#MARINEHELDINMEXICO: Mom pleads with lawmakers for "despondent" Marine"s freedom - Full Coverage: Marine jailed in Mexico

The mother of the U.S. Marine imprisoned in Mexico after mistakenly crossing the border with three legally-registered guns told lawmakers Wednesday her son is rapidly deteriorating and pleaded with them to press for his return.

Jill Tahmooressi, whose 26-year-old son, Andrew, served two tours in Afghanistan, appeared before a House Foreign Affairs subcommittee to push her case for the U.S. to pressure Mexico to release him. The condition of Tahmooressi, who suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder from his service, has deteriorated since he was locked up March 31 on gun charges.

“My son is despondent, without treatment, and he needs to be home,” she said, her voice cracking with emotion.

The longtime nurse, who lives in Weston, Fla., recounted several emotional calls from her son, including one from Afghanistan, where he told her about blacking out after an IED exploded near him. Upon returning home, Andrew Tahmooressi abandoned his dream of becoming a commercial pilot because, he told his mother, “I can’t concentrate on the academic work.”

Then, on March 31, he called her from a Mexican border checkpoint to say he was in trouble.

“Mom, I got lost; I made a wrong turn,” Jill Tahmooressi recounted her son saying. “I’m at the Mexican border. You need to know this because I’m surrounded by Mexican military.”

Hours later, in another call, he told her, “Mom, I’ve been arrested, please secure me an attorney.”

Appearing with the distraught mother before the Western Hemisphere Subcommittee were television personality and former Navy Lt. Commander Montel Williams, who is also a former Marine, and Pete Hegseth, the CEO of Concerned Veterans for America and a Fox News contributor.

“We know for a fact that A’s time in this prison has been worse than his time in both tours of combat,” Williams said. “How dare we, how dare we as a nation, hesitate to get that young man back?”

The hearing took place just hours after Tahmooressi’s attorney, Fernando Benitez, told Fox News he plans to rest his case today, possibly opening the door for Tahmooressi’s release within a matter of weeks.

“We have more than enough for an acquittal,” Benitez said. He said a crucial development in the case came within recent days, when the prosecution acknowledged that Tahmooressi’s PTSD may have played a role in the immediate aftermath of his detention. That stipulation could pave the way to Tahmooressi’s release on humanitarian grounds, he said.

Lawmakers said it is outrageous for a U.S. ally to hold an ailing American on gun charges that clearly stem from an honest mistake. Tahmooressi was in the San Diego area to get PTSD treatment, and living out of his pickup truck when he mistakenly crossed the border at a poorly marked checkpoint. He immediately declared that the guns were among all of his possessions in the truck, according to Benitez.

“As a direct result of his honorable service in Afghanistan, U.S. Marine Sergeant Andrew Tahmooressi now suffers from combat-related PTSD,” said Rep. Matt Salmon, R- Ariz. “Tragically, instead of receiving the treatment he needs, he is being held in a Mexican prison.

“Our war hero needs to come home,” he added.

Hegseth, a former infantry officer in the Army National Guard who served tours in Afghanistan, Iraq and at Guantanamo Bay, said the administration needs to do more to bring Tahmooressi home.

“Shame on anyone, at home or abroad, who does not move heaven and Earth to ensure that those who given so much, receive the care they deserve,” Hegseth said.

Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Ed Royce, R-Calif., noted that the Obama administration traded five Taliban detainees held at Guantanamo Bay for the release of Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl, accused of desertion by several men who served with him.

“Sgt. Tahmooressi is an American hero, whose wrong turn at the Mexican border has had the devastating effect of delaying his much-needed PTSD treatment for too long,” Royce said.

Royce said he and Salmon have been in contact with Mexico’s attorney general, who has the power to release Tahmooressi on humanitarian grounds. They said they impressed upon Jesus Karam that Tahmooressi had been diagnosed with PTSD by the VA San Diego Healthcare System just five days before his arrest.

“I am confident the humanitarian release of Andrew Tahmooressi will occur very soon,” Royce said.

More than 100,000 people have signed a petition asking the Obama administration to demand Tahmooressi’s release, prompting White House officials earlier this summer to ask Mexican authorities to quickly process the Marine’s case.

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#MARINEHELDINMEXICO: Mom pleads with lawmakers for "despondent" Marine"s freedom - Full Coverage: Marine jailed in Mexico

#MARINEHELDINMEXICO: Mom pleads with lawmakers for "despondent" Marine"s freedom - VIDEO: Montel: Marine case "ridiculously politicized" - Full Coverage: Marine jailed in Mexico

The mother of the U.S. Marine imprisoned in Mexico after mistakenly crossing the border with three legally-registered guns told lawmakers Wednesday her son is rapidly deteriorating and pleaded with them to press for his return.

Jill Tahmooressi, whose 26-year-old son, Andrew, served two tours in Afghanistan, appeared before a House Foreign Affairs subcommittee to push her case for the U.S. to pressure Mexico to release him. The condition of Tahmooressi, who suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder from his service, has deteriorated since he was locked up March 31 on gun charges.

“My son is despondent, without treatment, and he needs to be home,” she said, her voice cracking with emotion.

The longtime nurse, who lives in Weston, Fla., recounted several emotional calls from her son, including one from Afghanistan, where he told her about blacking out after an IED exploded near him. Upon returning home, Andrew Tahmooressi abandoned his dream of becoming a commercial pilot because, he told his mother, “I can’t concentrate on the academic work.”

Then, on March 31, he called her from a Mexican border checkpoint to say he was in trouble.

“Mom, I got lost; I made a wrong turn,” Jill Tahmooressi recounted her son saying. “I’m at the Mexican border. You need to know this because I’m surrounded by Mexican military.”

Hours later, in another call, he told her, “Mom, I’ve been arrested, please secure me an attorney.”

Appearing with the distraught mother before the Western Hemisphere Subcommittee were television personality and former Navy Lt. Commander Montel Williams, who is also a former Marine, and Pete Hegseth, the CEO of Concerned Veterans for America and a Fox News contributor.

“We know for a fact that A’s time in this prison has been worse than his time in both tours of combat,” Williams said. “How dare we, how dare we as a nation, hesitate to get that young man back?”

The hearing took place just hours after Tahmooressi’s attorney, Fernando Benitez, told Fox News he plans to rest his case today, possibly opening the door for Tahmooressi’s release within a matter of weeks.

“We have more than enough for an acquittal,” Benitez said. He said a crucial development in the case came within recent days, when the prosecution acknowledged that Tahmooressi’s PTSD may have played a role in the immediate aftermath of his detention. That stipulation could pave the way to Tahmooressi’s release on humanitarian grounds, he said.

Lawmakers said it is outrageous for a U.S. ally to hold an ailing American on gun charges that clearly stem from an honest mistake. Tahmooressi was in the San Diego area to get PTSD treatment, and living out of his pickup truck when he mistakenly crossed the border at a poorly marked checkpoint. He immediately declared that the guns were among all of his possessions in the truck, according to Benitez.

“As a direct result of his honorable service in Afghanistan, U.S. Marine Sergeant Andrew Tahmooressi now suffers from combat-related PTSD,” said Rep. Matt Salmon, R- Ariz. “Tragically, instead of receiving the treatment he needs, he is being held in a Mexican prison.

“Our war hero needs to come home,” he added.

Hegseth, a former infantry officer in the Army National Guard who served tours in Afghanistan, Iraq and at Guantanamo Bay, said the administration needs to do more to bring Tahmooressi home.

“Shame on anyone, at home or abroad, who does not move heaven and Earth to ensure that those who given so much, receive the care they deserve,” Hegseth said.

Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Ed Royce, R-Calif., noted that the Obama administration traded five Taliban detainees held at Guantanamo Bay for the release of Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl, accused of desertion by several men who served with him.

“Sgt. Tahmooressi is an American hero, whose wrong turn at the Mexican border has had the devastating effect of delaying his much-needed PTSD treatment for too long,” Royce said.

Royce said he and Salmon have been in contact with Mexico’s attorney general, who has the power to release Tahmooressi on humanitarian grounds. They said they impressed upon Jesus Karam that Tahmooressi had been diagnosed with PTSD by the VA San Diego Healthcare System just five days before his arrest.

“I am confident the humanitarian release of Andrew Tahmooressi will occur very soon,” Royce said.

More than 100,000 people have signed a petition asking the Obama administration to demand Tahmooressi’s release, prompting White House officials earlier this summer to ask Mexican authorities to quickly process the Marine’s case.

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#MARINEHELDINMEXICO: Mom pleads with lawmakers for "despondent" Marine"s freedom - VIDEO: Montel: Marine case "ridiculously politicized" - Full Coverage: Marine jailed in Mexico

Psychiatrist to examine jailed Marine for PTSD - VIDEO: Psychiatrist to evaluate Marine - VIDEO: The painful ordeal of Sgt. Tahmooressi - FULL COVERAGE: #MarineHeldinMexico

The trial of former Marine Sgt. Andrew Tahmooressi on gun charges in Mexico will take a new turn this week, one that will move the focus to the defendant’s health. 

A prosecution psychiatrist will be sworn in at Tijuana federal court Monday, empowering him to interview Tahmooressi to determine whether he suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). After being sworn in, the psychiatrist is expected to travel to the Tecate prison where Tahmooressi has been held for the last 6 months so he can make his own conclusions about whether Tahmooressi suffers from PTSD.  

Tahmooressi attorney Fernando Benitez tells Fox News that the psychiatrist could interview Tahmooressi either on Monday afternoon or Tuesday. Benitez is optimistic that the psychiatrist will come to the same conclusion that the defense has: That Tahmooressi suffers from PTSD and cannot receive treatment for it in Mexico.

“There’s no scientific way for him not to concur,” Benitez said. “He would have to find a completely different person to diverge from that diagnosis.”

Benitez believes that Mexico is violating Tahmooressi’s constitutional human rights by keeping a PTSD victim in prison without the possibility of rehabilitation. Tahmooressi has been held since March 31, when he says he mistakenly crossed into Mexico with three legally-purchased and registered guns in his truck. If he is convicted, he faces six to 21 years in prison.

“If our expert and the state’s expert both agree there is no rehabilitation to be had for Andrew … then we have a very good shot of making a constitutional argument and we might cut this whole thing short,” Benitez said.

If things go as the defense hopes, Benitez said he would then file a motion for a mistrial based on humanitarian grounds, which could happen as early as this week. If that happens, Benitez says the judge will then have a week to consider the mistrial motion.

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Psychiatrist to examine jailed Marine for PTSD - VIDEO: Psychiatrist to evaluate Marine - VIDEO: The painful ordeal of Sgt. Tahmooressi - FULL COVERAGE: #MarineHeldinMexico

OPINION: Why jailed Marine will be home soon - VIDEO: The painful ordeal of Sgt. Tahmooressi - VIDEO: Bikers rally for Marine - FULL COVERAGE: #MarineHeldinMexico

I strongly believe that within the next four weeks U.S. Marine Sgt. Andrew Tahmooressi will be released from El Hongo Federal Prison in Mexico and able to walk on American soil once again.

Young lawyers are taught to manage expectations. “Under-promise and over-deliver” is the rule – but there are exceptions. When the evidence is coming out so strongly in his favor, an experienced lawyer can take the gamble and say what he really thinks.

I have been providing legal and spiritual support to Andrew and his mom, Jill, since May. I assisted Jill in hiring Fernando Benitez, Andrew’s Mexican lawyer, and have worked closely with him during the last three court hearings.

No purveyor of justice could honestly believe that Andrew posed a threat to Mexican authority or its people.

Andrew had no intention of entering Mexico with firearms, and there is proof. The video evidence taken by Mexican customs officials at the border, which was entered into evidence at the hearing in Tijuana Federal Court on Sept. 9, confirms Andrew’s version of the facts and impeaches the testimony of customs officers who previously testified under oath. 

It is clear that Andrew received the green light to enter Mexico without being stopped, and that he was the one who decided to contact a customs officer in an effort to find a way to turn around. Therefore, he lacked the necessary criminal intent to commit the crimes alleged.

The border video also contradicts the customs officer’s testimony on the constitutional issues of illegal search and prolonged detention. 

The Mexican Constitution requires that a search warrant be issued prior to a search of a vehicle stopped at the border. The video clearly shows customs officials searching the truck long before the search warrant was issued, a point specifically denied by customs officers when they testified. 

Further, the timestamps on the video show that Andrew was subjected to a prolonged detention and was not timely provided an interpreter, both of which are violations of Mexican law. These violations are sufficient for the judge to declare a mistrial and suppress the introduction into evidence of the firearms and ammunition illegally seized in the search.

Finally, and perhaps most profoundly, Mexican law requires that inmates in Mexican prisons receive rehabilitation treatment to prepare them for reinsertion into society. 

On Sept. 9, a psychiatrist was sworn to testify about his testing of Andrew for Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). Should he confirm the diagnosis of at least three other experts that Andrew suffers from PTSD, Andrew could be released for humanitarian reasons, as Mexico does not have the ability to properly treat such a condition. Mexican military personnel have not suffered through the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, and therefore there is no recognized protocol for PTSD.

Enough evidence has been submitted to prove Andrew’s lack of criminal intent and the violation of his human rights at the border, and soon – within 10 days – we expect further confirmation will surface that he continues to suffer from PTSD.

Despite having another hearing within the Mexican court system scheduled for Sept. 29, the time has come for Sgt. Andrew Tahmooressi to be released from El Hongo Prison. 

No purveyor of justice could honestly believe that Andrew posed a threat to Mexican authority or its people. Since Mexican law provides for humanitarian considerations regarding the care and treatment of its prisoners, a just and/or compassionate ruling ordering his release should be forthcoming.

Philip R. Dunn is president of Serving California, a non-profit foundation dedicated to the care and treatment of veterans suffering from PTSD. He has also been a criminal defense attorney for 30 years. He  is representing Sergeant Tahmooressi and his family in the U.S.

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OPINION: Why jailed Marine will be home soon - VIDEO: The painful ordeal of Sgt. Tahmooressi - VIDEO: Bikers rally for Marine - FULL COVERAGE: #MarineHeldinMexico

Man jailed for Royal Marine death

29 July 2013 Last updated at 09:04 ET Wesley Clutterbuck became a Royal Marine in 2012 A 20-year-old man who killed a Royal Marine with one punch has been jailed for four years.

Wesley Clutterbuck, 19, hit his head on the ground after the attack in Fleece Street, Rochdale, on 30 June. He died in hospital the following day.

Reece Kay, of Waithlands Road, Rochdale, admitted manslaughter at a hearing on 4 July at Manchester Crown Court.

He will serve the sentence at a young offender institution.

Elizabeth Reed, Branch Crown Prosecutor said: “A young man, who was loyally serving our country, has lost his life in this senseless and unprovoked attack which clearly demonstrates the cost of just one punch.

“Kay ran towards the victim, who was a complete stranger to him, with a clenched fist and punched him once to the head causing him to fall over and hit his head on the pavement.

“He then turned and ran from the scene showing complete disregard to the harm he had caused.

“Nevertheless, he later admitted the crime and as a result we have been able to bring him to justice promptly, less than a month after the incident took place.”

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Man jailed for Royal Marine death