AP: U.S. Marine Convicted in Philippines

[Eugene]

U.S. Marine Convicted in Philippines


Monday December 4, 2006 12:01 PM

AP Photo XAF102

By TERESA CEROJANO

Associated Press Writer

MANILA, Philippines (AP) - A U.S. Marine was convicted Monday of raping
a Filipino woman and sentenced to 40 years in prison, ending an emotional
trial that has strained U.S.-Philippine ties and tested a joint military
pact.

Three other Marines and their Filipino driver were acquitted of complicity.

Lance Cpl. Daniel Smith, 21, from St. Louis, was the first American soldier
convicted of wrongdoing in the Philippines since the country shut down U.S.
bases here the early 1990s. His lawyer, Ricardo Diaz, said he would appeal.

Staff Sgt. Chad Carpentier, Lance Cpl. Keith Silkwood and Lance Cpl. Dominic
Duplantis, who had been accused of cheering Smith on, were freed.

-snip-

Full article: http://www.guardian.co.uk/worldlatest/story/0,,-6257647,00.html

[Bentcorner]

1. Any chance he got a fair trial? It was my experience

in the Philippines that if you were an American GI and you were tried in a Philippine court, you were guaranteed a guilty verdict. Not so say that he didn't do what he was charged with. It's just that a defendant's guilt or innocence matters not if they are an American GI and tried in the PI.

[philosophie_en_rose]

2. Yes.

And you're wrong.

[Bentcorner]

3. Really? Please share how my experience

in the Philippines was different then what I stated.

[philosophie_en_rose]

4. Really? Please share how your prejudice changes reality.

Think about it.

This is the FIRST GI in more than a decade to be convicted of ANYTHING! And the men that cheered this rapist on got NOTHING!

How in the world does that exhibit an anti-US bias in the Filipino justice system. If anything, the Filipino government is lax on crimes against women and children. Look at the language from the courts in this case. The GI is only guilty, because the victim fought back.

Your assumptions are insanely racist.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/16031750/

[Bentcorner]

6. Could it be the first G.I. convicted of a crime in the PI because

there haven't been GI's stationed in the PI in over a decade?

I just asked if anyone knows whether he received a fair trial. Perhaps things have changed greatly since I was there. I doubt it, but maybe they have changed.

I actually had some first hand experience with the Philippine justice system. I was in the Air Force and stationed at Clark Air Base. I along with a couple of friends one weekend were driving back from an aborted scuba diving trip. A car traveling in the opposite direction attempting to pass the car in front of him entered my lane and hit us head on. The other driver got out of his car and immediately fled the scene. When the Philippine police arrived, they immediately placed me under arrest. Even though there were Filipino witnesses there that told the police that I wasn't at fault. It was the other guy. The guy that left. I was still arrested at gun point and hauled away. The Navy Shore Patrol showed up and took me into custody from the PI cops. If anything, they treated me even worse. I was shoved in the back of a paddy wagon and hauled to Subic. It was the closest US facility. They then placed me in the brig. I was later released to my supervisor, but I was placed on International Hold. I was not allowed to leave the PI. The whole thing lasted only a week. By then they had found the guy that caused the accident and it was discovered he was from Taiwan. He wasn't Filipino. All charges against me were dropped. Not because evidence or the law, but because the other guy was from Taiwan.

Ask anyone that was stationed there about the Philippine justice system. If they don't have a first hand story to tell, I'm sure they know somebody that does.

I'm not insane or racist. I just believe that American G.I.'s deserve fair trials.

[rmgarrette64]

10. I'm from the Phillipines

I moved to the U.S. 12 years ago, so it is certainly possible things have changed. My father worked at Clark AFB, which also gives me a slightly biased view here. However, I have to give some credence to Bentcorner's views here. There are many people there who like the American military and the people. But there are just as many who can't stand them. I imagine it is just as easy to wind up interacting with one group as the other.

Of course, as this case reminds us, the U.S. military has bad as well as good people in it. My own experience with the military was largely good, I found the soldiers always polite and pleasant to deal with. But obviously there are some bad people among them as well. I have no idea what the trial was like in this case, though.

R. Garrett

[oblivious]

11. From 1981 to 1988, out of min. 82 cases of rape by US soldiers, every single one was dismissed.

"From 1981 to 1988, when the SOFA was included in the RP-US Military Bases Agreement, at least 82 cases of sexual abuse of women by American soldiers were recorded, but all complaints were dismissed, Manuel said."

http://newsinfo.inq7.net/breakingnews/nation/view_article.php?article_id=36151

[Bentcorner]

13. "complaints were dismissed" was a fancy way of saying

somebody was paid off. Sometimes it was to the accuser. Often times it was to the judge. Bribery was very common there. The whole legal system is screwed up there. At least it was when I was there. If a Philippine citizen accused an American G.I. of anything, the G.I. was placed on International Hold and they could not leave the country. Your military ID card was stamped with a big "IH" across the front and it remained that way until charges against you were straightened out. It was a scary prospect to have it happen to you. You felt like a hostage. While I was there a guy's mother died back in the states and he could not leave to go home for the funeral. He was being sued by a Philippine citizen for some stupid reason.

I'm not saying that the Marine convicted of rape didn't do it. I just have to wonder if he really had a fair trial. I was there from 1985 to 1988 and I saw some horrendous things happen to American G.I.'s.

[oblivious]

14. Yes, that's what I understand too.

[newyawker99]

12. Hi Bentcorner!!

Welcome to DU!! :toast:

[nebula]

5. Damn, 40 years is pretty harsh

No matter what country it is. Practically a life sentence for that kid.


OTOH, its amazing how anyone in the Phillipines would resort to rape to satisfy their sexual urges. Considering how the sex trade is such a large industry and the wide availability of prostitutes in that country.

[Maine-ah]

7. rape isn't about the sex.

it's about the violence and control. 40 years a long time for raping someone? Na, I don't think so. The woman he raped has a life sentence of dealing with what he did to her.

[Bentcorner]

8. Was there any proof that there was force

or was it that the Marine could not prove there was consent?

[Maine-ah]

9. according to the article

she was seriously drunk, and he carried her to a van.

``He was the one who was on top of the complainant, who resisted his kisses, pushed him and fought him back until she lost consciousness because of alcoholic drinks she had taken,'' said the decision by Judge Benjamin Pozon of the Makati Regional Trial Court. A court employee read the decision live on national television.

sounds like rape to me..

[oblivious]

15. Philippines used to give the death sentence for rape, as far as I know.

[oblivious]

16. My prediction: He will be transferred to the US under the VFA and let go quietly.

The evidence was pretty overwhelming that he was guilty, but I never imagined he would be convicted, especially given the extreme bias against Nicole shown by the Philippines Dept of Justice.

The Justice Secretary said he didn't believe her, and said he only charged the three others because "he felt compelled to bow to mob rule." And the Senior State Prosecutor called Nicole and her family "ingrates and liars."

In Nicole's words, "the secretary of justice has even repeatedly defended my rapists".

This works out well for the PI and US governments. The VFA was on trial, and now it is out of the spotlight. They transfer Smith back to the US and let him go. US troops remain in PI, ostensibly hunting 80 Al-qaeda linked terrorists, and the VFA remains intact.

Courtroom video:
http://www.rawstory.com/news/2006/Philippines_convicts_US_Marine_for_rape_1204.html