A soldier found guilty of murdering a civilian, does he serve his time in a civi or military jail?

Question

I say he is thrown out of the army and goes to a civilian jail, and my work mate said he serves his sentence in an army jail. Who is right?

Answer 1

UK - civil prison!
If a British serviceman commits certain crimes they are deemed to be both against Military and Civil Law. Murder would be tried by a civil court.
The Military Prison at Colchester is not designed to hold long term prisoners either.

Answer 2

It does matter where the offense occurs. If the offense occurs off of a governent installation, and the offender is not under arms and deployed as part of a combat unit in a combat zone ( RE: our troops in Iraq), then the offense would be prosecuted in the civilian courts and the offender would be dishonorably discharged (if convicted) to serve the sentence handed down. The opposite is true if they are under arms or on a military installation etc.... Even if a member of the military is accused of a crime and found not guilty in the civilian courts, they can still face charges under the UCMJ (conduct unbecoming etc...). If the offense occurs in another country and the offender is under arms or makes it onto a US military installation, they may or may not be handed back over to the civilian authorities in that country, depending on the country. At that point, a hearing will be held and they may face a courts martial for the offense. The US Disciplinary Barracks at Ft Leavenworth, Kansas is the only max security prison for military offenders, and it is not a nice place. As best I remember, thats how it goes. Been out for over 20 years. Of course, this is all US Uniform Code of Military Justice.

Answer 3

He could possible do both. If he was tried as a civilian he could serve his sentence, then the military can legally put him though another trial. Double jeopardy does not apply. As for Ft Leavenworth being easier than a civilian prison I think not. I know people that served in Mannheim which is minimum security. That had to do hard labor. What do you think they do at Leavenworth? Which is maximum security. The military is NOT nice to it's F**K UPS.

Answer 4

A military member who is charged with murder (or other crime) will be tried in EITHER court depending on local agreements and understandings, where the crime was committed, who it was committed against, etc.

A military member who is tried for murder by a civillian court will serve the sentence in civillian "lodgings". The member will also be discharged from the military with a dishonorable discharge and lose all benefits.

If tried in a military court the member would be incarcerated in the military facility at Leavenworth, be reduced to private, lose all pay and allowances, and be given a dishonorable discharge on completion of the sentence.

For lesser crimes such as DUI it is possible to be tried by the civillians, serve your sentence, and then be tried by the military for such offenses as absent without leave (AWOL), Conduct unbecoming, Article 134 (the general article which covers anything and everything), and several other violations of the UCMJ.

The answer to your question is "IT DEPENDS" on what court tried and convicted the service member.

Answer 5

He will serve the civilian sentence in a civillian prison. He is then also likely to be prosecuted by the military under QR's and possibly serve time in Colchester. Double the time as the military always have to hold the moral high ground.

Answer 6

KELLY IN TEXAS, read the whole thing. They continue to draw full pay only while in the pre-trial phase. Which makes sense, because the person isn't found guilty yet--if at all.
WHEN they are convicted they forfeit all pay and benefits. Any other way would be an injustice.
And trust me, being in a military jail is no picnic. You make little rocks out of big ones. There hard labor is still acceptable. You are treated like scum, asking permission to speak, move, eat etc...

Answer 7

He will serve his time in a military prison. Although he murdered a civilian, he was in the military and they handle things just like the civilian world, only through the military.

Answer 8

He will most likely serve in the Fort Leavenworth, KS military prison. There really isnt any diffrence though. Fort Leavenworth is a maximum security prison built to detainee convicted military personnel. The prison is ran and operated by US Army Personnel in the career field of Military Police and Corrections Officers. The made a movie about it. It was called "The Castle"

They are not paid as E1s they only receive 15-80 cents an hour.

http://unitpages.military.com/unitpages/history.do?ck_unit=102960&id=735741&historyId=791488

http://unitpages.military.com/unitpages/history.do?ck_unit=102960&id=735741&historyId=797762

http://unitpages.military.com/unitpages/history.do?ck_unit=102960&id=735741&historyId=792721

Answer 9

In the UK, you would probably serve 2 years in military prison and the rest in a civilian prison after having received a dishonourable discharge.

Answer 10

First, Military Jail, Colchester, Essex.

Then, Civil Jail

As he is in the Military, he is under two sets of rules: Military (Queens Regulations) and Civilian Law. Because of this, if he breaks a rule that only appears in one of these sets of law, he can be tried and convicted by that court. If he breaks a law that appears in both sets of laws, then he is tried by both courts and can be convicted by both.

I've known guys to be involved in a minor offence in civvy street, get shopped for it by civvy police and then (as it's their duty, and it's a LOT easier to be honest about it, as if you don't, they'll stamp down on you when they do find out) report it to military authorities and be punished again for doing wrong.


Such is the military life. We have to put up with more BS than civvies.