Unequal Justice
Military courts are stacked to convict--but not the brass. The Pentagon insists everything's just fine
Leavenworth, however, is not a place admirals or generals need worry about. None have spent a day there, except to tour the place. When they get in trouble, a review of military records shows, they are variously reprimanded, fined, stripped of command, demoted in rank, or forced to retire. They are never imprisoned, even in the most serious cases, although some have been confined to quarters for short periods. In its 56-year history, the Air Force has never taken a general to court-martial, although it has administratively disciplined eight generals.
Cutting deals. The Army's record is similar. David Hale, a retired Army major general and decorated Vietnam War veteran, was the last general officer to be court-martialed, in March 1999, on charges that he had carried on affairs with the wives of four subordinate officers and lied to Pentagon investigators. Hale faced up to 11 years in prison, forfeiture of all retirement pay, and dismissal from the Army. He cut a deal. After he pleaded guilty to eight charges, a military judge reprimanded Hale, fined him $10,000, and ordered him to forfeit $1,000 in monthly pay for a year. Later, the Army demoted Hale to brigadier general. That cost him $750 a month in retirement pay.
The Navy, too, has cut deals with flag officers in trouble. Rear Adm. John Scudi, accused of funneling $170,000 in contracts to his girlfriend, among other charges, avoided prison. At an administrative proceeding in late 1998, he accepted a finding of guilty on charges that he violated ethics regulations, made false official statements, obstructed justice, and committed adultery. He retired as a captain, and his pension was cut by $17,700 a year.
Pentagon brass dismiss any suggestion of a double standard. When a court-martial is appropriate, senior officials say, that action is taken. "That is the keystone of our system, regardless of rank," explains Army Brig. Gen. Scott Black, an assistant judge advocate general. "It is what's fair and right."
Duane Adens would take exception to that. What happened to him is laid out in the pages of U.S. Army court file 9801084. The case was based on the testimony of an admitted crack addict and a controversial hair test used to detect drugs. The Army rarely uses hair tests and knows little about them. But no matter. In October 1996, an Army criminal investigator named John Spann phoned Adens and said they needed to talk. They met at Spann's Fort Belvoir office, Adens says. Spann asked Adens about a suspected computer thief. Adens knew the man. But he told Spann he didn't know anything about any thefts. Adens testified that Spann told him: "Well, you want to play hardball, I'll play hardball with you." And: "You're obstructing justice, and I know you're using drugs." Adens had no record of drug use. He ended the conversation.
Around this time, Spann had questioned an individual known in investigative records as "registered source 319." He was a paid informer named Jeff Davis. A convicted drug trafficker, Davis knew a thing or two about crack--testifying that he once had a $200-a-day habit. Davis smoked crack with Adens, he told Spann, in an apartment near Fort Belvoir. He described Adens as 6 feet tall and bald. Adens is 5 foot 8 with a full head of hair. Spann paid Davis a $200 bonus for information on Adens and another soldier.
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