In early December, I was listening to one of the live blogshows on
Blogtalkradio and listened to a compelling story of hope, despair and
frustration. I was listening to Melanie Clagett tell her story of how her
son Corey, a soldier in Iraq was being held in solitary confinement in a US
fort in Kentucky. Corey was one of four soldiers being charged (at the time)
with murdering two Iraqi insurgents. How could this be possible I wondered?
As I listened to Melanie explain what was happening to her son I couldn't
help but think how I would feel if I sent my son to Iraq to defend our
country and now, less than one year later, my child was being held in
solitary confinement fearing that he will spend the rest of his life in
prison. I heard the utter frustration in Melanie's voice, not just because
her son was in jail but because her opponent, the plaintiff, is the US
Government. I also listened to her complain that the media was simply not
covering this case. Yes, there were bits and pieces in local press;
however, I wondered why no major media outlet ran with this story.
I called into the live show and spoke with Melanie. I told her that
regardless of whether or not her son is innocent or guilty, her family had
the right to tell their story. Yes, this is a story about a young kid who
trained for less than three months and was sent off to the middle of hell.
Yes, this was the story of a family who not only had two sons in active duty
but their father serves in the National Guard. Since her first show aired
on Blogtalkradio, the Clagett family learned that the charge for murder was being dropped and the charge of conspiracy to commit murder will stand.
I have provided the link to Corey's page on Blogtalkradio
Its here that you can listen to Melanie tell her compelling and frightful story.
Last week, while I was in Florida with my family, I heard that Melanie had
simply run out of funds to support her cause. I heard that she was planning
on sleeping in her truck as she made her way from Cincinnati to Kentucky,
where the trial will begin on January 16, 2007. It's a sad situation, but
one which needs to be told.
Here is Melanie's story --
Here it is the holidays already. It's cold and rainy in Ky.Monday Dec. 18th is the first day we see Corey and our first time at Christian County Jail in Hopkinsville ,Ky. John my husband and I arrive at 9:00am.We were allowed thirty minutes with Corey. We couldn't sit with him but across a thick piece of glass. We had to use a black phone to talk. John and I had to take turns passing the phone so we both could talk to Corey.
Corey was wearing an orange jumpsuite with a white t-shirt and white long johns. He was very tired and when we asked him why, he said that he doesn't go to sleep until about five in the morning. He looked as if he aged a little to me. He was un-shaven and never smiled during our visit. The time was over before we knew it.
We saw Corey in his Jag Attorney's office on Tuesday. We were able to visit for a few hours with Corey .Corey was dressed in his uniform and he looked good. We were able to hug and we were alone for our visit. We had Tacos and KFC for lunch with Corey. Corey even got to call his grandpa Miller. We had a good visit. Corey's spirits are up when he is not confined to a jail cell. We said our goodbyes and told him we love him and would see him on Friday. We were told by the jail we could only see Corey twice in a week, so we could not return until Friday.
On Friday we could see the change in Corey. I mean you can tell the effect being confined to a jail cell has done to him. Again he didn't smile and just looked sad. He said he is ready for this to be over with. He feels confidant in his attorney's but he said it's not over till it's over.We would have to wait untill Monday(Christmas) to see Corey again. As always we told him we love him again and would see him on Christmas.
Christmas day arrives and we are there by 9:00am.We had left 100.00 for Corey along with a pack of socks he said he needed.With that 100.00 dollars Corey can buy snacks,drinks,games, and what ever else they offer from their store. He bought a pair of shoes( nice ones) from another inmate.He has bought a game boy with about eight games from an inmate as well. That helps keep his mind off things for a while. He did tell us he has already beaten the games so he needs more to play. We just laughed and said we would look for him some new games.When our thirty minutes were up for some reason this time it was the hardest to leave. I didn't want to say goodbye . I could see in Corey's eyes, he didn't want us to go. He said real fast as he had to leave, when are you coming back? Soon, Corey soon. I love you.
I cried for hours on Christmas. We then drove nine hours to get to Cleveland,Oh.
Corey's trial is set for Jan 16th 2007@ 9:00am at Fort Campbell,KY .My parents along with Corey's three brothers Jamie,Joseph and Joshua will be there. Joy Oaks, SSG Raymond Girouard's sister will be there.My sister Angie from Oh. will also be there as well. Of course, my husband John and I will be by Corey's side forever. Any one who would like to join us for support, you are welcome!