Most special courts martial consider cases in which service members have been charged with misdemeanors.
BY AUDREY MCAVOY | THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
HONOLULU — One of three Hawaii-based Marines accused of hazing a fellow Marine who later committed suicide in Afghanistan will face a special court martial next week, the Marine Corps said Tuesday.
Lance Cpl. Jacob Jacoby had originally been due to face a general court martial for allegedly hazing Lance Cpl. Harry Lew in the hours before Lew killed himself April 3.
Instead, the Marine Corps says Jacoby’s case “will be disposed of” at a special court martial, which is a forum for less serious crimes in the military justice system. The trial is scheduled to be held Monday at Kaneohe Bay.
The move is the result of an agreement with the convening authority, Brig. Gen. Frederick Padilla, the commander of the 3rd Marine Division, said Marine Corps Forces Pacific spokesman Lt. Col. Curtis Hill.
Cases against the other two accused — Sgt. Benjamin E. Johns and Lance Cpl. Carlos Orozco III — are pending.
Hill said he had no further information on the agreement.
But Philip Cave, a military justice defense attorney and retired Navy lawyer in Alexandria, Va., said it appeared Jacoby’s defense has negotiated a plea bargain.
In October, Padilla referred all three Marines to general courts martial. Jacoby faced three charges: that he wrongfully abused, humiliated, and demeaned Lew; struck Lew on the back and in the head; and threatened Lew.
Most special courts martial consider cases in which service members have been charged with misdemeanors.