| Chu Calls For Congressional Hearings Into Military Hazing |
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| Written by Shel Segal | |||
| Mon, February 06, 2012 08:03 PM | |||
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EL MONTE - Rep. Judy Chu (D-El Monte) called for Congressional hearings during a media conference call on Saturday to look into military hazing after the death of a young Marine who was hazed in Afghanistan and the light sentence received by the perpetrators. The call for hearings comes in the wake of the death of Marine Lance Cpl. Harry Lew on April 2, 2011 and the military court sentencing of Lance Cpl. Jacob Jacoby. "We are saying enough is enough," Chu said. "The military must stop hazing that kills a patriotic young person." Chu added some had "a personal reason for being here. I had a nephew who killed himself after being hazed." Chu said Lew unfortunately fell asleep while on guard and was berated by a commanding officer. The berating awoke other Marines and that when the hazing began as the Marines jumped on Lew, kicked and punched him and beat him up. Military records said at 3:22 a.m. the next morning Lew went into a ditch and shot himself in the mouth with his own rifle. But more justice was miscarried as Jacoby received just 30 days in prison. "The case against Lew was gutted in a plea bargain," Chu said. "The Marines removed a hazing charge. Then the judge removed the suicide, saying it had never happened." Chu then said Congress needs to get to the bottom of what happened. "This must stop," she said. "I encourage Congress to act. None of this will change until the Secretary of Defense makes the crime of hazing unacceptable. Nothing will change until we take action. I am calling for Congress to take action. I am calling for change." Carmen Lew, mother of the dead Marine, said she has been appalled with what the military has done with this case. "We are disappointed that the judge's decision did not consider the hazing and that suicide wasn't involved," she said. "It has shaken our faith in the Marine Corps justice system. We hope no other family has to go through what we went through." As far as getting support for the hearings on Capitol Hill when the legislative body is polarized, Chu had this to say: "I was just really gratified after my press conference on Thursday (in Washington D.C.). Not only was there support from Democrats, but also from some Republicans." (Shel Segal can be reached at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .)
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