Air Force failed three times to stop Texas church shooter from purchasing guns: report

[DonViejo]

Source: The Hill



BY JULIA MANCHESTER - 11/10/17 09:31 AM EST

The Air Force missed three opportunities to prevent Texas church shooter Devin Kelley from purchasing firearms in recent years, according to a report from Reuters.

The military branch missed two opportunities to stop Kelley from buying guns after he was accused of violence in 2012, according to officials and military documents obtained by the publication.

Kelley had been court-martialed in 2012 for assaulting his wife and stepson, including cracking the infant's skull. Authorities also missed a third chance to put an alert on Kelly when a Pentagon probe of cases did not include him.

The report comes after the Air Force revealed on Monday it had failed to enter Kelly's domestic violence conviction in a federal database used for background checks on gun sales.





Read more: http://thehill.com/policy/defense/359766-air-force-failed-three-times-to-stop-texas-church-shooter-from-purchasing-guns

[Ray Bruns]

1. I think a lot of people misunderstand the Military "Justice" System.

The military justice system is there to enforce discipline in the ranks, not to ensure justice. If Kelley had attacked his commanding officer, he would have done 20 years in a military prison. This would have been related to maintaining discipline in the ranks.

Attack your wife and stepson. Offer a plea deal to get him out of the Air Force and make him someone else problem. Then the Air force doesn't have to spend time and resources dealing with him.

While I am calling out the Air force in this example, It applies equally across all the services.

[exboyfil]

2. If that is the case

then these cases should be referred to the civilian courts. They rushed the Texas shooter of the college student out of the Marines and into civilian justice. If it is on federal land (a base) can't it be handled through the civil federal court system as well.

[Kaleva]

9. He got about the average sentence for a serious domestic violence charge

He received a year .

"By contrast, the average term of imprisonment for a domestic violence offender convicted of recklessly causing grievous bodily harm is 12.6 months."

http://www.bocsar.nsw.gov.au/Pages/bocsar_media_releases/2010/bocsar_mr_bb48.aspx

[bluestarone]

3. and

what other instances are out there that we'll hear about in the future? and what about the Army Navy? will we hear more later?

[dlk]

4. Isn't the Military the Ultimate Good Old Boys Network?

[not fooled]

5. And takling action

to prevent access to firearms? Probably not high on their list of priorities, if not something they tacitly don't want to enforce.

[The_Casual_Observer]

6. "We goofed!" yeah, ha ha ha, we're investigating it so don't ask any questions.

Right, they will be investigating it until it's been forgotten. The head guy at the air force should be fired.

[Delmette2.0]

7. Does it seem like some of the military is becoming incompetent?

There has been two Navy ships colliding with merchant ships both with casualties; a Navy bribery scandal; now the Air Force that can't or won't add names of domestic violence offenders to a national (civilian) database. What else is being hidden from us?
What else have I missed?

[TomSlick]

8. Between active and reserve duty, I served not quite thirty years in the Army JAG Corps.

During that time I served as both a trial counsel (prosecutor) and an appellate defense counsel. The court-martial system has some differences from civilian trials but in many ways, it provides more rights to the accused than a civilian court. I will admit to seeing results in courts-martial that I thought incorrect. I have also seen results in civilian trials that I thought incorrect.

As someone who has practiced law in both civilian courts and courts-martial, I can assure DU that the military justice system really does result in a full and fair trials and appeals. It is at least as fundamentally fair as US civilian courts.

The US military is not a "good ole boys" institution. It consists primarily of men and woman who seek nothing more than to serve their country.