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NEW LAW OFFERS ALTERNATIVE SENTENCING FOR
CALIFORNIA SERVICEMEMBERS WITH PTSD --
"Hopefully,
this will be in sharp contrast to what occurred
with the
Vietnam War veteran who ended up in prison
because of lack of understanding of PTSD."
Story here...
http://www.army.mil/-news/
2007/03/22/2363-new-law-offers-alternative-
sentencing-for-california-servicemembers-with-ptsd/
Story below:
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New Law Offers Alternative Sentencing for
California Servicemembers with PTSD
BY Kara M. Greene
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (Army News Service) - Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger
signed into law the country's first state alternative sentencing program
in the nation for war on terror veterans suffering from post traumatic
stress disorder.
The law took effect January and provides judges the option of
alternative sentencing for veterans diagnosed with PTSD, substance abuse
or other psychological problems stemming from a combat tour. The
convicted veteran may be placed on probation and enter a voluntary
treatment program at the federal, state or private nonprofit level.
"Our veterans make so many sacrifices on this nation's behalf and many
of them end up suffering from the long-term effects of combat," said
Assemblywoman Nicole Parra in an office press release.
Ten years after the Vietnam War, the legislature passed section 1170.9
of the Penal Code. However, this section doesn't apply to recent
veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan.
According to the New England Journal of Medicine, one in six returning
veterans of the Iraq war may have mental illness, said Pete Conaty of
Pete Conaty & Associates.
"This is the culmination of a two-year effort to address this issue at
the state level by veteran activist groups Armed Forces Retirees
Association and the Vietnam Veterans of America, who sponsored the
bill," said Conaty.
For Conaty, retired lieutenant colonel and Vietnam veteran, the passage
of the law is an unfortunate triumph, as California's 2.3 million
veterans make up more than 6 percent of the state's population, the
largest vet population in any state, he explained. His firm advocates
for many veteran groups in the state.
"The years during and after Vietnam saw many veterans ending up in jail
because of war-induced PTSD. Previous law limited eligibility to Vietnam
veterans, thus making an outdated assertion that Vietnam veterans are
the only servicemembers affected with PTSD," Parra said.
Originally identified as shell shock in World War I and then combat
fatigue, PTSD was finally recognized as an illness by the American
Psychiatric Association in 1980 based upon the psychiatric experience of
veterans of the Vietnam war.
"Hopefully, this will be in sharp contrast to what occurred with the
Vietnam War veteran who ended up in prison because of lack of
understanding of PTSD," Conaty said.
More information about the bill is available at
www.leginfo.ca.gov.
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Larry Scott --
