More Kid Gloves Treatment for Lisa Nowak
March 21st, 2007 by Glenn Sacks, MA for Fathers & FamiliesNormally one would think that when a Naval officer who tried to kidnap and murder another serviceman would be court-martialed. Not so for Lisa Nowak. Nowak, who attacked and planned to kill a romantic rival, continues to receive the kid glove treatment standard for female offenders.
According to this UPI story, Nowak has been reassigned to Naval Air Station Corpus Christi to serve as a training officer--not a bad gig for the would-be Scott Peterson. In my co-authored column Scott Peterson in a Space Suit (Philadelphia Daily News, 2/26/07) I explained:
“The media is soft-pedaling numerous aspects of the Nowak case. Practically every media outlet has explained Nowak's decision to wear astronaut diapers on her journey to allegedly attack romantic rival Colleen Shipman as a bizarre, freakish action indicative of her mental instability. In reality, Nowak acted with logic and calculation—she did not want to stop several times on the way from Houston to Orlando and leave a trail of convenience store camera records behind her. For the same reason, when Nowak arrived in Orlando she disguised herself, checked into a hotel under a fake name and address, and paid cash.
“Similarly, numerous commentators have described Nowak’s equipment--a 4-inch folding knife, a steel mallet, several garbage bags, rubber tubing, a BB gun, and pepper spray--as ‘wacky’ or ‘bizarre.’ They are nothing of the sort. Orlando police believe Nowak intended to kill Shipman, and she probably planned to utilize the garbage bags to dispose of her, perhaps in Galveston Bay. As Orlando police Sgt. Barbara Jones explained, it was a ‘fairly elaborate plan’…
“Nowak was let out on a light $25,500 bail and, except for those grumpy Orlando prosecutors, most are trivializing what she did. In 2002, Scott Peterson killed Laci Peterson and disposed of her body in San Francisco Bay. Except for the fact that Nowak botched the job, is her alleged crime much different?”
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March 21st, 2007 at 7:17 pm
I do agree that Lisa Nowak needs to have the book thrown at her, but there are a few things I need to point out about the current state of the case. As an Army wife for 15 years I already understand that some things are handled differently within the military. I saw plenty of soldiers go through the civilian criminal court system, for one reason or another.
First, as of right now this is a civilian matter. The Navy could request of the court to turn this over to them to try in the military court, but that is between the Navy and the assigned civilian court. I would venture to guess they are already working that out, but they first have to be sure of who has proper jurisdiction under all applicable laws. The reason this is a civilian matter was it was not done during duty hours or on a military installation. She was arrested by the local civilian police force, and will be processed through the local civilian court, unless the court and the Navy come to the above mentioned agreement.
Second, it is standard in our country that one is “innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.” For this reason, the Navy can not discharge her until a guilty verdict is given. In the meantime, she has to have a “job.” They put her in a job that, while important, one can “slack off” because there are plenty of other people there to perform the duties. This was not her job to begin with, and I am sure they were not prepared to take on more personnel this way. These things are normally planned, and she was just dropped in their lap. This is even if her command requires her to show up at work rather than just check in from time to time. I have seen cases where the soldier was not required to physically show up, all they had to do was call their superior daily to check in. Mind you, this was ONLY when being handled in a civilian court.
Third, even once the discharge process is started, it takes time. When a soldier is being released due to end of contract obligation, they are given 30 days to “clear.” And in that case, the military knows this person is leaving because it was planned out. Again, this situation was dropped on them. Also, I would mention that officers have an “indefinite” end date. She would have to formally resign in order to get out of the military prior to a guilty verdict.
March 22nd, 2007 at 7:16 am
I've said it before and I'll say it again. In our culture, when it comes to heinous crimes, "Men are demonized, Women are diagnosed."
March 22nd, 2007 at 12:03 pm
SouthernDad, while I do agree with you in general, and it does apply to this case over all, that has nothing to do with this latest development specifically. The latest, specifically, is people getting upset that Ms. Nowak was given a cush "job" even though she has been criminally accused. The military has certain rules and protocols that they have to follow, that is all there is to this latest "development", and it really was not news worthy. It is no surprise to those of us who know military rules. The only reason it made the news at all was anyone not familiar with the military would blow it out of proportion.
February 4th, 2008 at 8:40 pm
After stumbling upon your website while doing graduate thesis research, I am a fine arts-graphic arts major, I can immediately see/read that there is overt chauvinism here (in this blogsite). It's so apparent. How repelling.