On June 22nd of last year while serving aboard the USS Enterprise my husband was "accidentally" shot by another sailor who was playing with his weapon in front of a crowd of people. My husband was shot because when he saw this person away from his post with his gun un-holstered he yelled at him to put it away, the gun dishcarged. It took several months before they stopped investigating my husband and brought charges up on the other sailor.
On Jan 31 of this year there was a court martialing for the other sailor. On Feb 1st he was charged with reckless endangerment and unlawful discharge. On Feb 2nd during the sentencing hearing his lawyer asked for a mistrial and he was granted one. The prosecutor would not give reason why this happened but stated that this really wasn't that big of deal and since the sailor has 18 1/2 years in nothing would have happened anyway.
The questions I have are, has anyone else encountered something like this? Or does anyone know about military law to know why after someone is charged that they can ask for a mistrial?
Thanks!

Originally posted by sand dollar
The questions I have are, has anyone else encountered something like this? Or does anyone know about military law to know why after someone is charged that they can ask for a mistrial?
Thanks!

I don't know the particulars of military law, but in a normal court of law, you usually ask for a mistrial if there's been some sort of procedural error that negative affects the rights of the accused. I don't think it's unusual for the court to wait to see what the verdict is before ruling on the mistrial issue - if the verdict comes back innocent, then the mistrial issue is moot and there's no need to deal with it.

Was your husband badly injured..

Yes and no. The bullet missed his femoral artery by an 1/8th an inch, his vital signs went eratic and they brought out the crash cart because they thought he was going to flat line. At the hospital they were going to remove the bullet but decided the risk of him dying was greater than leaving the bullet in his leg. He was released within five hours back to the ship and was back to work within a couple of days even though the doctor ordered bed rest for minimum 3-4 days and to stay off his feet for 7-10 days. My husband has had tests done that show he has extensive nerve damage and is always in constant pain. So I guess it's how you interpret it as to whether he was seriously injured or not.

Sorry to hear that,is there any possibility of them being able to remove the bullet sometime in the future.......

No unfortunately. The bullet is lodged in his pelvic bone and trying to dig it out could cause them to hit a major artery or damage more nerves and muscle, so as far as it stands now the bullet will stay in there forever.