When I was a Colonel in the Air Force and Chief Prosecutor for the Terrorism Trials at Guantanamo Bay, I implemented a policy that prosecutors would not use evidence obtained by torture. Rear Admiral (retired) James McPherson was The Judge Advocate General of the Navy when I established the policy and Admiral McPherson supported it.
Later, after Admiral McPherson had retired, superiors above me in the chain of command directed me to use torture-derived evidence. I refused and I resigned my post. It was the right thing to do, both morally and legally. As I’ve said many times before, it’s always the right time to do the right thing.
That’s what Navy Captain Brett Crozier did as well. As members of his crew on the USS Theodore Roosevelt fell ill with COVID-19, and as his superiors were not acting on his request to partially evacuate the ship to prevent further infections, he went above his chain of command. He wrote an email to the Naval hierarchy – subsequently leaked to the media – asking for the evacuation to prevent the further spread of the infection.
Captain Crozier did the right thing for his crew, one of whom subsequently died from COVID-19. His actions, which ultimately led to the evacuation of the Roosevelt, likely saved lives. Nevertheless, he was fired to appease a president intent on creating the appearance that he was in control of a pandemic that was already raging aboard the ship and throughout the country.
Today, I joined 375,000 in signing a petition demanding that Captain Crozier, who became infected with COVID-19 and is now battling the illness, be reinstated as commanding officer of the USS Theodore Roosevelt. Admiral McPherson, who was on the right side of the torture issue years ago, now serves as the Acting Secretary of the Navy.
Now is the right time for Secretary McPherson to do the right thing.
