Danny Chen

The third military member to go on trial in connection with the Danny Chen suicide case was sentenced to three months in prison and a demotion to private. The punishment again drew the ire of the Chinatown community.

Spc. Thomas Porter Curtis pled guilty to hazing, two counts of maltreatment, and two counts of assault. Unlike the previous soldier who was tried, Spc. Ryan Offutt, Curtis was not dishonorably discharged from the military.

Curtis is the third of eight military members connected to Chen’s suicide on October 3. Prior to his suicide, Chen consistently expressed his frustration with the unprovoked hazing, and at one point indicated to a fellow soldier that it was driving him toward suicide.

After the sentencing, Council Member Margaret Chin, who has been a loud voice in the fight for Chen’s justice, again voiced her displeasure about the military’s seemingly-light punitive action.

“Spc. Curtis admitted that he targeted Danny because of his race, he admitted that he knew what he did was wrong, and he admitted that he did it anyway,” Chin said. “This is not a person who is fit to serve in the United States Military… the behavior of the soldiers tried in connection with Danny’s death paints a sordid picture of the state of our Army”

“This is a insipid threat that turns our servicemen and women against one another. Not dishonorably discharging individuals who are found guilty of hazing is to weaken the United States military.”

The case has ignited vociferous discussion about the treatment of Asian-Americans in the military and the maltreatment of lower-level recruits by their superiors.

There was an outrage after the first tried soldier, Sgt. Adam Holcomb, was sentenced to a mere 30 days in military prison, but then it seemed things were going in Chin’s direction. After Spc. Ryan Offutt was sentenced to dishonorable discharge, rank demotion, and six months in prison, Chin expressed a more satisfied attitude and indicated a step toward rightful justice. Curtis’s punishment, though, can only portend further dissatisfaction from those seeking ‘justice’ for Chen’s suicide.

The remaining five members await court marshall in Fort Bragg, N.C.

-Nick Gallinelli

The next military member to be on trial in the Danny Chen suicide case pleaded guilty on Monday, leading to a smoother resolution than Sgt. Adam Holcomb’s trial last month. Spc. Ryan Offutt reportedly pleaded guilty to charges of maltreatment and hazing.
Offutt was sentenced to six months in prison, rank demotion and discharge.

“This sentence is a victory for the Chen family and for all Americans,” Council Member Margaret Chin said in a statement regarding the decision. “The removal of Spc. Offutt from the Army is necessary to make clear that the United States military will not tolerate racism, bigotry and abuse at the hands of superior officers.”

The military court’s decision comes a couple of weeks after the controversial Adam Holcomb trial. Holcomb’s acquittal on negligent homicide charges and subsequent punishment spurred reprimand from the Chinatown community and Asian-American politicians. Holcomb was sentenced to 30 days in military prison, a fine slightly more than $1,000 and a rank demotion.

Pvt. Chen shot himself on Oct. 3 while on duty in Afghanistan. Six more soldiers await court martial in North Carolina. Chen was a Chinatown resident.

The next military member to be on trial in the Danny Chen suicide case pleaded guilty to reduced on Monday, starting a smoother process than Sgt. Adam Holcomb’s last month.

Spc. Ryan Offutt was sentenced to six months in prison, rank demotion, and discharge.

“This sentence is a victory for the Chen family and for all Americans,” Council Member Margaret Chin said in a statement regarding the decision. “The removal of Spc. Offutt from the Army is necessary to make clear that the United States Military will not tolerate racism, bigotry, and abuse at the hands of superior officers.”

After pleading guilty to hazing, reckless endangerment and negligent homicide charges against Offutt were dropped, the Daily News said. Offutt had initially faced up to four years in prison.

The military court’s decision comes a couple weeks after the controversial Adam Holcomb trial. Holcomb, whose acquittal of negligent homicide charges and subsequent ‘slap-on-the-wrist’ sentencing spurred reprimand from the Chinatown community and Asian-American politicians. Holcomb was sentenced to 30 days in military prison, a fine slightly more than $1,000, and a rank demotion.

Offutt, along with Holcomb and five other soldiers, is believed to be the direct cause for Pvt. Chen’s suicide last year. Chen shot himself on October 3 after telling his fellow soldiers that his superiors were the reason for the suicide.

Six more soldiers await court martial in North Carolina.

Chen was a Chinatown resident.

Private Danny Chen, courtesy of Wikimedia Commons

Sgt. Adam Holcomb was tried this week in connection with the death of Pvt. Danny Chen last October. He faces up to two years in prison. Council Member Margaret Chin and Speaker Christine Quinn, however, think he deserves more.

Chin and Quinn sent a letter yesterday to Lt. General Daniel B. Allyn, the convening authority who will decide the case’s final verdict, that asked him to impose an “appropriately serious punishment” on the Sergeant for condoning and participating in the physical and verbal abuse of the 19-year-old Manhattan native while on deployment in Afghanistan. Chen endured six weeks of the intense racially-charged hazing, then shot himself while alone in a guard tower.

Holcomb is the first of eight soldiers on trial for the abuse.  The military jury convicted him on two counts of maltreatment and one count of assault consummated by battery, though they acquitted him on charges of negligent homicide, reckless endangerment, communicating a threat and hazing.

Chin and Quinn called the punishment “too lenient,” and argued that it “would send the wrong message to the nation’s armed forces and to our country as a whole: that the United States Military tolerates this condemnable conduct.”

Holcomb’s dishonorable discharge, they said, is the only appropriate response:

“We are asking you to impose a more meaningful punishment that makes clear that the Military will not tolerate racism, bigotry, or bias. . . . The removal of Sgt. Holcomb from the Army is necessary to honor the service of Private Chen, to appropriately condemn the treatment of Private Chen, and to ensure those who serve in the Military that they should expect to treat and be treated with respect and dignity.”

Sgt. Adam Holcomb, the first soldier to be tried in the court martial case surrounding Pvt. Danny Chen’s suicide, was acquitted of the most serious charges but was found guilty of minor ones this Monday. By the following day, his suggested sentenced was announced, and the punishment is creating backlash in the Chinatown community for being too light.

“For the conviction of assault and two counts of maltreatment, a sentence of 30 days hardly equates with Pvt. Danny Chen’s life being cut short at age 19,” Elizabeth Ouyang, president of the Organization of Chinese Americans-NY, said in a statement.

“This is an outrage,” said Council Member Margaret Chin. “This sentence is a slap on the wrist and it does not reflect the seriousness of Sgt. Holcomb’s offenses. Sgt. Holcomb’s behavior shows a complete disregard for military ethics, values, and standards of conduct.”

Holcomb is one of eight soldiers to be tried at Ft. Bragg, N.C., in connection with Chen’s apparent Oct. 3 suicide in Afghanistan. Chen was a Chinatown native.

The soldiers’ gratuitous racial slurs, hazing and punishment are believed to be the direct cause for Chen’s suicide.

The 10-person military jury made its voice heard this Tuesday afternoon, recommending Holcomb serve 30 days in a military prison without discharge.

A military jury can only deliver a recommended verdict and sentence. Their decision is made to influence Ft. Bragg Lt. Gen. Daniel Allyn, who makes the final call.

The jury also recommended reducing Holcomb one military rank and levying a fine of $1,181.55, said Chin’s release.