SBAND Seminar Materials 2013 Free Ethics: Echoes of War The Combat Veteran | Page 23

The  U.S.  Supreme  Court  has  also  recently  recognized  Minnesota’s  veteran   sentencing  law.    In  Porter  v.  McCollum,  (No.  08-­?10537.  Nov.  30,  2009)  the  Court   unanimously  reversed  a  Korean  War  veteran’s  death  sentence  because  evidence  of  his  war   service  and  psychological  injuries  were  not  taken  into  account  during  his  trial.    Citing  to   Minn.  Stat.  §  609.115,  Subd.  10,  the  Court    noted  that  “[o]ur  Nation  has  a  long  tradition  of   according  leniency  to  veterans  in  recognition  of  their  service,  especially  for  those  who   fought  on  the  front  lines,”  and  that  juries  “might  find  mitigating  the  intense  stress  and   mental  and  emotional  toll  that  combat”  can  have  on  the  veteran.   B.   Veterans  Treatment  Court  Established  in  Minneapolis   Minnesota  took  its  next  major  step  in  its  new  approach  to  veterans  in  the  justice   system  when  it  launched  the  Hennepin  County  Veterans  Court  in  July,  2010.    This  new   specialty  court  brings  an  unprecedented  level  of  expertise  and  resources  to  bear  to  assist   troubled  veterans  in  getting  back  on  their  feet,  recognizing  that  treatment  and  probation  is   often  preferable  to  a  single  stint  of  incarceration  in  getting  to  the  root  of  the  veteran’s   problem  and  ensuring  long  term  public  safety.         Other  jurisdictions  across  Minnesota  are  now  moving  to  implement  some  form  of   Veterans  Court  Process.    The  8th  Judicial  District,  comprised  of  13  counties  in  rural  West-­? central  Minnesota  is  leading  the  charge,  aiming  to  create  the  nation’s  first  operational  rural   Veterans  Court  Process.    They  are  finding  that  they  can  do  the  job  without  additional   funding.    The  key  is  training  for  court  personnel  and  establishing  working  relationships   with  the  nearest  VA  medical  center.    The  federally-­?funded  VA  provides  all  of  the  treatment   and  programming  and  communicates  with  the  court  if  a  veteran  is  not  following  through   with  their  ordered  treatment.   With  help,  many  troubled  veterans  can  get  back  on  their  feet  and  stay  there,  putting   their  life  experiences  to  work  and  becoming  assets  to  their  communities.    Untreated,  many   will  continue  to  act  out  for  the  rest  of  their  lives,  destroying  their  families,  presenting  an   ongoing  threat  to  public  safety  and  a  financial  burden  to  their  communities.    The  choice  is   ours.     23