent crimes than were male non-veterans. The big question is: Why? Unfortunately, there is not a lot of research in this area, as the U. S. is a country that is more reactive than proactive.
Many of these men have fought in wars, enduring circumstances and experiences that most of us, as non-veterans, cannot comprehend. I once heard a veteran speak who had just returned from fighting in Iraq. There were situations that he described graphically to his audience that I will never be able to get out of my head – daily situations that were nothing less than pure hell. Then, our country expects these men and women to return to the U. S. and reintegrate back into society with very little support.
According to a 2013 Huffpost blog, research has shown that posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and traumatic brain injury (TBI), both disorders that returning veterans from wars can suffer, have been linked to an increased risk of offending.
People who volunteer for the military have higher odds of becoming incarcerated than people who do not join the military (Culp, Youstin, Englander, & Lynch, 2013).
Some states, including Florida, have opened up dormitories in their prisons just for veterans, but other than that, very little is being done to help veterans in the form of prevention. We, as citizens of the U. S., continue to feel the consequences of being a reactive country rather than a proactive one, where mass incarceration is considered the solution by many of our leaders.
Regarding lack of support for veterans. I served during the Vietnam era. In addition i waork supporting top secret data networks in Iraq for 5 years from 2005 to 2010.
I joined my local VFW for the comoradery from other vets. I was an elected officer for many years….
Untill they found out that i was a registered offender. They then asked me to resign my life membership, and i did.
So much for VFW support.
Bob
First off, thank you for your service. My Dad and both uncles were in Vietnam and my Grand pops in WWII.
Secondly, when times are tough, it sucks that everyone seems to abandoned us. I lost so many friends when I got arrested. I remember one deputy who stood by me. He was a good hearted man.
Hope you have a happy Thanksgiving. My family went out of town and I did not want to have to register my relatives house so I am staying home alone.
I have a VFW Lifetime Membership and they come and ask me to resign my membership, I will stick my middle finger higher up in the air, and I will tell them the Loudest and Meanest F@*# You! There is a reason you become a member of the VFW….you fought in a war zone, far from home and willing to die for this country. so if I was willing to stand and die for this country, they better be ready to stand for me as well.
If my VFW wont stand by me , then i want nothing to do qith them, especially after aerving as a officer of this post for over 8 years.
They can allbgoto Hell.
Bob
Coming from a large Military family (I was born on base) I see all these Veterans groups glad to take your Donations. But then see them reject people when they are down. Not saying they all do it but when a brother or sister is down, you do not keep them there. You grab ahold of them and do what you can for them, as they would want someone to do for them as well.
Cherokee Jack, convocted of this:
USE OF COMPUTER TO SOLICIT OR LURE A PARENT OR CUSTODIAN OF A CHILD TO CONSENT TO THE CHILD’S PARTICIPATION IN SEXUAL CONDUCT F.S. 847.0135(3)(b) (PRINCIPAL)
In Reality this “parent” in a sting was a cop offering out his kid, sex and age and name unknown for sex fantasies.
I certainly agree with you as should every intelligent adult. We are all innocent until proven guilty. That seems to be a myth these days. There are so many men and women who have been found guilty even though innocent, attorney’s and judges know this is frequently the situation yet it’s ignorance. Stay strong, those dopes will pay somehow.
As a member of the Marine Corps and a Viet Nam combat veteran I always wondered at the fact that the Corps spent so much time, effort and money in training and preparing people to go into combat and absolutely no expense, time or effort on preparing them to come home. I was afraid to go to Viet Nam but after my first of two tours, I was afraid to go home!
Further, I did spend a very long time in Florida prisons after my return and yes they are now starting to create dorms for veterans, but as in most things, SO’s need not apply, veteran or not!!
Darryl
Thank you for your service Semper Fi.
Dad Vietnam US navy
2 Uncles Vietnam U.S Marines
Grand Pappy WWII U.S Army
I am not a veteran, however I always hear you never leave a man behind, well, there you sat in prison and not one of your so called brothers did a Damm thing to help. A true group of military men in support of their brothers would contact the entire division they beloned to and marched on the court for justice. I was and am innocent, however I don’t have a thousand people behind me to stand up for my innocence !! Neither do you, so you are either guilty and they know it or as exspected, they are all sheep, waiting their turn for slaughter.
David
There is another factor that affects all people with a sex offense. Money. I spent almost $40,000 bonding out, paying lawyers fees etc. That drained me and my parents life savings. The lawyer wanted another $30,000 for a trial. I did not have that. In a way I am glad I did not because he was a fairly new lawyer only having practiced for 3 years and as it was, the judge ate him alive to the point of tears and vomiting.
I see stories all the time of rich kids raping some girl and walking away with either probation, time served or a case dropped because their families are either loaded, connected or both.
And as I said before, the judge you get weighs heavy on your outcome. I had the “Executioner” for a judge. I knew I was toast when my lawyer ran out of the court room in tears and began puking. Years later he explained he really cared about me and felt he let me down.
When I was released he made it up to me by going on an appeal and got the rest of my case thrown out with a new judge who was appalled at the sentence I had been given as a first time offender that was obviously given out of emotion instead of reason.
Cherokee, I certainly am not advocating a violent response, they should demand an honest trial with a judge who is impartial. Almost impossible to find an honest prosecutor, after all, they must win to become a partner. Your fellow soldiers could have stood outside in protest. Shouting for a fair trial. Also you should have fired the jerk attorney when he didn’t have a successful plan. You are only one in millions who have been railroaded by our corrupt judicial system.
If you were serving when the offense took place, you will become the “talk of the town in the military community”. Your brothers won’t come to help you, your commanders will throw the UCMJ Book at your face, you will be immediately flagged, then soon thereafter you will find yourself at the center of a “Show for Cause” board of inquiry which in other terms means, you will be discharged with an awful discharge code, most likely an OTH, and out to the streets with nothing but your bags on your back. I would have prefer go through 10 trials than what I experienced in that board pony show, it is comparable to a very very slow and painful death. So no, I have learnt that the only brothers you have are those who support you no matter what because they see you for the man/woman you are, they see you as human being who made a mistake and will check on you to see that you are ok…..and of those, I can count them with one hand.
“Some states, including Florida, have opened up dormitories in their prisons just for veterans”.
Although I like that, where was my protection and safety ? When I was sent to prison, I was not in a sex offender unit. I was thrown in with murderers, carjackers, violent attackers, and a few who had so many arrests they ran out of alphabet on his name tag to list the times their arrests.
We were the easy pickings for all kinds of harassment. Unlike many, I fought back and proved that I was not as easy target. The only time I was nervous was when I went to sleep. Often the guards would leave the dorm and that was when the attacks took place. I gave it to God and hoped for the best. Also I tried to not make any enemies.
All said, I do not understand how these guys keep going back. I would rather do 3 tours in Iraq than go back to prison. The toll my time in prison almost killed my Mother emotionally.
I am a Veteran and was accused and convicted of a sex offense and spent 6 years in prison, a lot of times in a Veterans dorm at various camps. I believe a lot of the veterans who are accused of sex offenses are a victim of circumstance. In my case, I was still active duty in the military when I was accused of a sex offense. It was shown in my case that law enforcement targeted me during a sting using an adult website because I was higher ranking and in the military. I was a trophy catch. After I had walked away and said I was not going to travel to them because of the “bait and Switch” (they represented themselves as an adult at first then said they were a minor later), the police actually travelled to a military base 120 miles away to question me and have me arrested. He illegally entered the military base, and conducted a civilian investigation on that base, violating the Federal Posse Comitatus act. The reason why I’m telling you this is, I believe a lot of active duty and veteran military members are targeted because they look good on paper and in the news. In my case the detective got promoted because of his illegal efforts.
Another reason I believe there are a lot of veterans in Jail, is the fact that the divorce rate is high among veterans. And/or their marriages are in severe decline. the causes are PTSD issues as well as just the separation from their spouses are too much to bear. Veterans feel lonely and are more reclusive then most, therefore they seek for companionship online and get targeted by police usually on adult websites. I have talked to many veterans in prison and a good 70% fit this scenario. And, most of these men have never touched a child in their life, but are accused of attempting to do so (through an adult website).
In the state of Florida, If you are accused of a sex offense you are automatically guilty. This is true in the eyes of a Judge and yes the Jury too. The Judge will turn down every motion, leaving the jury to the interpretation of the crime by the Prosecuting Attorney. The Defense Attorneys just let it happen. I was accused of a non-traveling crime of which I walked away from, and still received one of the highest sentences for a computer only crime (Unlawful use of a computer Service..) in the State of Florida, because the Judge wanted to make an example of me due to my military status. I received 7 years prison and 8 years of sex offender probation, and a lifetime on the registry, for communicating with an undercover officer on an Adult website and decided not to travel because the cop changed the age. I held a security clearance and never committed a crime.
In conclusion, I believe that the reasoning for the rate of SO veterans in prison are relationship issues caused by their Honorable service to this country, and that they are targeted by law enforcement because they are trophies. The courts don’t care. Both The courts and law enforcement violate Veterans Constitutional rights and break the law to get their trophies. I am a veteran, and I swore an oath to defend the constitution from enemies foreign and domestic. Well folks, law enforcement and the courts are domestic and don’t care about the constitution when it comes to being accused of a sex offense. For most veterans in prison treated as I have been, they are the enemy and feel they must do something about it
I am also one of those veterans that was incarcerated. 15 years Air Force, two tours to Afghanistan (one with the army one with the marines) and one tour to Iraq (with the army).
Mine charge was a nonviolent charge. I believe that mine stemmed from a combination of PTSD(survivors guilt) and depression. I lost four teammates in a car bomb that I should have been driving in. I had started drining heavily, and then just stopped caring. I don’t know how I stumbled upon it, but I did. And it made me feel….something, disgust, anger, I don’t know. But I kept doing it. Then, I started to hate myself for it, among other things. And I put a gun to my head and pulled the trigger. Thankfully it didn’t fire. But I continued to download, consistently deleting saying I wildness do it anymore, but then continued. Until I had had enough and tried to seek help through mental help. But it was too late, two weeks later I was arrested and incarcerated. 7 years, with 3 years probation, which luckily I was able to early terminate.
What I am trying to say here, is that even though the crime was sexual in nature, not everyone’s motives are sexually based. Some people just need help.
This is very true story. I committed my offense right after returning from a 15 month long deployment in Iraq. From Sept 2005 to April 2009, I spent only 10 months in the US….to make it worse….when I was put in jail, they told me that because my offense was sexual in nature, I couldn’t be placed in the veterans jail wing. This is not an excuse to commit this kind of crime, however, there were many factors that lead me to this point. And yes, PTSD is at the top of the list, and like I said before, no one who has not been in combat would ever fully understand the ramifications of being exposed to this kind of environment. It just sucks, truly damn sucks.