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Soldier's Murder at Ft. Campbell is Subject of Jokes Lenient 2nd Verdict Makes Farce of Military Justice |
Rather than allowing the U.S. Army to sweep gross mismanagement into an unnoticed corner, the SLDN is actively pursuing justice in the immediate wake of Private First Class Barry Winchell's murder. In the meantime, anti-gay harassment at Ft. Campbell is reported to be continuing unabated. SLDN proposes a two-step correctional approach.
Resignation of Major General Clarke Barry Winchell was harassed daily for more than 4 months prior to being murdered. Soldiers report that anti-gay harassment has continued in force at Fort Campbell even after Winchell's murder. In some cases, soldiers have even mocked Winchell's murder, making references to "faggots" and baseball bats, as a way to intimidate others. Soldiers have left Ft. Campbell recently (SLDN has assisted 2 soldiers) because they feared for their safety due to the continuing harassment at the base. SLDN has asked the Army and Department of Defense to take steps to stop the harassment, but nothing has been done. Major General Clarke is the commander responsible for setting this command climate. Had he set the proper command climate, PFC Winchell might be alive today. Other soldiers would not have been forced to leave or face potential violence against them. Major General Clarke is the commander responsible for the lack of supervision, lack of leadership and excessive drinking in the barracks that, with anti-gay harassment, created the conditions in which Private Calvin Glover could murder PFC Winchell. Lenient Plea Agreement Major General Clarke is the commander responsible for granting a lenient plea agreement to SPC Fisher that does not hold him accountable for his role in goading PVT Glover to attack Barry Winchell. The plea agreement is a travesty. PFC Winchell faced 4 months of rumors, verbal gay-bashing and even being assaulted by SPC Fisher. On one occasion, SPC Fisher assaulted Winchell with a dust pan, opening a wound that required Winchell to receive stitches and that spattered blood on their barracks room door, which Fisher left as a "reminder." Instead of stopping the harassment, unit leaders launched an illegal investigation into Winchell's sexual orientation and directly questioned him about his sexual orientation.
On Monday, SPC Fisher was sentenced to 12.5 years in prison for his role in PFC Winchell's murder. SPC Fisher plead guilty to two counts of obstructing justice (including washing blood off the murder weapon), three counts of false swearing and providing alcohol to a minor. The maximum sentence for these charges is 20 years in prison. The military judge, Colonel Pangburn, sentenced SPF Fisher to 14 years, but the sentence was capped at 12.5 years by the plea bargain agreement. SPC Fisher originally faced additional charges including being a principal to premeditated murder by allegedly encouraging PVT Glover, to strike Winchell and acting as an accessory after the fact. In exchange for pleading guilty to the lesser charges against him, SPC Fisher agreed to testify against Glover, who was convicted on December 9, 1999, of premeditated murder for beating PFC Winchell to death with a baseball bat while Winchell slept on a cot outside his room. PVT Glover is currently serving a sentence of life in prison with a possibility of parole in 10 years. What You Can Do to Help: Ask President Clinton, the Secretary of Defense, the Secretary of the Army and the Army Chief of Staff for Major General Clark's resignation because he allowed an anti-gay climate to grow unchecked at the base and tell them that you are concerned that a soldier who was heavily involved in a brutal murder got such a lenient sentence. President William Jefferson Clinton 1600 Pennsylvania Ave Washington DC 20500 Call: 202.456.1111 Fax: 202.456.2461 E-mail: president@whitehouse.gov The Honorable William S. Cohen Secretary of Defense 1000 Defense Pentagon Washington DC 20301-1000 Call: 703.695.5261 Fax: 703.695.1219 The Honorable Louis Caldera Secretary of the Army 101 Army Pentagon Washington DC 20310-0101 Call: 703.695.3211 Fax: 703.697.8036 General Eric K. Shinseki Army Chief of Staff 200 Army Pentagon Washington DC 20301-0200 Call: 703.695.2077 Fax: 703.693.6290 Comment via the Army's web site: www.dtic.mil/armylink/comment.html www.defenselink.mil/faq/comment.html |
According to testimony at PVT Glover's court-martial, Fisher played a primary role in Barry's murder including: giving PVT Glover the baseball bat; washing the blood off the bat; planning how to cover up the crime; being the primary soldier who taunted Barry about being gay and spread rumors about Barry; and prompting PVT Glover to kill Barry.
