Home > Politics > Politics As Usual

Politics As Usual

Shining a Light on Power and Policy

« Subpoenas Here, Subpoenas There, Tons of Subpoenas Everywhere | Main | "YOU KNOW WHO DID STAND UP WHEN IT COUNTED?" »

the army says it was suicide, her father thinks she might have been raped and murdered

May 01, 2007 12:03 PM

army private lavena l. johnson was just 19 years old.  she had been in iraq for only a few weeks before she was found dead at balad airbase on july 19, 2005.  the army said she died of a "self-inflicted wound" but when her father identified her body he discovered she had a disfigured lip, was missing some teeth and looked like she had been in a fight.  and then there was that phone call to her mother just a couple of days before her death.  private lavena johnson was talking about coming home for christmas.  something about her death just didn't add up.  that's when her father, dr. john johnson, started asking questions and that is when the army stopped being helpful.

last week while most congressmen who sit on henry waxman's committee were riveted by the testimony of pat tillman's brother and mother, rep. william lacy clay was talking about private johnson.

just like corporal tillman, PRIVATE JOHNSON WAS AN EXCEPTIONAL YOUNG AMERICAN  she was an honor student, a gifted musician and very active in her church and community.  and just like corporal tillman, after 9-11, she was inspired to join the army to help protect her country...for almost two years dr. and mrs. johnson have been trying to get to the truth about what happened to their daughter. unfortunately they have been met by a WALL OF DISRESPECT, EVASION, AND A FAILURE TO PROVIDE THEM WITH THE ANSWERS THAT THE PARENTS OF ANY FALLEN SOLDIER DESERVE."

waxman and clay have written to pete geren, the acting secretary of the army, and asked for a photo cd of all the autopsy photos, all original photos included in the criminal investigation into her death, a missing page from the medical exam performed on her,  the results of all lab work, all psychological evaluations, and the identity of the lead agent of the 37th military police detachment. dr. and mrs. johnson has been trying to get the same material for nearly 2 years. 

WAXMAN AND CLAY HAVE GIVEN THE ARMY 1 WEEK. 

May 1, 2007 | Permalink | User Comments (2)

TrackBack

TrackBack URL for this entry:
http://www.typepad.com/t/trackback/433071/18134658

Listed below are links to weblogs that reference the army says it was suicide, her father thinks she might have been raped and murdered:

User Comments

Just one more dirty little secret the government and it's complicit partner the media keeps out of the public eye as often as possible. The media tried to inject some "sex" into the bogus Jessica Lynch fantasy they helped the Pentagon concoct by suggesting she had been raped. The truth is; she was in far more danger of being raped by Americans than by Iraqis or the bogeymen in Al Qaeda. Female military personnel have to watch their backs from two enemies and that is positively disgusting!

Posted by: kenoshaMarge | May 3, 2007 5:43:53 AM

What does it actually mean when the Governor and other officials claim prisons are “operating at over 200% of design capacity” ?

It means that California taxpayers are going to spend a huge sum of money for very little return. Almost no facts about prison overcrowding or evidence of a correctional system analysis have been made public. Consequently, most voters have no idea of the extent of prison overcrowding and what was actually proposed to deal with it. There were congratulations all around about a bi-partisan achievement after the $7.7 billion correctional construction package was signed into law. It is supposed to deal with a critical, dangerous problem – prison overcrowding.

The construction package is a waste! In reality it funds 40,000 additional prison beds to deal with a 16,600 prison bed shortage and funds 13,000 county jail beds for a 100,000 county jail bed shortage The additional prison beds will result in a surplus of over 23,000 prison beds and the additional jail beds will still leave the counties with a shortage of about 87,000 beds. Dealing with even a small part of the county jail bed shortage would eliminate prison overcrowding.

The state could eliminate prison overcrowding by building 16,600 county jail beds for $1.5 billion and using the new beds for the same number of short term offenders currently occupying prison beds, avoiding spending about $6 billion for more prison beds and eliminating current prison overcrowding. They could also conduct an actual system analysis and determine how many jail and prison beds (and community correctional programs) are actually needed.

Why was there widespread legislative support for such an apparently irrational construction program that does not deal with the cause of prison overcrowding? The one reasonable explanation is that the prison construction program is actually in response to demands by the Correctional Officer’s Union (CPPOA) rather than to actual need. For anyone not aware of California politics, the CCPOA wields extraordinary influence with both political parties because of their financial contributions and their ability to punish any politician who dares to oppose them . It was widely reported that the Governor’s aids met with CPPOA representatives prior to the last election. The court master, appointed to oversea implementation of a federal court order, was widely quoted as saying: "Really what the meetings are about is, you do a favor for me, and I’ll do a favor for you”. The prison construction package looks like a really big favor from the Governor and the Legislature.

Posted by: richard mckone | May 15, 2007 1:41:06 AM

Post a comment