DECEMBER 1, 2009
Supreme Court Cites PTSD In Throwing Out Vet's Death Sentence.
The Los Angeles Times (12/1) notes that on Monday, the US Supreme Court "threw out a death sentence for a decorated Korean War veteran, ruling for the first time that combat stress must be considered by a jury before it hands down the harshest punishment." The decision "appears to be the first in which the court has said post-traumatic stress disorder was the type of circumstance that called for leniency. It comes as thousands" of US "soldiers are being treated for PTSD suffered as a result of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan."The Chicago Tribune (12/1) publishes a similar version of the Times story, while the New York Times (12/1) says the court's unanimous decision "displayed unusual solicitude for a death-row inmate, noting that 'our nation has a long tradition of according leniency to veterans in recognition of their service, especially for those who fought on the front lines.'" The Times adds that George Porter Jr., the inmate, "was convicted in 1987 of murdering his former girlfriend" and her boyfriend.
Impact: PTSD, criminal justice system
VA, DOD Creating Unit That Can Confirm Veterans' Classified Service.
On its website, WTHR-TV Indianapolis, IN (11/30) reported, "A 13 Investigates report is sparking a national policy review over benefits for reservists who go to war, but aren't officially activated. For years, a local pilot" named Steve Avery, who served in Desert Strom, "says his squadron has been unable to prove they are sick and dying from war illnesses. More importantly, some can't find records to show they even served. Congressman Steve Buyer, the ranking Republican" on the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee, "called for a top-level review. Two weeks later, the VA" responded, "saying the agency is not privy to records for covert or classified missions." However, the VA and the Department of Defense "are now creating a special Operations Command with McDill Air Force Base in Tampa, Florida," that "will be able to confirm veterans' service, with data on classified or covert missions, without breaching confidentiality requirements. The official start of the program is expected in coming days."Impact: Gulf War Veterans
VA Study Cited In Column On Body Temperature.
In the New York Times' (12/1) "Science Q & A" column, C. Claiborne Ray writes, "'Normal'" body temperature for humans "is now thought to be lower than 98.6 degrees Fahrenheit and to vary significantly during the day." Ray adds, "A widely reported study, done at a Veterans Administration hospital and reported in The Journal of the American Medical Association in 1992, found that in 148 healthy adults recruited to study a new vaccine, baseline temperatures varied from 96 to 99.9 degrees Fahrenheit, with an average of 98.2. Only 8 percent of the subjects had a 'normal' 98.6-degree reading."Impact: VA research