In her own words

Lou Allen’s spouse reports from the court martial of his alleged killer Editor’s note: Barbara Allen, the widow of 1st Lt. Louis Allen, is in Fort Bragg, N.C., where she is attending the court martial of Staff Sgt. Alberto Martinez, the man charged with killing her husband and Capt. Phillip Esposito during their service in Iraq. This is the second in a series dispatches on the trial. Lt. Allen, a Chester, N.Y. native, lived in Milford, and taught science at George F. Baker High School in Tuxedo, N.Y. By Barbara Allen We have been limping through defense’s case in the merit phase of this trial for the past two weeks. What began with a deceptively steady flow of witnesses trickled into a pace all too familiar to our families. After three and a half years of delays and false starts, even the court martial itself has fallen into a pattern of maddening delays as we wait for witnesses to arrive in Fayetteville. Some of the witnesses are traveling from all over this country, and some are being flown in from Iraq or Afghanistan. We have heard reports of witnesses refusing to come at all. They want nothing to do with testifying. At one point we were told it was possible the federal marshals would be bringing the holdouts here in handcuffs. It seems not all of the defense’s witnesses are as anxious to exonerate Martinez as I had anticipated. While we have been treated to several seedy characters, some of them have redeemed themselves by expressing discomfort at being here. One even interrupted his own testimony to state that Captain Esposito was a commander he was proud to serve under, and that he would do so again if given the chance. Witness production is but one of the obstacles our families face in this maddening road to justice. Proceedings at Guantanamo Bay have now joined the tug-of-war with justice in our case. Recent news reports have answered our questions as to why Colonel Henley — the judge in our case — announced a huge break in proceedings. There will be no court for us between Dec. 5 and throughout the entire week following. Coming on the heels of the break for Thanksgiving, this unexplained and awkwardly lengthy delay mystified us. That is, until we saw and heard the news reports about the proceedings at Guantanamo Bay. The proceedings of September 11 conspirators have been underway with Judge Ralph H. Kohlmann overseeing the case. But Judge Kohlmann, according to the reports, has decided to opt for immediate retirement, leaving that case in need of a judge. Why should that impact our case? you may ask. The answer would be because our case has been under some sort of cosmic hex from the outset. Not a very intellectual or proper explanation, I know, but then again I am just a victim in this case, not a scholar or an attorney. And to what else can I subscribe the most recent evidence of this hex, the decision to take our judge from this case and send him to Cuba to oversee a hearing right in the middle of our capital court martial? What message does that send to us? This case has already been buried so far under other events in this world. The import of this case not only for us but for the entire armed forces and their families has been squashed, although no one in the military would ever admit that to us. Instead, when doubts are raised, one or another high-ranking individual is sent to assure us this case is a top priority, shake our hands, and bow out of the picture. I don’t know exactly how it came about that Colonel Henley should be the one to go to Cuba that week, or why one case should be pitted against another. I’m not sure I would even believe any explanation given. All I know is that our families remain committed to finding justice. We have not spent three and a half years in this battle without learning how to get back on our feet each time we have the ground dissolved beneath us. We are not sure when closing statements in this case will be or how the flow of this case will be adjusted by the December break. Our understanding is rebuttal witnesses will be heard perhaps before Thanksgiving and wrapped up immediately after that break. What happens from there remains to be seen. Will closing statements be given, the panel sent for deliberations, before Dec. 5? What happens if there is no verdict before then? Will the panel’s deliberations be interrupted for this week off? Or will closing statements be delayed until court resumes? We have no way of knowing this, and are left to go whichever way the wind blows from day to day in this case. In the meantime, I will celebrate Thanksgiving with my family and take stock of the blessings in my life, both past and present. I will attempt to gather the strength to face the holidays without Lou again, as I have done for the past three years. Thanks to the four beautiful boys I have the gift of being a mother to, and the love of people in my life who refuse to give up on me, not all the holiday spirit is lost on me. If we must be in court throughout this holiday season, at least we will do so with the knowledge that this particular battle is drawing to a close for us. Perhaps we can then we can then begin to heal in the new year. To comment on this article, visit www.pikecountycourier.com.