Fort Lewis soldier sentenced to 20 years in prison

[Newsjock]

http://theolympian.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050610/NEWS/50610002

TACOMA, Wash. - A Fort Lewis soldier hung his head and wept when he stood before a judge and was sentenced to 20 years in prison for being convicted of first-degree murder for drowning his wife in a bathtub.

"She was my best friend," Sgt. James Kevin Pitts told Pierce County Superior Court Judge Frederick Fleming on Thursday at his sentencing hearing. "I had the picture-perfect family."

In a sometimes rambling monologue, Pitts said "I wish I was dead" in saying how sorry he was for killing his wife, Tara Pitts, 28, only weeks after he returned from a year-long deployment in Iraq.

Pitts, 32, of Sheffield Lake, Ohio, was found guilty by a jury last month for the drowning of his wife in their Lakewood apartment in April 2004.

more

[shraby]

1. He won't be the last one sentenced for

killing family members or others...unfortunately.

[whatever4]

3. Ain't that the truth

What this admin has done to our military is nothing short of shattering, and when I look at the big picture, which includes DU, it still leaves me numb. I'm wondering what small number of Iraq, and probably Afgan veterans as well, will be physically and emotionally healthy in the next few years. How many will be left standing? I read weeks ago that we've reached Vietnam levels of violence and how many lives are lost each day. And...will they be spit on when they return? It almost seems like the military itself was set up for a fall, doesn't it? Used and abused.

If I remember correctly, we've circulated a million soldiers through Iraq.

[Raster]

6. Welcome to DU, whatever4!!!

Every time I hear an inference that this administration is pro-military or service-friendly, I want to puke. They've done nothing but cut benefits and pay, decrease military support infrastructure, further endanger military families and crap on veterans. This neocon (HEAVY emphasis on the "con") administration has spit in the face of military men and women--past and present--with each turn they take. How anyone can *HONESTLY* perceive bushco* is pro-military is beyond me.

[nothingshocksmeanymore]

2. score another in the annals of irony for the pro-life Republicans

who brought you the war that brought this man post traumatic stress disorder..had him have an affair with a fellow member of the military which had his wife threaten him which had him kill her which cost him his freedom for the next decade (assuming he will get out early)


and so it goes...

[LibertyorDeath]

4. What a waste.... The cancer spreads

[acmavm]

5. WTF? She's dead forever and he gets 20 years? Elibible for parole

when?

<snip>
Defense lawyer Sverre Staurset said Pitts had taken responsibility because he notified Army officials on Fort Lewis that he'd killed his wife. Pitts also confessed the crime to detectives, Staurset said.
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I don't pity this guy. And he hasn't made amends just because he 'took responsibility' for killing someone because she was going to report another WRONG that he did?

Sorry, but a woman's life is still a cheap commodity in the country. Unless you're Lacy Peterson.

[Rose Siding]

7. PTSD is a mitigating circumstance

The deceased wasn't the only victim in this tragedy.

snip>
Staurset asked Fleming to sentence Pitts to the low end of the range, pointing out that psychological experts testified during Pitts' trial that the member of the 864th Engineer Battalion suffered from depression and symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder after returning from Iraq.

Pitts also had served his country well for 11 years and had no criminal history, Staurset said.

[acmavm]

10. "The deceased wasn't the only victim in this tragedy". Oh, I understand

that very well. But I also understand that he is still alive and has a chance, she is gone, forever, no more chances.

PTSD aside, I'm tired of dead women. No matter who, what, when, where, and why.

[crimson333]

8. I don't believe they give parole

20 years is what he will serve

[Name removed]

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