March 9, 2013
Dear Lt. General Franklin;
Allow me to get straight to the point General Franklin, there are
hundreds of millions of American citizens who are furious with your action regarding Lt. Colonel James Wilkerson. I am one of those Americans. I am an honorably discharged veteran of 8 years in the Air Force. What you did, in dismissing the case of a legally convicted officer, was morally reprehensible. What made your decision worse, was that you did not have the courage to explain why you totally ignored a legal military jury. You said there was insufficient evidence to convict the Colonel beyond a reasonable doubt, when all the officers in the jury said there was. General Franklin, by your one action, you have turned the entire military justice system into a dirty joke.
You basically told the members of the court that they totally wasted their time, and taxpayer money.
All America is cognizant of the fact that the Uniform Code of Military Justice gives you the authority to take that action. However, as a former member of the Armed Forces, I join my fellow citizens, and I would think that a sense of morality and military honor would demand that you honor the entire Courts Martial procedure. I for one now demand that you fully and clearly explain how an officer with absolutely no legal background, can create such a miscarriage of justice, thereby telling all females who are connected with the military, that there is never going to be justice if they are sexually assaulted, because the military doesn’t give a damn.
General Franklin, you have made a mockery of everything I, and hundreds of millions of patriotic Americans hold sacred. That a guilty defendant can go free, because you alone decided it. I now challenge you to publicly explain to the country that you supposedly love, and honor your oath of office by telling me and everyone why you dismissed the conviction.
You may reply via my email address, which is [email redacted].
I am going to give it my fervent effort, to get that part of the U.C.M.J. changed, so that this atrocity that you created, doesn’t happen ever again. I have sent this letter to my two United States Senators and my Representative, and the Stars and Stripes newspaper.
Sincerely,
Patrick Greene
[Address redacted]