Lawmakers call for hearings into military hazing
Published: February 2, 2012
WASHINGTON — Angered at what they view as light punishment for servicemembers involved in hazing incidents, some members of Congress are calling for hearings to address a system that “does not work.”
“This is a call for justice,” Rep. Judy Chu, D-Calif., said at a press conference Thursday on Capitol Hill.
Her nephew, Lance Cpl. Henry Lew, was beaten by fellow Marines before he killed himself last year while deployed to Afghanistan.
One of the Marines involved was sentenced this week to 30 days in the jail and a reduction in rank for assaulting Lew. Lance Cpl. Jacob Jacoby will be allowed to stay the service. The prosecutor also dropped the charges that Jacoby threatened and humiliated Lew.
Jacoby and two other Marines stand accused of punching and kicking Lew and pouring sand in his face as punishment for Lew falling asleep during missions.
“Everything I know about the facts of this case tells me that the hand slap sentencing of [Jacoby] was wrong,” Rep. Mike Honda, D-Calif., said Thursday. “Clearly the system at the Department of Defense to deal with hazing does not work.”
Last week, Chu, Honda and other representatives sent a letter to the House Armed Services Committee asking for a formal hearing into the military’s hazing policies. They reference Lew’s and three other cases from 2011, saying in their investigations they were shocked to learn that the military pays so little attention to the matter.
“We must protect our servicemembers who have sacrificed so much for our country from unnecessary humiliation and abuse,” they wrote.
