Marine Drill Instructor Not Guilty, Apologizes to Family of Dead Recruit
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In the instance of Staff Sgt. Steven Smiley, who was accused of negligent murder and other crimes in the 2021 death of Marine recruit Dalton Beals, the eight-person military jury deliberated for about two hours before reaching a decision.
Smiley was found guilty of breaking a general order that forbids drill instructors from using derogatory language towards recruits after admitting to calling them names like "pig," "war pigs," and "sweet bacon" during training. The jury found him not guilty of negligent homicide, dereliction of duty resulting in death, obstruction of justice, cruelty, oppression, maltreatment of subordinates, and neglect in performing his duties.
Smiley leaned forward with his head down and hands on the table as the judgment was announced, showing clear signs of grief. His distraught wife could be seen sitting behind him. Smiley apologized to the Beals family for their loss in court, stating, "I'm sorry for what happened to your kid." He said that he wouldn't know what to do if anything like that happened to his family.
Smiley, who has been a Marine since 2009, recently shared that he wants to leave the military and become a firefighter/EMT in Wisconsin. His enlistment was complete at the time of trial, but he was placed on "legal hold" until the case's outcome. The jury had yet to determine the punishment as of 6 p.m.
Unfortunately, a recruit, Dalton Beals, lost his life on June 4, 2021, during the Crucible. The Crucible is a grueling 54-hour event that puts participants through their paces by subjecting them to harsh circumstances such as starvation, sleep deprivation, and weariness. The prosecution claimed Smiley overworked the recruits, contributing to Beals' death from heat stroke. But defense witnesses included doctors who said Beals' death was due to a preexisting heart ailment.
One of Smiley's lawyers, Colby Vokey, urged the jury to appreciate the gravity of the situation by pointing out that the prosecution had provided just some of the evidence. He pleaded with the jurors not to use Smiley as an excuse for a terrible incident.
The prosecution's Lt. Col. Ian Germain argued that Smiley had neglected his responsibilities to the recruits under his charge. Germain said that Smiley overexerted them in dangerous circumstances and failed to notice Beals' symptoms of heat exhaustion. He blamed Smiley for Beals' death by saying that the recruit who sought to alert him to Beals' disappearance was disregarded.
The murdered soldier's mother, Stacie Beveridge Beals, remained silent when the judgment was handed down. The trial has been an emotionally charged affair for everyone concerned, and the death of Dalton Beals has been a devastating sorrow for the Beals family.
Given the complexities of the case and the difficulties drill instructors encounter in preparing recruits for the demands of military service, the jury's verdict is understandable. The trial exposed the tension between teaching recruits rigorously and keeping them safe.
It was unclear what would happen to Staff Sgt. Steven Smiley, while the sentencing phase progressed, the conclusion was being followed keenly by the military and the public.
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