Court-Martial Trial Practice Blog
A Hohenfels-based soldier was sentenced to 8½ years in prison Thursday in a knife attack on a German family last summer.
Racine, assigned to the 1st Battalion, 4th Infantry Regiment, was originally charged with one count of attempted premeditated murder, along with several lesser charges, according to the official Army charge sheet. But after the three-day trial before a military judge, Racine was convicted of aggravated assault with the intent to inflict grievous bodily harm.
But the defense argued that Racine thought he was in a war zone, and that he attacked the German family as he sought shelter in their apartment.
"He was afraid because in his mind at the moment of the offense, he was in an enemy zone," defense attorney Capt. Benjamin Wright said in his closing arguments. "In short, he was out of his mind."
Paul Montalbano, a psychologist from Walter Reed Army Medical Center, testified for the defense that Racine suffered from PTSD and was an alcoholic.
The sentence included RIR to E1, TF, and a DD.
Stars & Stripes reports.