Court Martial Lawyer – Court martial of soldier wrapping up
CBC News
Was it self defence or a game of quick draw?
The case of a Nova Scotia soldier charged with shooting a comrade to death in Afghanistan two years ago is wrapping up in Sydney, N.S., with jurors hearing two very different versions of what happened.
The prosecution and defence presented their closing arguments Tuesday at the court martial of Cpl. Matthew Wilcox.
Wilcox, 24, a reservist from Glace Bay, N.S., has testified he feared for his life when he heard a trigger being pulled and fired his gun instinctively on March 6, 2007.
He said it was only when he saw the body on the ground that he realized it was Cpl. Kevin Megeney, his friend and tentmate at the Kandahar airbase.
Prosecutor Maj. Jason Samson told the four-person military jury that Wilcox’s claim of self-defence is not credible and that both soldiers were playing a game of quick draw.
He said Wilcox knew that soldiers have, on occasion, pointed weapons at each other and should have taken the time to see who had the gun.
Instead, Samson said, Wilcox fired a “wild, unaimed” shot that killed Megeney.
Wilcox’s lawyer, Lt. Col. Troy Sweet, told the court that the prosecution has the story wrong.
“My job is to punch holes in the prosecution case beyond a reasonable doubt. This isn’t a case of a quick draw. It’s a case of self defence. And it always was,” he said.
Sweet said soldiers are trained to never point a gun at anyone and to always consider a gun pointed at them to be loaded. He noted that the shooting happened in a war zone, where soldiers are always on high alert.
“How comfortable would you be with someone pointing a gun at you?” he asked the jurors.
Sweet said Wilcox only took the stand because he felt all of the facts weren’t coming out in the prosecution’s case and he wanted to set the record straight.
Wilcox has pleaded not guilty to charges of manslaughter, criminal negligence causing death and negligent performance of a military duty.
A verdict is expected later this week.
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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