Court Martial Attorney - Soldier’s testimony at manslaughter trial ‘self-serving,’ court martial told
By Chris Shannon, Cape Breton PostJuly 28, 2009
The prosecution called Cpl. Matthew Wilcox’s testimony “evasive, contrived and self-serving” in a closing address Tuesday to a four-member military panel, and asked it to render a guilty verdict on all charges including the most serious, manslaughter.
Photograph by: File photo, Cape Breton PostSYDNEY, N.S. — The prosecution called Cpl. Matthew Wilcox’s testimony “evasive, contrived and self-serving” in a closing address Tuesday to a four-member military panel, and asked it to render a guilty verdict on all charges including the most serious, manslaughter.
Wilcox, 24, has pleaded not guilty to charges of manslaughter, criminal negligence causing death and negligent performance of duty in the March 6, 2007, shooting death of Cpl. Kevin Megeney in a tent on the Kandahar Airfield base in Afghanistan.
Megeney, from Stellarton, N.S., shared a tent with Wilcox. Wilcox has testified he considered Megeney his closest friend while on tour in Afghanistan.
During testimony Monday, Wilcox said that he could hear a Browning 9-mm pistol being cocked behind him in his tent while he was taking off his gear following a 12-hour shift at Kandahar Airfield’s main gate.
He glanced back to see the barrel of a pistol pointed at his back and his “instinctive reaction” was to fall back, ready his pistol and shoot. Within seconds Wilcox realized he had shot Megeney in the chest.
Prosecutor Maj. Jason Samson told the panel in his closing arguments that Wilcox had admitted to shooting Megeney and did so without assessing the situation first.
“A wild, unaimed shot is exactly what Cpl. Wilcox has admitted to,” he said.
Unlike the prosecution’s theory — it believes Wilcox and Megeney had been playing a game of “quick draw” with their pistols — Samson said the defence’s self-defence strategy is a “contrived fabrication that is not to be believed.”
Wilcox, who appeared visibly nervous during cross-examination, was described by Samson as “shifty” and “not truthful” in his testimony.
As defence lawyer Lt.-Col. Troy Sweet opened his address to the panel, he asked how its members would react to having a pistol pointed in their direction.
“If we always treat a weapon as loaded, how comfortable are you with a weapon pointed at you?”
Sweet said while soldiers are in a theatre of war, whether a soldier is on his own base or not, the “threat is constant.” He said Wilcox had reason to fear for his life at that point in time.
Military judge Cmdr. Peter Lamont will discuss how to frame his charge to the panel with both the prosecution and defence Wednesday, with the military panel returning Thursday for final instructions before deliberations.
If found guilty on either manslaughter or criminal negligence causing death, Wilcox could face a maximum sentence of life in prison. The charge of negligent performance of duty carries a maximum penalty of two years less a day.
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Michael Waddington is a court martial lawyer – court martial attorney that defends military personnel worldwide as well as deployed civilian contractors subject to the UCMJ. He defends Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine, Coast Guard, and civilian contractor court martial cases. He has successfully defended military personnel as a court martial lawyer Army Navy Marine & Air Force court martials in Germany, England, San Diego, Norfolk, Jacksonville, Fort Bragg, Fort Jackson, Fort Stewart, Fort Gordon, Italy, Iraq, Kuwait, Korea, Okinawa, Japan, Yokota, and throughout the United States. military-defense-lawyer-recentcases.htm.
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