Soldier won’t face death

FORT LEWIS, Wash. – Fort Lewis commander Lt. Gen. James Dubik reversed his earlier decision that a soldier accused of killing two people outside a tavern should face the death penalty if convicted.

Dubik gave no explanation, but Army officials said the change followed a review of his original decision in May regarding Spc. Jamaal A. Lewis, a communications specialist.

Lewis, 22, is charged with killing Pfc. Jason Jowers, 26, and another soldier’s wife, Crystal Hurley-McDowell, 23, during an attempted robbery outside a Lakewood tavern in September 2005.

Trial is scheduled next month. Lewis now faces a maximum punishment of life without possibility of parole.

Capital cases are rare in the military. There are six men on the military’s death row, and the last execution was in 1961.

Fort Lewis officials could not recall the last time a soldier there faced the death penalty.

Under the military court system, commanders decide whether an accused soldier should be court-martialed or face some lesser form of disciplinary action.

Defense attorneys had raised questions about procedures leading to Dubik’s decision in May. Under recommendation of the trial judge, Col. Debra Boudreau, lawyers asked Dubik to reconsider the case early last month, officials said.

Defense attorney Maj. John Hyatt was allowed to speak to Dubik about why his client didn’t deserve such a punishment.

Accusations against Lewis do not rise to the level that would merit the death penalty in most states’ civilian courts, Hyatt contends.

Lewis grew up in tough circumstances in Prince George’s County, Md., and received good reviews for his service with the 1st Special Forces Group in Afghanistan. His background and performance as a soldier merited leniency, Hyatt said.

Col. Kevin Lovejoy, who took over this summer as the post’s top lawyer, also advised against the death penalty after reviewing the case.

“This is consistent with the staff judge advocate’s recommendation,” Lt. Col. Robert Resnick, a senior deputy on the post’s legal staff, said Friday.

Two other soldiers involved in the case have already been convicted.

Pvt. Kevin Lambers was convicted in May of two counts of making false statements and one count of being an accessory after the fact in the killings.

Pvt. Joseaf U. Griessett pleaded guilty in March to being an accessory to a crime after the fact, obstructing justice and making a false official statement.

Lambers, Griessett and Lewis were assigned to Group Support Company of the 1st Special Forces Group at Fort Lewis.