Aspiring rappers should take note – lyrics can carry consequences.
On December 17, 2009 US Army Spc. Marc Hall was jailed for writing a rap song about the affect of being forced to remain in the military longer than his contract stipulated – a result of the US military’s stop-loss policy.
Four months later, Spc. Hall was granted a discharge from the military, when he was released on Sunday (April 18) morning.
According to globalresearch.ca, stop-loos is “is a practice that allows the Army to keep soldiers active beyond the end of their signed contracts. According to the Pentagon, more than 120,000 soldiers have been affected by stop-loss since 2001, and currently 13,000 soldiers are serving under stop-loss orders, despite public pledges by President Barack Obama to phase out the policy.”
Due to threats of violence in his lyrics, Hall was charged with five specifications in violation of Article 134 of the Uniform Code of Military Conduct. In his lyrics, Hall rapped that he may “go Fort Hood,” referencing the mass shooting at Fort Hood on November 5.
Hall explained that he was expressing his frustration about “how people feel about the Army and its stop-loss policy. I explained that the song was neither a physical threat nor any threat whatsoever. I told him it was just Hip Hop.”
Hall’s civilian attorney, David Gespass, is of the opinion that the military’s decision to ship Hall to Kuwait to be court-martialed was extreme. “Not just the Constitution, but the rules for courts-martial, prohibit prosecutors from holding a court-martial in a combat zone as a pretext for depriving an accused of a public trial, counsel of his choice and necessary witnesses,” explained Gespass.
“While I’m gratified that the Army finally decided to discharge Marc, I’m appalled at the disregard it has shown for Marc’s well-being and fundamental rights for nine months,” said Gespass in a press release. “Whatever lip service the Army gives to its concern for its soldiers, its only real concern is insuring they risk their lives without questioning why. Marc’s greatest transgression was asking that question.”
According to Jeff Paterson of Courage to Resist, an Oakland-based organization dedicated to supporting military objectors like Hall, he was jailed “in retaliation for his formal complaint of inadequate mental health services available to him at Fort Stewart. The Army used an angry song that Spc. Hall, a combat veteran of the Iraq War suffering from post-traumatic stress, had produced criticizing the stop-loss policy as the pretext.”
As for the discharge, Gespass is simply happy that his client is a free man. “We are very, very happy with the outcome, and I think there’s a good chance we can get him benefits for military related disabilities and we can upgrade the discharge, which is the thing I plan on working on next.”
More on this story as it develops.
“Whatever lip service the Army gives to its concern for its soldiers, its only real concern is insuring they risk their lives without questioning why.”
I really agree with this comment. As a leader of soldiers I would never try to hide anything from them. I say if you’re willing to risk you’re life for this country of ours, you should at least get to ask every question about your mission. I know a lot of people that get upset when their soldiers question them, and there’s really no excuse for that kind of attitude. Treat you’re soldiers with respect and they will follow you into hell if you ask them to.
I agree.
I co-sign that!! I hope his discharge gets upgraded because it would follow him for life if he got a dishonorable one.
fuck the government! stop-loss my ass… fuck that shit
Word.
LOL
Damn sun. I just heard Guru passed. Is it true?
Yeah he passed of cancer…
Sadly, yes. It is true.
baby and Slim u going 2 the haunted house,
It sounds like everything worked out well for him… the title should be rap saves man from being stop lossed.
Taking the good with the bad.
eh he didn’t sound like a very good soldier,stop loss is a part of it just like overtime is a part of any regular 9-5.He wasn’t working for free!!Soldiers are expected to adhere to a higher standard then civilians.Hes not alone,hes not the only one that has been held over.The army never stops you from speaking up,but there is a time and place for everything,and his “rap”didn’t sound like very good decision making anyway!!lol i hope his amateur 16 bars was worth it.There are too many real soldiers out there who take the army core values to heart and use the benefits of the military to their advantage in the civilian world,good luck with your life bro,its a cold world.
How does a soldier benifit froom a stop-loss??
When you work overtime at your job, you get paid more than usual for those extra hours… So how does that work in the military?
why would you even compare being a soldier to a 9-5 anyway. People not sure what the hell they fighting for anyway, so he had every right to speak his mind on the issue, we only know what were told.
I AGREE WITH KRIME, WHAT DO YOU HAVE TO SAY ABOUT THAT?
so the guy gos and risks his life for this country beyond what he even expected to be deployed and then the gov.wants to punish him to the full extent …yeah that shows that america doesnt give a fuck if ure a soldier or joe blow ure not important to them
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Freedom of Mother fucking speach