PTSD on Trial:Iraq veteran sentenced to state hospital

Jamie Francis, The Oregonian
In Grant County Circuit Court in Canyon City, three miles from the murder scene in John Day, Iraq war veteran Jessie Bratcher (center) and his attorney, Markku Sario (left), listen during sentencing for Bratcher's murder conviction.

Iraq veteran sentenced to state hospital in PTSD murder case
By Julie Sullivan, The Oregonian
December 07, 2009, 10:33PM
CANYON CITY -- One of the first Iraq veterans in the U.S. -- and the first in Oregon -- to successfully claim post-traumatic stress disorder as a defense for murder was sentenced to the Oregon State Hospital on Monday instead of a nationally recognized veterans treatment center.

Judge William D. Cramer Jr. placed Jessie Bratcher, 27, under the supervision of the Oregon Psychiatric Security Review Board for life. He recommended that the board consider sending the Iraq veteran to a special Los Angeles facility, but not before making its own evaluation.

Bratcher was facing 25 years in prison for the 2008 murder of Jose Ceja Medina when a Grant County jury found him guilty but insane due to PTSD in October. The former Oregon Army National Guard soldier was being treated and compensated for disabilities from his service in Iraq, mostly for PTSD, when he shot an unarmed man during a war flashback.

The case is at the leading edge of courts considering war experience as a mitigating factor. Last week, the U.S Supreme Court ruled that, in death penalty cases involving veterans, lawyers must present evidence of PTSD from military service.

"That was a huge step, coming from the Supreme Court," said National Veterans Foundation President Shad Meshad. "But it's just one step. We're going to have one of these PTSD cases after another, and the question for the military and the Department of Defense is, 'How do we prevent it, and how do we deal with it once it's there?'"
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http://www.oregonlive.com/news/index.ssf/2009/12/post_34.html

Protocol may change on condolence letters to families of troops after suicide

Military condolence letter review to conclude 'shortly'
By Elaine Quijano, CNN
December 10, 2009 4:56 p.m. EST

STORY HIGHLIGHTS
Protocol dates to Clinton administration; some families think it needs to be changed
Father, mother of soldier who committed suicide in Iraq are among them
Lack of letter leaves feeling that family "somehow [made] less of a sacrifice," father says

Washington (CNN) -- The White House says its review of a long-standing policy not to send condolence letters to the families of military suicide victims should "hopefully" conclude "shortly."

White House press secretary Robert Gibbs said the president himself asked for the review, with Gibbs telling reporters at the White House briefing on Wednesday, "If the president didn't care, the policy would remain unchanged and unexamined."

The protocol dates as far back as the Clinton administration. But now, some military families, including the Keesling family of Indiana, believe the policy needs to be changed.

In June, 25-year-old Army Spc. Chancellor Keesling shot and killed himself in Iraq. His parents, Gregg and Jannett, eventually set up a memorial wall in their home, leaving space for what they thought would be a condolence letter from the commander in chief.
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http://www.cnn.com/2009/POLITICS/12/10/condolence.letters/

No warnings before teen's suicide, his parents say

No warnings before teen's suicide, his parents say


By Andrew Meacham, Times Staff Writer
In Print: Wednesday, December 9, 2009
TAMPA — In his short life, Lawrence Guilford won hearts with his smile and positive outlook. As a child, he welcomed conversation with adults. As he grew into a handsome, pleasant young man, those same adults plugged him into their matchmaking speculations, trying to decide which young lady would best suit him.

He grew up in Tampa, the only child of a businessman and a dance teacher. Some other things we know about Mr. Guilford:
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No warnings before teens suicide, his parents say

Florida veteran will bike 300 miles to help others recover

Spring Hill veteran will bike 300 miles to help others recover
By Beth N. Gray, Times Correspondent
In Print: Friday, December 11, 2009


SPRING HILL — Living up to the military axiom that you never leave a comrade behind, Mike Runyan will take on an arduous trek this weekend to help wounded warriors.

The 60-year-old from Spring Hill will mount his Trek 2.3 model bicycle at MacDill Air Force Base in Tampa on Saturday and pedal more than 300 miles to Jacksonville over six days in the first Florida Challenge ride.

The event, which will take the riders on Saturday and Sunday through Pasco and Hernando counties, is part of a national effort, Ride 2 Recovery. The 2-year-old foundation launched in California raises money to aid rehabilitation for the military's wounded.

One of the rehabilitation efforts provides specially built bicycles for veterans who have lost a leg or the use of their legs, Runyan said.
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Spring Hill veteran will bike 300 miles to help others recover

Lejeune Marine charged in Florida shooting death

Lejeune Marine charged in Florida shooting death

December 10, 2009 8:55 PM
LINDELL KAY and ANIESA HOLMES
A Camp Lejeune Marine was charged Thursday in the November shooting death of a 34-year-old Daytona Beach man.

Montario Litron Royals, 22, was transferred from the Camp Lejeune brig Thursday and turned over to the Onslow County Sheriff's Department. He is being held in the county jail with no bond on a fugitive warrant from Florida, said Sheriff Ed Brown.

Royals and two other men are accused of shooting and stabbing 34-year-old James Tolbert outside his Baldwin Lane apartment Nov. 27 at about 1:30 p.m.

Malvin Fluker, 25, of Daytona Beach, and Shane Burns, 21, of Homerville, Ga., have also been taken into custody, according to a press release from the Daytona Beach Police Department.
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http://www.jdnews.com/news/onslow-70692-arrested-authorities.html