TRAVESTY on The Thames. MISCARRIAGE of JUSTICE.
TRAVESTY ON THE THAMES. GROSS MISCARRIAGE OF JUSTICE.
If I were to write a letter to Admiral James van Sice, the Superintendent of the United States Coast Guard Academy, and the man who convened the court-martial that tried Cadet Webster Smith for a long list of sex crimes, this is what I would say:
I think a great travesty of justice has been committed. It appears that a gross miscarriage of justice has been done at the Coast Guard Academy. What I cannot figure out is was it done ignorantly or by design. How do you frame a man, rig a court-martial, and commit the greatest travesty in the history of the Academy in broad daylight with the whole world watching? With bravado, that’s how.
The first thing that you do is, you pick the lawyer for the accused. Then
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Labels: Cadet Webster Smith.
posted by ichbinalj at 9:07 AM
11 Comments:
To be attacked is not to be discredited. One man on the side of Truth is a majority. Let Justice be done though the Heavens fall. Some may think that to send a Black man to jail for six months is a reasonable conclusion to a sordid affair. I do not, particularly not when Justice is on the scaffold and Wrong is on the Throne. It is that Scaffold that sways the future. The moral arch of the universe is long but it bends towards the positive.
If this egregious travesty of justice is not made right soon, it will give the NAACP and the Justice Department all the reasons they need to come in and go over all of the Coast Guard's secret records and files. Who knows how many dirty little secrets will come to light now that Admiral James van Sice has let the Genie out of the bottle.
The Case of Webster Smith will not go away. It cannot be buried beneath the sea, encased in Vermount marble, volcanic lava and African ivory covered with athick layer of case hardened steel. The gross errors of law and procedure, the flagrant violations of the Uniform Code of Military Justice will be appealed and corrected.
There are voices in the national debate that are clamoring for women to take on more and higher positions in the Coast Guard command structure. The more female cadets you bring in, the more hand-holders you will need for "touchie-feelie" sessions everytime daddy's Little Princess has her feelings hurt. They want to turn the CGA even more from a military academy to just another 'Joe College'. In the 60's the Academy watchword was we do not graduate scholars; we graduate 'leaders of men'. The CGA is already recruiting disproportionately more female cadets than any of the other military academies. The secret cabal has met and has laid hands on Vivian Crea as the next Commandant of the Coast Guard after Thad Allen. Pretty soon the Coast Guard will be know around the Pentagon as "Petticoat Junction". "Hopley Yeaton" must be turning over in his grave.
The female cadets are not required to take responsibility for their own acts. Every male who had sex with them in the last four years is at risk. It does not matter whether the sexual acts were consenual or not. These women are allowed to change their minds after the fact, as much as 4 years after the fact. There appears to be no Statue of Limitations on having sex with female cadets. Any time they please, they can allege sexual assault or rape. That is their silver bullet and "Get out of jail Free" card. It is trump in any situation. What will they do when they get out into the field and have to take full responsibility for their actions and the actions of those under them
?
New York Times Editorial
SCANDAL AT THE COAST GUARD ACADEMY
The Coast Guard Academy in New London, Conn., which first accepted women in 1976, has a higher proportion of women in its student body — about 30 percent — than do any of the nation's other military service academies. The Coast Guard is also the only military service to open every available job to women.
But recently the Coast Guard Academy has drawn attention for a very different reason. For the first time in its 130-year history, the academy court-martialed a cadet, convicting him on charges of sodomy, indecent assault and extortion after four female cadets accused him of assaulting them. The stories that emerged from the trial are enough to make any reasonable person question how such allegations are handled at the academy.
Last week two Connecticut members of Congress took up the issue. Christopher Shays, a Republican, led hearings on how officials are responding to reports of sexual assaults in the service academies. Rosa DeLauro, a Democrat, inserted a request in a Homeland Security spending bill for the Government Accountability Office to monitor the Coast Guard Academy's progress in responding to sexual harassment claims.
That scrutiny is necessary, as shown by an announcement earlier this year by the academy that it would start involving women in sexual harassment investigations to improve handling of such cases. It is frankly surprising, and somewhat appalling, that such a basic step was not taken years ago.
The academy's defenders say that the case is the rare exception and that the Coast Guard, with its strong record of welcoming women into the service, is unfairly getting a black eye. But the women who are performing so many functions in the service deserve assurance that their concerns will be taken seriously. The American people expect no less.
NYT-07-01-06 1557EDT
RADM James C. Van Sice
Superintendent, U. S. Coast Guard Academy
31 Mohegan Avenue
New London, CT. 06320-81003
RE: U. S. v Webster Smith
Dear RADM Van Sice:
I believe a terrible miscarriage of justice occurred upon the conviction of Web Smith, the first in the history of the Coast Guard.
While it’s apparent a conviction occurred, what’s not apparent is the silence that has occurred among the prosecution and yourself in response to this terrible turn of events.
Having a father in the Merchant Marine for the last Sixty years, my admiration of the Coast Guard has been nothing but respect up until this point.
Please rest assured that more publicity will occur as the public sees exactly what transpired. Please understand that I am upset that you and your staff would be so quick to convict an innocent man. The jury had its hands tied due to the rules that were placed upon them.
While I am not a lawyer, as a black Disease Intervention Specialist working for a local government, I have seen criminals up close and personal. I know how they think. Mr. Webb is not a criminal. What happened here was jealously, and vengeance by a bunch of old Coast Guard “good old boys” for Mr. Smith dating a bunch of white females.
The entire process from the selection of prosecution to the jury selection was flawed. The only evidence was the word of a couple of incredible females. No physical evidence whatsoever. In essence, a white word against a black word. We know how history reflects the word of a black man, much less in a court martial case with no physical evidence.
The failure of having the females testify before the defense amounts to a military lynching. Not only was Mr. Smith lynched once by having these ridiculous accusations brought against him, but twice by not having the females testify under oath.
Mr. Sice, it takes two to tango. Sodomy, more specifically oral sex has to be a willing give and receive. In my clinic, we see patients receive many sexually transmitted diseases as a consequence of unprotected oral sex. Once again, it takes two to tango. Both are willing participants. It doesn’t seem reasonable that Mr. Smith gave oral sex to an unwilling female cadet unless she verbally said no, or physically denied Mr. Smith from going down on her. It appeared that this did not happen.
So, why proceed to convict Mr. Smith without convicting the rest of the female cadets? What’s good for goose is not good for the gander? Mr. Sice, please reverse the conviction of this young man, and restore the integrity of the Coast Guard. Go after the real rapists in the academy, not after a bunch of horny cadets.
Best,
Sergio Steele
Disease Intervention Specialist
SKC Public Health
July 18, 2006
Mr. Morris Dees
Southern Poverty Law Center
400 Washington Avenue
P.O. Box 5632
Montgomery, AL. 36177-7459
RE: Cadet WEBSTER SMITH
U.S. Coast Guard Academy
Dear Morris,
As a member of the Leadership Council of the Law Center I am writing to ask you to get involved in the Cadet Webster Smith case. The legal team at the Law Center represents those who have no other champion. I have seen the good results that the Center has achieved over the years. I know that you share my passion for truth, justice, and equal justice under the law.
A case of gross injustice and rampant racial discrimination has occurred at the Coast Guard Academy. A graduating senior has been falsely accused, convicted on perjured testimony, and sentenced to six months in jail, expulsion from the Academy, and forfeiture of all pay and allowances. His name is Webster Smith and he is Black. He had been separated from the cadet student body six months before the court-martial and was forced to work on the boat docks. This amounted to essentially to a sentence of hard labor before a trial. Moreover, since he is from Houston, Texas, he will have to register as a sex offender. That mark will follow him for the rest of his life, unless we can reverse the conviction.
The Associated Press characterized the trial as follows: “What began as a trial against an accused sexual predator ended looking more like a series of murky encounters between college students, with consent often clouded by alcohol. But the case also offered a rare and often unflattering glimpse at cadet life.” Moment of change' following Coast Guard Academy court-martial By MATT APUZZO Associated Press Writer, July 3, 2006
The Superintendent of the Coast Guard Academy has been asked to release Cadet Webster Smith from prison, reinstate him as a cadet, let him finish school, and graduate him with a commission. Our pleas have fallen on deaf ears.
Cadet Webster Smith is a victim of jealousy, racial discrimination, a violation of the 14th Amendment Equal Protection clause, and last but not the least, a victim of a double standard.
He was one of the most loved and respected cadets on campus. But he had two things going against him. One, he had dated the Regimental Commander, and the Dean of Admissions’ daughter. Both were white. Since they were white and Cadet Smith was Black, it did not sit well with the Commandant of Cadets. Racial Prejudice is still very much alive at the Academy.
Moreover, when a REAL RAPE case with REAL physical evidence surfaced during Webster Smith’s ordeal, Commandant of Cadets, Doug Wisniewski and his staff hushed the case, asked the white cadet to resign quietly and go on his way. NO CHARGES were filed. The real rapist was WHITE!
More facts and background on this case can be found at my web Blog spot at www.cgachasehall.blogspot.com.
I urgently beg you to direct the excellent resources of the Law Center to this case. Just a request for an explanation from the Superintendent of the Coast Guard Academy would be a tremendous help. Just to get involved with this case will send a loud and clear message that will prevent similar abuses in the future. This case could do a lot to bring positive advertisement and increase respect for the Law Center worldwide. Webster Smith’s picture has gone around the word. This case presents you with a fundraising bonanza.
Yours Respectfully,
LLS
July 17, 2006
Mr. Julian Bond
Chairman, NAACP
National Board of Directors
4805 Hope Drive
Baltimore, MD. 21215-3297
RE: Cadet WEBSTER SMITH
U.S. Coast Guard Academy
Dear Mr. Bond:
This is in furtherance of my letter to you of July 10, 2006 concerning Cadet Webster Smith. He continues to be held in jail. After his court-martial, Cadet Web Smith was taken to the U.S. Navy brig at the Submarine Base in Groton, Connecticut on 28 June 2006. Originally he was supposed to be transferred on 10 July to a Federal prison for military officers in South Carolina. It did not happen, nor has the Admiral signed off on the Report of the Court-martial. The delay has not been explained. The new plans are to transfer him to the South Carolina prison on 19 July. That day might not be accurate either, unless the Admiral intends to deliberately violate Commandant Instruction M5350.4B, The Civil Rights Manual, which requires the Academy Civil Rights Officer to attempt to resolve informally a civil rights complaint within 5 days of receiving it. Joann Miller, the Academy Civil Rights Officer, plans to retire on 28 July. If she lets Web Smith get out of town before she can attempt an informal resolution, then she will have to spend the remainder of her tour of duty commuting between New London and South Carolina. A copy of the Civil Rights Complaint is attached.
Cadet Webster has not seen or talked to his mother or father since June 28. They have his power of attorney. They signed the original Complaint.
This is a case of gross injustice and rampant racial discrimination at the Coast Guard Academy. A graduating senior has been falsely accused, convicted on perjured testimony, and sentenced to six months in jail, expulsion from the Academy, and forfeiture of all pay and allowances. His name is Webster Smith and he is Black. He had been separated from the cadet student body six months before the court-martial and was forced to work on the boat docks. This amounted to essentially to a sentence of hard labor before a trial. Moreover, since he is from Houston, Texas, he will have to register as a sex offender. That mark will follow him for the rest of his life, unless we can reverse the conviction.
The Superintendent of the Coast Guard Academy has been asked to release Cadet Webster Smith from prison, reinstate him as a cadet, let him finish school, and graduate him with a commission. Our pleas have fallen on deaf ears.
Cadet Webster Smith is a victim of jealousy, racial discrimination, a violation of the 14th Amendment Equal Protection clause, and last but not the least, a victim of a double standard.
He was one of the most loved and respected cadets on campus. But he had two things going against him. One, he had dated the Regimental Commander, and the Dean of Admissions’ daughter. Both were white. Since they were white and Cadet Smith was Black, it did not sit well with the Commandant of Cadets. Racial Prejudice is still very much alive at the Academy.
Moreover, when a REAL RAPE case with REAL physical evidence surfaced during Webster Smith’s ordeal, Commandant of Cadets, Doug Wisniewski and his staff hushed the case, asked the white cadet to resign quietly and go on his way. NO CHARGES were filed. The real rapist was WHITE?
More facts and background on this case can be found at my web Blog spot at www.cgachasehall.blogspot.com.
Yours Respectfully,
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
By Richard Rainey
Click name for author info, most recent articles ...
Published on 7/14/2006 in Region » Region News
New London — A former officer who led early racial integration efforts at the U.S. Coast Guard Academy has called the June 28 conviction of a black cadet on sodomy and extortion charges an example of “rampant” racial discrimination at the school.
London Steverson, a 1968 graduate of the academy, wrote NAACP chairman Julian Bond July 10 demanding a full investigation into whether the cadet's civil rights had been violated. His letter is at the leading edge of a growing intervention effort for the former academy student.
“Cadet Webster Smith is a victim of jealousy, racial discrimination, a violation of the 14th Amendment Equal Protection clause, and last but not least, a victim of a double standard,” Steverson wrote.
Smith, 23, of Houston, was acquitted last month of a charge of rape but convicted on five lesser charges, including those related to extorting a female classmate to provide him with sexual favors.
The eight-day general court-martial, which took place last month in the academy's Hamilton Hall, was the first top-level trial of a cadet in the school's 130-year history.
Smith is now serving a six-month prison sentence after being convicted of extortion, sodomy, indecent assault, leaving his post without permission and attempting to disobey an order. The female cadets and officers who testified against him were white.
“Racial prejudice is still very much alive at the academy,” Steverson wrote.
Steverson, who is black and a member of the NAACP, now serves as a federal judge in California. From 1972 to 1974, he was assigned to lead the Coast Guard's newly formed minority recruiting section. During his tenure, he recruited more than 50 black cadets to the academy. Before that only four black officers, including Steverson, had graduated from the school. He retired from the Coast Guard as a lieutenant in 1987.
It remained unclear Thursday whether the NAACP would be looking into the matter. The organization is amid preparations for its annual convention this month. Bond could not be reached for comment in several attempts this week.
Several people have said they have written to the academy superintendent, Rear Adm. James C. Van Sice, in support of Smith. As the highest-ranking officer at the academy, Van Sice has the authority to uphold, reduce or even eliminate Smith's sentence.
Eddie A. Richards, a friend and academy classmate of Smith's father, Cleon Smith, said a coalition of supporters has formed to petition Van Sice to free the former cadet.
“All I can say is Cleon, myself and other Coast Guard alumni of that school are ripped apart because of our love for the school,” he said in a telephone interview. “We felt we have tried to let the system work.”
Richards said he was in contact with an attorney looking into the case.
Steverson wrote Van Sice June 29, a day after Smith's conviction, demanding the verdict be overturned. Steverson said he has not received a response.
“I was hoping cooler heads could prevail, and we could resolve this issue at this level,” Steverson said in a telephone interview Wednesday. “I can only presume that (Van Sice) is stonewalling.”
An academy spokesman, Chief Warrant Officer David M. French, said the superintendent's office is preparing a response to Steverson's letter. French declined further comment.
The academy began admitting black students in 1962. Merle J. Smith Jr. of Quaker Hill, who acted as Webster Smith's civilian defense counsel, was the school's first black graduate in 1966.
r.rainey@theday.com
New London
Associated Press News
Jul 14, 7:56 AM EDT
CGA grad claims black cadet is victim of racial discrimination
NEW LONDON, Conn. (AP) -- A Coast Guard Academy graduate and former officer who is now a federal judge has asked the NAACP to investigate the conviction of a black cadet last month, claiming it is an example of "rampant" racial discrimination at the academy.
"Racial prejudice is still very much alive at the academy," London Steverson wrote in a letter to NAACP chairman Julian Bond earlier this week.
Steverson, a 1968 graduate of the academy, was assigned to lead the Coast Guard's newly formed minority recruiting section in the 1970s. During his tenure, he recruited more than 50 black cadets to the academy. Before that only four black officers, including Steverson, had graduated from the school.
Cadet Webster Smith, 23, of Houston, was acquitted last month of a charge of rape but convicted on five lesser charges, including extorting a female classmate to provide him with sexual favors.
Smith is now serving a six-month prison sentence after being convicted of extortion, sodomy, indecent assault, leaving his post without permission and attempting to disobey an order.
Steverson's letter claims that "Smith is a victim of jealousy, racial discrimination, a violation of the 14th Amendment Equal Protection clause, and last but not least, a victim of a double standard."
Steverson sent a letter to academy superintendent, Rear Adm. James C. Van Sice, on June 29, a day after Smith's conviction, demanding the verdict be overturned. Steverson said he has not received a response.
"I was hoping cooler heads could prevail, and we could resolve this issue at this level," Steverson told The Day newspaper Wednesday. "I can only presume that (Van Sice) is stonewalling."
An academy spokesman, Chief Warrant Officer David M. French, said the superintendent's office is preparing a response to Steverson's letter.
As the highest-ranking officer at the academy, Van Sice has the authority to uphold, reduce or even eliminate Smith's sentence.
Steverson in 1990 was appointed a federal administrative law judge in the Ninth Region of the Social Security Office of Hearings and Appeals in California.
---
Information from: The Day, http://www.theday.com
© 2006 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Learn more about our Privacy Policy.
Admiral Brewski!! Admiral van Slice!!
WOW!! With all the beer he is brewing and all the pictures he is taking to put on the labels on the bottles, is it any wonder, thay Admiral Brewski van Slice, does not have time to answer any mail from a Concerned Alumnus?
July 20, 2006 -- WASHINGTON - Call him "Admiral Brewski."
A Coast Guard admiral who runs the service's academy in New London,
Conn.,
has been unmasked as the suds lover who ordered subordinates to brew
nautically themed beers at taxpayer expense.
The Post has learned that publicly funded booze-fests were held in the
plush
official residence of Rear Adm. James Van Sice, superintendent of the
Coast
Guard Academy.
"When I hear about the Coast Guard and ice-breakers, I usually assume
there
are boats involved and not beer-brewing kits," said Sen. Norm Coleman
(R-Minn.), who was floored by some of the uncovered abuse.
"Obviously, this is an irresponsible and unacceptable use of taxpayer
dollars and resources."
Van Sice even had his own likeness slapped on one of the labels -
called
"The Admiral Amber Ale."
Under Van Sice's orders, a would-be brewmeister on his private cooking
staff
spent $1,000 to make 532 bottles.
He also crafted a Christmas brew named after a Great Lakes icebreaker
and
"Captain Jack Tan" for Halloween, as The Post reported Wednesday.
The free-spending officer blew $230 on a beer-brewing kit, including
"The
Brewmaster's Bible," and spent another $800 on ingredients from a Coast
Guard foundation that also pays for education grants.
The beermaking at the Coast Guard Academy was revealed in a report to a
congressional committee yesterday, although Van Sice's name was not
made
public during the hearing.
Amazingly, the Coast Guard is standing by its brew - even though
investigators called it abusive.
"It was done as part of an official social function," said Coast Guard
spokeswoman Angela McArdle.
The academy defiantly continues to brew the beer - even after it was
uncovered as part of a probe of Department of Homeland Security charge
cards, sources confirmed.
In fact, the Coast Guard provided auditors with a detailed five-year
plan
trying to prove how the brewing equipment could actually save costs.
But it failed to factor in the labor costs of the official who brewed
beer
on government time, investigators said.
Counting labor costs, the Coast Guard paid $13 per six-pack to have
their
own specialty label, auditors found - labeling the cost-savings claim
"dubious."
McArdle couldn't confirm whether the beer tasted good.
Inspectors from the General Accountability Office uncovered the
big-bucks
micro-brew in an audit of some of the 10,000 charge cards issued to DHS
employees.
The department says the abusive charges are a tiny fraction of the
expenditures, and DHS financial officer David Norquist said he would
verify
questioned charges.
geoff.earle@nypost.com
International Herald Tribune - France
(The Associated Press) WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 28, 2007
Lawyers for a former cadet who was the first student court-martialed in the 130-year history of the U.S. Coast Guard Academy's are seeking to reverse his convictions for sexual misconduct.
Oral Arguments before the Coast Guard Court of Military Appeals is set for 16 January 2008 in Arlington, Va.
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