Alleged U.S. Deserter Jenkins Surrenders
How long does a man remain a traitor to his country? How long should that country wait to punish him? Does time ease the despicable nature of betrayal? These are all questions that the case of US Army deserter SGT Charles Jenkins will force us to confront. How long IS long enough? Is there (or should there be) a statute of limitations on treason?
Jenkins, 64, turned himself in at the U.S. Army’s Camp Zama accompanied by his Japanese wife and two daughters….
“Sir, I’m Sergeant Jenkins and I’m reporting,” Jenkins declared as he met the provost marshal, Lt. Col. Paul Nigara, after arriving in a minivan from his Tokyo hospital.
“You are now under the control of the U.S. Army,” Nigara told him in response before escorting Jenkins into a base building.
Jenkins is charged with abandoning his unit and defecting to the North, where he lived for 39 years. He faces a maximum sentence of life in prison if convicted. While in the reclusive communist state, he made propaganda broadcasts and played devilish Americans in anti-U.S. films.
I must admit to having some decidedly mixed feelings in this case. Yes, Jenkins betrayed his country, but this happened 39 years ago. Now Jenkins is a sick old man who is a threat to no one but himself. He is the one who has to look himself in the mirror and come to some sort of peace with his actions.
There are those who would say that living in North Korea for 39 years (not exactly the lap of luxury) has been punishment enough. Realistically, the US Army may not be able to seriously argue that Jenkins’ defection and subsequent actions on behalf of the North Korean regime placed any American soldiers at risk. Of course, it is entirely possible that Jenkins’ actions did exactly that. Thirty-nine years later, though, would (or should) a civilized nation execute a traitor such as Jenkins?
There is little doubt that SGT Charles Jenkins was and is a deserter and a traitor- and as such deserves to be punished under the Uniform Code of Military Justice. Jenkins did provide aid and comfort to the enemy. Does (or should) the fact that his desertion happened 39 years ago be viewed as a mitigating factor? Is there a statute of limitations that a compassionate and humane country and it’s army should respect? I’m not certain that I can answer those questions, but part of me thinks that, having spent 39 years in North Korea, perhaps Charles Jenkins has already been punished.
