Court Martial Lawyer – US Soldier convicted in beating death

Court Martial Lawyer – US Soldier convicted in beating death

BERLIN (AP) — A U.S. soldier has been found guilty of participating in gang initiation rituals that caused the beating death of another soldier near a base in Germany.

Pvt. Bobby D. Morrissette was also convicted on charges of impeding an investigation, impeding a trial by court martial and willfully disobeying a superior commissioned officer, the military said in a statement Thursday. He was sentenced to 42 months in confinement and a bad conduct discharge.

The charges relate to the beating death of Sgt. Juwan Johnson, of Baltimore, on July 4, 2005, at a park pavilion in Kaiserslautern, where U.S. forces have a base.

The Army released no further details on the incident, but at the trial of others involved in the case witnesses testified that at least six members of the Gangster Disciples gang beat Johnson during a gang initiation ritual.

Johnson’s mother, Stephanie Cockrell, told The Associated Press in 2005 that she had spoken to her son the day before his death and he told her he was coming home in two weeks after completing an 18-month tour of duty in Iraq.

“I slept a little easier knowing he was out of Iraq and coming home soon,” she said at the time.
Morrissette is assigned to the 1st Cargo Transfer Company, 18th Combat Sustainment Support Battalion, in Grafenwoehr, Germany.

He was also found guilty of committing an indecent act on a female in the presence of another person and wrongful use of a controlled substance, both stemming from separate incidents.

A representative for the U.S. military could not be reached for comment.

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, Italy, Iraq, Kuwait, Korea, Okinawa, Japan, Yokota, and throughout the United States. military-defense-lawyer-recentcases.htm.