| Submit your comments on this article | |
| Down Under | |
| Australia queries acquittal of US Marines over stabbing | |
| 2005-06-27 | |
| Australia will press the United States for a full report on a military trial which absolved two US Marines of a brutal assault on an Australian man, Attorney-General Philip Ruddock said Monday. The charges were dropped against one of the soldiers and the other was acquitted earlier this month of slashing the throat of a student, Heath Twomey, outside a nightclub in the northern Australian city of Townsville in February 2004. The marines were arrested and charged in Townsville, but were transferred to the US to be dealt with by a military court. The transfer was accepted after assurances from the US military that it would deter US forces operating in Australia from engaging in similar behaviour and assure Australian citizens that servicemen would be held accountable for their actions, Ruddock said. "I am not on the face of it, without being satisfied, prepared to let the matter go without further inquiry, and that's where it stands," Ruddock told ABC radio. "I want to know whether or not [justice has been done], I want that matter tested."
The victim's father, Ron Twomey, said his son accepted the transfer of the trial under pressure from US officials, believing he would get a swift hearing and that the penalty would be more severe. He was not called to testify. "He was assaulted by being hit with a bottle, he had his throat slashed, it nearly penetrated the jugular vein," Ron Twomey told ABC Radio. "I mean, he's still around and he's still with us, that's the most important thing from a family thing. "So we're happy about that but how the whole matter's proceeded is just bewildering," he said. | |
| Posted by:Spavirt Pheng6042 |
| #12 From the Operation Talisman Sabre website: "Local communities will enjoy considerable economic benefits as a result of the exercise with an estimated spending of about $A4m to $A5m." That is a LOT of drinking. |
| Posted by: Dave D. 2005-06-27 20:35 |
| #11 Oh dear, it seems that my daughter was in on a previous "Talisman Sabre"... she had a lovely time, so she did, but a fair number of her fellow Marines remember the local citizen in Brisbane pub who refused her very polite request to please take his hand off her... twice. Apparently, when she punched him out, it set off a lovely brawl, from which her pals removed her,just in the nick of time. Memo to all concerned: Marines tend to lead with a fist, even the female ones. |
| Posted by: Sgt. Mom 2005-06-27 20:28 |
| #10 Where i live at the moment in central Queensland there is a military exercise that takes place every few yrs between the Aussie forces & the U.S forces - It's on again now: OPERATION TALISMAN SABRE No matter what country you goto - Your always going to have a few idiots who like to try stir up trouble. Overall, i would say that these military exercises run pretty smoothly, the troops & the citizens get along with each other -everyone hits the nightclubs and parties. |
| Posted by: Spavirt Pheng6042 2005-06-27 19:49 |
| #9 If you read between the lines of this report, its clear Twomey was part of a larger group and a brawl with multiple participants occured. However, I'd like to hear the Marines side of the story. |
| Posted by: phil_b 2005-06-27 18:27 |
| #8 No doubt. Many times in Greece the youngsters (fueled by Anti-U.S. rhetoric and booze) thought that taking on a group of Marines or Sailors was a great way to prove their manhood. Usually the fight ended with the youngsters getting the short end of the deal. This happened EVERY time a U.S. vessel called on Athens. |
| Posted by: Cyber Sarge 2005-06-27 18:09 |
| #7 I have seen it all too many times with locals and Marines/Sailors on shore leave. If I had to venture a guess, Mr. Twomey, being the "student" that he is, probably opened his mouth one too many times saying all the wrong (leftist) things. After all, this did happen in front of a nightclub. |
| Posted by: Bomb-a-rama 2005-06-27 17:38 |
| #6 Angie, I aint a lawyer but I don't think a lower (state) court can try you for something that was already decided by a federal court. I assume this because the crime did not happen in a State, Territory, or U.S. protectorate. Say you were picked up on B&E in Texas and susequently released would it be legal for Oregon to charge you as well? I don't think so. We are only getting half the story here, there has to be more to it. I am willing to bet that Mr. Twomey was a victim of his own bravado and not some rampaging Marines. I have seen it all too many times with locals and Marines/Sailors on shore leave. |
| Posted by: Cyber Sarge 2005-06-27 15:43 |
| #5 No, we've got a quaint notion called "double jeopardy" that prevents such shenanigans. Ah, but there's stuff you can do in military courts that you can't do in civilian courts, which is why I asked. According to this document (scroll down to the bottom of the section), a person tried in a court martial cannot be tried in another federal court, as that violates double jeopardy (he can be tried in a state court, however). Presumably, this means that a person acquitted in a court martial can't be re-tried in a court martial. Sorry, Aussies. |
| Posted by: Angie Schultz 2005-06-27 14:54 |
| #4 Ruddock said he also wanted to know whether the US prosecutors had appealed the acquittals. No, we've got a quaint notion called "double jeopardy" that prevents such shenanigans. Sorry. (head tilt) |
| Posted by: mojo 2005-06-27 12:30 |
| #3 Re: Just hearing the word "student" Something like this? UNFRIENDLY AUSTRALIA Note to anti-American yobbos: Learn to recognize (and avoid) the Marine Corps high-n-tight haircut. I am disappointed if the Marines stabbed the "student". Better if he had the crap beaten out of him. |
| Posted by: ed 2005-06-27 11:41 |
| #2 I'd like to know more detail. Just hearing the word "student" being used to describe the plaintiff is enough to arouse familiar suspicions.... |
| Posted by: Bomb-a-rama 2005-06-27 10:42 |
| #1 Ruddock said he also wanted to know whether the US prosecutors had appealed the acquittals. "I've asked for a full report on the matter," he said. Appealed acquittals?? Can you do that, even in a military court? |
| Posted by: Angie Schultz 2005-06-27 10:22 |