by Calvin Shomaker at The Daily News
U.S. Marine Corps Lt. Col. Stuart Scheller was sentenced on Friday to a reprimand and to forfeit $5,000 after taking to social media to address his dissatisfaction with the handling of the American withdrawal from Afghanistan.
The judge for Scheller’s court-martial, Col. Glen Hines, ordered this punishment after he accepted Scheller’s guilty pleas on Thursday and heard evidence as to how severely the former battalion commander and 17-year Marine should be penalized.
Marine Corps prosecutors had suggested a reprimand plus the forfeiture of $5,000 of pay per month for six months. The maximum punishment Scheller faced was the reprimand plus forfeiture of two-thirds of his monthly pay for up to 12 months.
After the sentence was issued, Scheller attorney Tim Parlatore, told members of the media Scheller would not comment until after he leaves the Marine Corps. Scheller has tendered his resignation voluntarily.
“I think that the judge’s decision was very fair,” Parlatore said. “He definitely considered all the facts and aggravation and mitigation. I think that this is a good, just sentence. So we are very pleased with the result.”
Thursday’s recap:Marine pleads guilty to violating military law when he slammed Afghanistan withdrawal
Scheller pleaded guilty on Thursday to…
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