I really don't know what to think about this one

[JimmCapp]

I knew him as SFC Jones. He was my platoon Sergeant from 1985-88.

Executed March 18, 2003 by Lethal Injection by U.S. Government at Terre Haute, Indiana

 

He reminded me of a hellfire baptist preacher when he spoke and we were all impressed with the Airborne Ranger combat patch on his right shoulder, the gold combat jump star on jumpmaster wings from a combat record low altitude jump into Grenada and the pathfinder qualification badge on his breast pocket.

 

He went through Ranger school during winter (the worst time to go) and wore the inverted colored subdued ranger tab on his BDUs because of it. He was actually recycled through the class because of a stomach infection that caused him to have part of it surgically removed leaving him to be almost anorexically thin. No one questioned him when he sometimes wore his black Ranger PT uniform when leading PT instead of our infantry blue smurf suits.

 

Alot of my COHORTs didn't like the man, but I think we all respected him, he was very good at his job. One buddy of mine was caught smiling by General Carpenter in Panama when the amphibious landing craft we were riding in hit a big wave and lurched caused him to smack his head on the steel bulkhead and get a concussion.

 

From the link provided by another army buddy who is now a Lieutenant Colonel in the special forces I found out about this, and it blew my mind, I never would have thought he could do something like this. I guess civilian life didn't work well for the man after he retired with 22 years of service. There was discussion about Gulf war syndrome from exposure to Saron nerve gas, experimental pills given the troops as an antidote and the insect repellant but I think other factors played a bigger part in it. A 3rd failed marriage, D average in college, and jobs that ranged from delivering newspapers, fast food service and driving a bus must have been a huge blow to his ego, but there is nothing that could excuse what he did the day that ended the life of a young girl and condemned him to death.

[Steve B.]

Wow. That's sad on a number of levels. It really makes you wonder what went wrong.

[Jim Baker]

It makes me think about people who ask me, "What do they look like"? I never quite figured that one out.

 

Well, this is what they look like and they are all sad stories.

[Jim Baker]

Summary:

Jones drove onto the Goodfellow Air Force Base in San Angelo, Texas and shortly after 9 pm on February 18, 1995 kidnapped Private Tracie Joy McBride at gunpoint from a laundry room, where she was chatting on the phone with a friend from Minnesota. He brought her to his house and sexually assaulted her. Thereafter, he drove Private McBride to a bridge just outside of San Angelo, where he repeatedly struck her in the head with a tire iron until she died. Petitioner administered blows of such severe force that, when the victim’s body was found, the medical examiners observed that large pieces of her skull had been driven into her cranial cavity or were missing. The next morning, military officials phoned Tracie's parents to say Tracie was missing. Two people had seen a man abduct her the night before. When one man tried to follow, Jones assaulted him, that man later testified. Nearly two weeks after the assault, Jones confessed to killing Tracie and led police to her body under a bridge about 27 miles from San Angelo. Jones admitted that he had sexually assaulted and beaten her to death with a tire iron.

 

Jones served a total of 22 years in the Army as an airborne ranger, had combat duty in Grenada and the Gulf War, and retired as a Master Sergeant. His defense and appeals claimed post-traumatic stress and Gulf War Syndrome from exposure to nerve gas. The claims were rejected by the jury and later by appellate courts.

 

 

Citations:

 

Jones v. United States, 119 S.Ct. 2090 (1999) (Direct Appeal).

 

Final Meal:

Whole fruit: nectarines, peaches and plums.

 

Final Words:

Jones looked toward the witness room and mouthed the words "I love you." Asked if he had a last statement, Jones said: "Although the Lord hath chastised me forth, he hath not given me over unto death." He then began singing a hymn with the refrain: "In the cross, in the cross, be my glory ever 'til my raptured soul shall find rest beyond the river." (From the hymn "Jesus Keep Me Near the Cross.")

[shrapneldude]

Very sad indeed, for the family of the young woman slain. I like to think that a soldier with such an impressive background would be beyond such an act, or that there was something else behind it, but facing the facts of the case, it's difficult to have much sympathy.

 

Regardless of what a soldier or Marine experiences in combat, it does not, and can not excuse taking an innocent life. It's sad he couldn't find peace with whatever was bothering him before he decided to rape and murder a young servicewoman.

 

Are there any published statistics anywhere on the number of prison inmates with combat or military experience? I'd read somewhere that Iraq veterans were going to prison for murder at an alarming rate, but haven't seen any solid numbers to confirm or disprove.

[JimmCapp]

I agree, I feel sorry for the girl's family and have a daughter the same age now. When he murdered the young airman, he hurt many more people who cared for her. I do believe that in the case of this crime the punishment fit, no matter what the circumstances or how he chose to live his life afterwards. It's just hard for me to believe that someone I had thought so highly of could or would do such a thing.

 

Those that have been in the service together share a bond of brotherhood.

Everyone processes experiences differently, but anyone who lives through the stress of combat has experienced something that few others who have not can really understand. I did not, and won't begin to think I do.

 

One other thing that wasn't mentioned was that he started his military career in the Marine Corps. I think he ended it as an instructor at Ranger School. I guess it's just that I had an impression of the man, his accomplishments and shared experiences that are at odds with what happened after I knew him.

[shrapneldude]

I guess it's just that I had an impression of the man, his accomplishments and shared experiences that are at odds with what happened after I knew him.

 

There are at least two Marines I served with, one even received a Purple Heart in Iraq, who have returned home and killed someone. One is serving a life sentence for kidnapping and murder, the other hasn't been tried yet but will likely do some serious time as well. Both Marines were exceptional caliber warriors, and men who still have my respect. Their crimes don't diminish my admiration for them, but at the same time, I have no sympathy for them. My only sympathy is for their victims' families.

 

What you have to remember is that a soldier or Marine's professional life is often much, much different than their personal life. A man can seem perfectly normal on the outside, but inside be tortured, anguished, and raging. It takes surprisingly little to turn a good person with a bad mind into a murderer. A lifetime of good is shattered in an instant with one unforgivable bad deed, and once a veteran chooses to do something bad, it doesn't matter how good a soldier he was, or how heroic he was under fire. There's nothing heroic or honorable about snuffing an innocent life out. This story is just sad all the way around.

 

He was still a fellow soldier of yours, and his crimes shouldn't diminish the respect you had for him as a soldier. You knew a better, honorable side of the man, and that's something most people who read this story won't have. Think of him that way.

[Teamski]

I remember that case. Always remember that there are people out there that were literally born without a conscience. I knew at least one guy in the service that would have matched his personality to a tee. Good workers without empathy....

 

-Ski

[Jim Baker]

I deal with some of these guys everyday. You have to be aware of who you are dealing with and what their capabilities are.

 

Empathy is an interesting concept. I remember one old VN vet that was doing time for a murder. He told me he had no empathy for anyone while he was in VN. It enabled him to kill without conscience and to survive mentally. He said the problem was he forgot to turn it back on when he came home. He concluded by saying that same lack of empathy served him well in prison.

 

In terms of dealing with guys like these (that you knew and served with) and then seeing something like this happen, it's hard to deal with. Guys in law enforcement see it to often. Guys and gals you serve with flip, or commit crimes. Often for no logical reason or no gain of any kind. If I ever figure it out I'll write a book.

[Manchu Warrior]

If this man, he no longer deserves to be called a soldier or for that matter a man, murdered someone in a barroom brawl or in some kind of man on man situation or if it was some sort of self defense I might have empathy for him. However, the man kidnapped raped and murdered a young lady who did absolutely nothing to him but have the unfortunate happenstance to cross paths with this piece of garbage. May he burn in hell and I hope his victims are the ones there chucking the logs onto the fire.

[1944]

Its very sad to see when someone takes an innocent young girls life like that he had no right to rape her and kidnap her and murdered her

i don't feel one bit sorry for scumbags like that no matter who they are, Or what they are, or what colour they are,

Any one that does something like that to an innocent young girl should Burn In Hell and pay the price for what they have done...

[willysmb44]

If this man, he no longer deserves to be called a soldier or for that matter a man, murdered someone in a barroom brawl or in some kind of man on man situation or if it was some sort of self defense I might have empathy for him. However, the man kidnapped raped and murdered a young lady who did absolutely nothing to him but have the unfortunate happenstance to cross paths with this piece of garbage. May he burn in hell and I hope his victims are the ones there chucking the logs onto the fire.

I agree. I’ve noticed the pendulum has swung from being anti-soldier in the country from the Vietnam era, all the way to the opposite to where many people feel that prior service gives you an excuse for all kinds of behaviors. I encountered a drunk soldier at a restaurant a few months ago and people were saying, “just let him be, the man is in the Army.” A employee of the place, a giant of a man, went over to him and made it darned clear that his behavior wouldn’t be tolerated and having served isn’t “a license to be a jerk whenever you want.” I applauded, as did a few others with tight haircuts who were probably current or former Army as well.

I served with people who were good soldiers, but were total wastes of genetic material otherwise. I’m sure none of them ever did anything constructive after they got out of the uniform for the last time.

I don’t think there were too many psychos that were WW2 vets, but maybe they swept them under the rug. But we not live in a “it’s not my fault” culture. You should be accountable for your actions, plain and simple.

[JimmCapp]

I definately don't condone or excuse what he did and, like I said, I think he got what he deserved. There are many other soldiers that I served with that went on to have very successful military careers and others that did their time and went on to live normal lives. I don't really think though that those who have some difficulty adjusting or go on to do loathesome things after experiencing combat is something that is new and that it didn't happen with WW2 vets is unlikely. I think back then that some bad behavior was even more tolerated than today, rape and public drunkenness among them. Also there is more counciling available to returning soldiers than was available in the past. The soldiers of WWII, especially those that experienced the de-humanizing combat in the Pacific theatre just had to live with their nightmares. Some committed suicide or committed murder, like the the drunken paratrooper who shot one of his fellows in the "Band of Brothers" series.

 

Another good friend that I served with was murdered just this last summer in Pennsylvania by some psycho who killed him to steal his rifle at a gun range. This wanna-be militiaman was stockpiling weapons to overthrow the government and I hope he gets the chair for it, I would personally like to be there to pull the switch.

[Clayton]

Very sad and tragic story.

[js584]

Very sad story, for the victim that is. I have worked in a maximim security prison for 16 yrs and have come across numerous veterans. Navy seals, green berets, rangers, I'm suspicous of their claims until they show me pictures. We had one guy doing life and still collecting his pension, that kinda irks me. One thing they all seem to have in common is that PTSD excuse. I work with alot of combat vets and when the inmate starts using that excuse for their crimes they get really really mad.

 

Coming across one of these guys is very conflicting for me. I was raised to have and show deep respect for veterans but in the environment I work in I can't go there.

 

JimmCapp- I am sorry for the loss of your friend as you knew him, but infinitely more sorry for his victim and her family.