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The War Profiteers - War Crimes,
Kidnappings, Torture and Big Money |
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September 20th,
2008 - Jailed Soldier’s Mom Says He was Caught in ‘Bad Situation’ |
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Jailed Soldier’s Mom Says He
was Caught in ‘Bad Situation’ By Joseph M. Dougherty Deseret News September 20, 2008 Clearfield - Victoria Ramos
was so close to seeing her soldier son, Army Spc. Belmor Ramos, again. He was
going to be home in June, then July, then September. It's been 15 months since he
was deployed to Iraq. But when Belmor Ramos
pleaded guilty Thursday to conspiracy to murder as part of a plea deal, he
received a seven-month prison sen- tence, expected to be served in Germany. The plea deal means he will
testify against fellow soldiers accused in the deaths of four Iraqi men, who
were killed and dumped in a Baghdad canal in April 2007, allegedly in
retribution for casualties in Ramos' unit. Ramos, 23, had faced a
possible sentence of life in prison for conspiracy to commit murder. His defense attorney, Capt.
Patrick Bryan, who had asked for his client to be formally reprimanded and
allowed to stay in the Army, had little to say about the sentence. "It is what it
is," he said, noting that the case would be automatically reviewed, a
process akin to an appeal. Judge Lt. Col. Edward
O'Brien said that, had it not been for the plea agreement, he would have
sentenced Ramos to 40 years in prison, but instead will order Ramos' rank
reduced to private and that he be dishonorably discharged from the army. That's right where a
mother's protective instinct comes in. Victoria Ramos said Friday
she hopes that once her son comes back to the United States to rebuild his
life, people don't judge him too harshly. "He was in the wrong
place at the wrong time," she said. "He was just in a bad situation
nobody could control." His mistake of standing by
while fellow soldiers shot their prisoners doesn't make him a bad person or a
monster, she said. "He is a good boy, a
good man," she said. Victoria Ramos has always
told her son's three younger siblings they should look up to him and try to
be like him. And even though her son
faces punishment for his actions, she knows he's doing the right thing by
telling the truth. "He was raised with
church," she said. "He learned that the truth always has to come
out, and it's always going to come out." The last time she talked to
her son was three weeks ago while she was visiting Chile. He told her he had
to go to court and asked her to pray for him, though he told her the future
was in God's hands. Then came the news Thursday
about why exactly Ramos was in court, when a reporter stopped by her house to
ask some questions. "I cried and
cried," she said. People can still trust her
son, she said. Ramos worked hard to achieve
his goals, rising to the rank of major in the Clearfield High Junior Reserve
Officers Training Corps. He followed in the footsteps
of his father, who had a military career for 25 years. "Serve his country is
the only thing he wanted to do," Victoria Ramos said. "He would
give his life if needed." Victoria Ramos never liked
the idea of his going to war. She hasn't been able to watch war movies or
television shows dealing with the subject. And she always feared, each time
she heard news of soldier deaths abroad, that it would be her son. So, for her, there's solace
in knowing that at least her Belmor will be coming home alive. Contributing: The Associated
Press External link: http://www.deseretnews.com/article/1,5143,700260309,00.html |