TRIBUNAL: CORPS WRONGLY CONVICTED MARINE BEHIND BARS FOR 6 YEARS
February 9, 2023Carl Prine
A Marine who’s been behind bars for nearly six years was wrongly convicted because of prosecutorial shenanigans and a string of snafus by two military judges, and he might soon be freed.
That’s what a tribunal at the US Navy Marine Corps Court of Criminal Appeals unanimously ruled on Jan. 26, setting the stage for the release of Lance Cpl. Guillermo Cabrera from the brig at Marine Corps Air Station Miramar in California.
At issue is whether a tainted trial should’ve sparked a second court-martial of Cabrera, where he was found guilty of sexually assaulting a fellow Marine while she slept. The judges determined the Corps violated Cabrera’s constitutional right to avoid double jeopardy — standing trial twice for the same offense — and his prosecution should be tossed out and never resurrected.
That means Cabrera’s reduction to private, ongoing confinement for seven years, and eventual dishonorable discharge will be reversed, unless the brass file and win an appeal before the Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces.
https://coffeeordie.com/marine-behind-bars/
