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.”

On Apr. 11,  The Regional Command-South, CJTF-82  commander has requested, and the commander, XVIII Airborne Corps, Ft. Bragg, NC. has agreed to accept court-martial jurisdiction over the eight Soldiers charged in relation to the death of Pvt. Danny Chen.

Pvt. Danny Chen, of Chinatown and Alphabet City, died of an "apparent self inflicted gunshot wound" in Afghanistan on Oct. 3, 2011.

This news comes as a small victory for those involved with Chen’s situation, who had been advocating for the soldiers linked to Chen’s suicide to be held on trial in the United States. For measures of transparency, city members like Margaret Chin argued for the soliders to stand trial without the shroud of military proceedings that an international court martialing might allow for.

“As this process moves forward, the Army must respect the Chen family’s request to hold these trials in the United States,” Chin said in a statement last month. “There has been enough secrecy. Serious charges have been leveled and dropped with no explanation. The Army must ensure these trials are transparent and the only way to do that is by holding them in the United States.”

And on Apr. 11, Margaret Chin released a further statement in response to the news from the change in court martial jurisdiction.

“I want to thank the U.S. Army for recognizing the importance of convening the court-martials in the Private Danny Chen case in the United States,” said Council Member Margaret Chin. “There are still steps that must be taken before these individuals stand trial, however the leadership at Fort Bragg in North Carolina has accepted jurisdiction over the court-martials in this case.”

However, Chin also cautioned that there is no cause for celebration, and that in no way has the pain of Chen’s suicide been abaited by this small step.

“From the beginning, we have demanded that the Army hold these trials on U.S. soil because that is the only way to ensure transparency and accountability in this case. I am confident that the charges against these eight individuals will be referred to court-martial and that Private Chen’s family will finally get to face those responsible for the death of their only son,” said Chin.

If the court martial convening authority refers the cases to trial, the judge will arraign the soldiers and the cases will be docketed for trial, according to the U.S. Army. If referred to trial, the military judge assigned to this case will determine when the courts-martial will be held.

Pvt. Daniel Chen would have celebrated his 20th birthday in May, 2012. In celebration of his life, the OCA-NY will release plans in a press conference to be held on Apr. 12, 2012.