Sgt Derrick Miller: Special Clemency Hearing April 4th

Amen

SGT. Derrick Miller
It was September 2010, and Sgt. Derrick Miller was in Masamute Bala, a village located in north-Eastern Afghanistan. It was only days after American soldiers were engaged in a nearby combat firefight with the Taliban. Tensions were high and soldiers were diligently guarding the area.

Another soldier pointed out an Afghani civilian breaching his unit’s defenses. The man was Atta Mohammed, someone the soldier and Sgt. Miller recognized. Just the day before, Mohammed had been detained by U.S. Forces on suspicion of escorting the enemy to a war zone.

The soldier who identified Mohammed patted him down and had the opportunity to observe the man in close quarters, so there was no question as to who he was. In an open area with an Afghani interpreter and the other US soldier present, Miller began to question Mohammed. The more the former detainee spoke, the more Miller grew suspicious of his intentions.

First, he claimed to be on the premises to do electrical work. And then his story changed; Mohammed then claimed he was on site to fix a plumbing problem. But he had no tools on him.

Miller’s comrade and the Afghani interpreter observed as Mohammed grew more and more irate under questioning. Originally accompanied by two companions whom he claimed were his sons and helpers, Mohammed was now alone and jittery. His associates hadn’t performed any utility work and returned to the village from separate directions.

The former detainee’s falsehoods weren’t adding up and he knew that with each second, his shoddily crafted alibi was falling apart. During the interrogation, the insurgent attempted to grab Miller’s weapon. A struggle ensued and Mohammed was shot and killed.

Within a few hours, Miller’s unit was flooded by the enemy in a meticulously orchestrated attack. Such well-planned encounters are often the result of information gathering by men, like Mohammed, who infiltrate US Army camps and collect vital statistics that help insurgents take as many American lives as possible. But the soldiers in Miller’s unit were blessed. After Miller thwarted the former detainee’s personal attack, the soldiers were on high alert and no American lives were lost that day.

For the total of WWII, Korea and Vietnam, there were only seven soldiers or Marines convicted of a “crime during combat. Since the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan began, 213 American service men have been convicted of such “crimes.

Unfortunately, Miller is among the dismal number of our brave defenders who are sent to fight wars on foreign soil and are subsequently punished for being good soldiers and Marines.

After an unjust courts-martial, Miller was convicted of pre-meditated murder. The victim? Atta Mohammed, the former detainee who was instrumental in gathering intel for an attack that could have resulted in the loss of precious American lives. The men in Miller’s unit testified that Mohammed’s presence corroborated the belief that the enemy had to have reconnoitered the unit’s position via an on-site surveillance.

Despite the testimony of Miller’s fellow soldiers and record of his admirable military career, Miller was sentenced to life in prison with the chance of parole.

For the past four years, Miller has missed celebrating Father’s Day with his two young girls and without a successful appeal to his sentencing, he is destined to miss many, many more.

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Update

11/14/17- Plan for new clemency hearing request. Submission of materials to Derrick for the USDB hearing on December 16th. Coordinate witness designations and continue to solicit congressional support from Raskin and others.

9/20/17-Derrick’s conviction is final and all appeals have been exhausted. He is not eligible for parole until he has served ten years of his sentence, due to his sentence of life with the possibility of parole. Currently, clemency in some form or pardon are the only legal options available.We are now pursuing another clemency hearing. I anticipate requesting this hearing in the next few weeks. September. We have identified potential witnesses and supporters. We have also started requesting and receiving letters of support to submit as evidence at the hearing. We anticipate calling his mother, Renee, and Jeff Tunnel as witnesses for the Army Clemency and Review Board hearing. Tunnel was Derrick’s NCOIC and believes that the conviction was wrong in every way. He will not testify that the conviction is wrongful. Instead, we are going to have him describe the conditions under which Derrick made this decision and the impact (saving lives) his decision had. We have received the psychological evaluation and risk assessment from Dr. Claiborn. The report is accurate and favorable. We now are just awaiting word of possible support from Derrick’s current Congressman. As soon as we receive word one way or the other from him, we will make our request for a new clemency hearing.

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