Two men in Montana were recently sentenced to prison for violating terms of their respective probations. They both claimed to be veterans in hopes to get a more favorable judgment, including one man who claimed to have served seven tours of duty in the fight against terror.
But when it was found they each lied about serving, they both got a major homework project.
On Friday, Ryan Patrick Morris, 28, was sentenced to 10 years of prison for violating probation for felony burglary, according to this Associated Press report in the Military Times. Troy Allan Nelson, 33, was sentenced to five years for drug possession.
Cascade County District Judge Greg Pinski suspended three years of each of their sentences, but issued this variance to each of them. Before Morris and Nelson are eligible for parole, they must first do the following to recognize actual veterans and their families, especially in Montana.
Each has to:
Write, by hand, the names of all 6,756 Americans killed in Iraq and Afghanistan during the war on terrorWrite, by hand, obituaries for the 40 Montanana killed in Afghanistan and IraqWrite, by hand, apologies to various veterans groups for lying about service in the U. S. military to hopefully obtain a lesser sentence than what they received
Why the specific punishment? According to Military Times, in 2016 Morris said he “did seven combat tours in Iraq and Afghanistan,” which he claimed led to a life of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).
Judge Pinski ordered Morris to 441 hours of community service, which equates to one hour of work for each of the 441 Montanans killed in combat since the Korean War. The AP report indicates he has already completed 10 of those hours.
Then there was Nelson, who reportedly convinced people to get enrolled into a Veterans Treatment Court, long before it was deemed he never served in the military.
Judge Pinski ordered even more service for the two men, saying that on each Memorial Day and Veterans Day, they must stand at the Montana Veterans Memorial for eight hours in Great Falls and wear a placard that reads: “I am a liar. I am not a veteran. I stole valor. I have dishonored all veterans.”
