Thursday, June 11, 2009

Can you recruit someone into the marines who's been declared incapacitated?

A Marine Corps private facing a court martial that will put him away for years, somehow enlisted in the service despite being diagnosed with autism and being subject to a conservatorship. Autism impairs comprehension skills, communication skills, and results in restricted and repetitive behavior.

As he grew up he spent time in a lockdown treatment center and a group home. His grandmother is his court ordered conservator because he is “developmentally disabled” and “unable to provide for his … personal needs for physical health, food, clothing or shelter.”

He enlisted in the Marine Corps Jan 2008 and completed boot camp. He was found with child pornography went awol. His attorney claims he was exploited to meet recruitment goals and that they can't court martial him, because he never had the capacity to consent to enrollment in the first place.

The young man also had a history of trouble in his past. His parents were drug addicts and had constant behavior problems. He spent 15 months in a correctional facility for theft and "other" behavior problems.

The whole article's at signonsandiego.com via disabilityscoop.com

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