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    Administrator Michael's Avatar
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    Timothy Baily Hennis - US Military Death Row


    Kathryn Eastburn and her daughters, Kara, 5, and Erin, 3







    Summary of Offense:

    Timothy B. Hennis was sentenced to death on April 15, 2010 for the 1985 murder of Kathryn Eastburn and two of her young daughters Erin and Kara.

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    Administrator Michael's Avatar
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    April 8, 2010

    Hennis found guilty in unanimous panel ruling

    FORT BRAGG – An Army court-martial panel on Fort Bragg unanimously found Master Sgt. Timothy Hennis guilty of three counts of premeditated murder Thursday. Hennis could face the death penalty.

    Hennis was charged with murdering a Fayetteville woman and her two young daughters 25 years ago.

    He was initially convicted of the murders and sentenced to death in 1986. But he was later acquitted after an appeal granted him a second trial in 1989.

    He retired from the Army in 2004, but officials called him back to active duty two years later to try him in a military court, saying new DNA evidence links him to the crime.

    http://news14.com/charlotte-news-104...s-panel-ruling

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    Supreme Court won't hear convicted soldier's murder appeal

    The U.S. Supreme Court has declined to hear an appeal of a former Fort Bragg soldier convicted in the 1985 deaths of a Fayetteville woman and two of her daughters.

    Master Sgt. Timothy Hennis is on death row in a military prison following his April 2010 court-martial.

    Kathryn Eastburn and two of her daughters, 5-year-old Kara and 3-year-old Erin, were stabbed to death in their Summerhill Road home on May 9, 1985. Jana Eastburn, who was 22 months old at the time, was left unharmed in her crib.

    Hennis petitioned the Supreme Court in April to review his case. The justices didn't provide a reason for their refusal.

    He was convicted in state court in 1986 but won an appeal and was acquitted in a second trial three years later. He finished out his service in the Army and retired to Washington state.

    Years later, DNA tests not available in the 1980s linked Hennis to sperm found on Kathryn Eastburn. Because Hennis couldn't be tried in state court again, the case was turned over to the Army to pursue a court-martial.

    http://www.wral.com/news/news_briefs/story/11193906/
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    Senior Member Member RobertH's Avatar
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    I just cant help but think that SCOTUS would want to hear the double jeopardy argument here. Don't get me wrong if he did it, he should be punished, but I think there is a constitutionality issue here.

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    Yes,RobertH,because I am sure that the US definition of double jeopardy applies to all US courts (which also means those acquitted in a state court cannot be tried in a federal court for the same offence,and vice versa).

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    Senior Member Member RobertH's Avatar
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    I am prior military, but I am not sure how the military courts can take jurisdiction on a civilian case...I will have to do some research and see if there is already precedent., Does anyone else know?

    Here is what I found.

    Joint Jurisdiction. Courts-martial have exclusive jurisdiction over purely military offenses. In the case of an offense that violates the Uniform Code of Military Justice and the criminal law of a State, other Federal law, or all three, it must be determined which jurisdiction will prosecute. This decision is normally made through coordination between appropriate military authorities (ordinarily the chief military lawyer at an installation (Staff Judge Advocate)) and appropriate civilian authorities (United States Attorney or District Attorney’s Office).

    The fact that an accused is subject to trial by court-martial does not eliminate the possibility of trial by another jurisdiction, either in addition to or in lieu of court-martial. Under the United States Constitution, a person may not be tried for the same misconduct by both a court-martial and another federal court. Such an act would violate the Constitution’s double jeopardy clause.

    Criminal prosecution in both federal and state courts is also a constitutional possibility. The Constitution’s double jeopardy clause is not applicable because two different sovereigns are involved, i.e. the federal government and state government. As a matter of policy, however, a person who is pending trial or has been tried by a State court is ordinarily not tried by court-martial for the same act.


    Commission of an offense overseas may result in trial by the host nation. Under international law, a foreign nation has jurisdiction to punish offenses committed within its borders by members of a visiting force, unless it expressly or by implication consents to relinquish its jurisdiction to the visiting sovereign. Generally, the United States has concluded Status of Forces agreements with host nations that indicate which sovereign will have primary jurisdiction over particular offenses. To the extent possible, efforts are made under such agreements to maximize the exercise of court-martial jurisdiction over military members or other persons subject to the Uniform Code of Military Justice.

    http://www.usmilitarylawyer.com/type...rt-martial.asp
    Last edited by RobertH; 06-11-2012 at 05:00 PM.

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    Administrator Heidi's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by couldheshebeinnocent? View Post
    Yes,RobertH,because I am sure that the US definition of double jeopardy applies to all US courts (which also means those acquitted in a state court cannot be tried in a federal court for the same offence,and vice versa).
    Quote Originally Posted by RobertH View Post
    Criminal prosecution in both federal and state courts is also a constitutional possibility. The Constitution’s double jeopardy clause is not applicable because two different sovereigns are involved, i.e. the federal government and state government. As a matter of policy, however, a person who is pending trial or has been tried by a State court is ordinarily not tried by court-martial for the same act.[/I]
    As usual schooled!

    Although Hennis murdered the victims off post, he himself was property of the United States Army, therefore the military was able to successfully prosecute and obtain a sentence of death for his heinous murders.

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    Senior Member Member Jeffects's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by couldheshebeinnocent? View Post
    Yes,RobertH,because I am sure that the US definition of double jeopardy applies to all US courts (which also means those acquitted in a state court cannot be tried in a federal court for the same offence,and vice versa).
    Yeah? Tell that to the Cops involved in the Rodney King beating. They just circumvented Double Jeopardy by comming up with different charges for the same incident.

    Quote Originally Posted by RobertH View Post
    I just cant help but think that SCOTUS would want to hear the double jeopardy argument here. Don't get me wrong if he did it, he should be punished, but I think there is a constitutionality issue here.
    I didn't read all the posts here, But I believe he was released on appeal. I think double jeopardy only applies when found "Not guilty".
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    Senior Member Member RobertH's Avatar
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    He was acquitted on appeal. That is why I was questioning the double jeopardy. But doing some research, I found the it didn't apply.

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    April 15, 2010

    (ABC 6 NEWS) -- A Rochester native gets the death penalty for murder. Thursday, a military jury handed down the death sentence for 52-year-old Master Sergeant Timothy Hennis.

    Hennis was convicted last week of the premeditated murder of a North Carolina woman and her two small children. It happened back in 1985.

    The sentence will now be reviewed by a commanding officer and automatically appealed.

    Hennis graduated from Mayo High School in Rochester in the 1970's.

    http://kaaltv.com/article/stories/S1...html?cat=10219

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