Poor Marine, too much stress from combat made him snap. Wait, it's not PTSD or some other stress-inducing malady from military service, you say? You're right, at the very end of the article we learn that Yonathan Melaku was shouting Allahu Akbar while pulling the trigger. No one bothers to connect his actions with jihad, because that would be Islamophobic. Instead, it's a mental illness. I agree, Islam is a mental illness for some.
From Cumberlink July 11
Ex-Marine who shot at Pentagon claims mental ills
Lawyers for an ex-Marine from Virginia facing 25 years in prison for firing shots at the Pentagon, the Marine Corps museum in Quantico and other buildings say their client is mentally ill.
Yonathan Melaku of Alexandria pleaded guilty earlier this year to a series of overnight shootings at various military buildings in northern Virginia. No one was injured. As part of a plea deal, he agreed to a 25-year sentence.
In court papers Wednesday, Melaku's new lawyers ask for a court-ordered mental examination. They say their own psychiatrist, Neil Blumberg, has concluded Melaku is schizophrenic after reviewing his medical records and interviewing him for five hours at the jail.
The motion does not seek to overturn Melaku's conviction and it is not clear whether any determinations about Melaku's mental health could affect his guilty plea.
When Melaku entered his plea, his lawyer at the time, Gregory English, requested a mental evaluation so that his client could be placed at the federal medical prison in Butner, N.C. But at the time, English took pains to say that any mental health problems that plagued Melaku did not rise to the level that they called his competency into question.
From Cumberlink July 11
Ex-Marine who shot at Pentagon claims mental ills
Lawyers for an ex-Marine from Virginia facing 25 years in prison for firing shots at the Pentagon, the Marine Corps museum in Quantico and other buildings say their client is mentally ill.
Yonathan Melaku of Alexandria pleaded guilty earlier this year to a series of overnight shootings at various military buildings in northern Virginia. No one was injured. As part of a plea deal, he agreed to a 25-year sentence.
In court papers Wednesday, Melaku's new lawyers ask for a court-ordered mental examination. They say their own psychiatrist, Neil Blumberg, has concluded Melaku is schizophrenic after reviewing his medical records and interviewing him for five hours at the jail.
The motion does not seek to overturn Melaku's conviction and it is not clear whether any determinations about Melaku's mental health could affect his guilty plea.
When Melaku entered his plea, his lawyer at the time, Gregory English, requested a mental evaluation so that his client could be placed at the federal medical prison in Butner, N.C. But at the time, English took pains to say that any mental health problems that plagued Melaku did not rise to the level that they called his competency into question.
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