Tx Rep Debbie Riddle Joins Call For 14th Fort Hood Murder Charge - Death Of Victim's Unborn Child

AUSTIN - State Representative Debbie Riddle has joined 30 of her colleagues in respectfully

requesting that the Army charge Major Nidal Malik Hassan with the murder of an unborn child.

Private Francheska Velez, one of the 13 recognized victims of the massacre in Fort Hood, was nine weeks pregnant when she was gunned down by Hassan on November 5.

Velez was only 21 years old, and had just returned from a tour in Iraq that was shortened on account of her pregnancy. Media reports indicate that she was set to be sent back to her hometown of Chicago this month. Now, Riddle and the other members of the Texas Conservative Coalition have sent a letter to Army Secretary John McHugh asking that Hassan be held responsible for the death of Velez's baby.

"Each of the 14 souls that were stolen by this monster and his cowardly act of terrorism were innocent," Riddle said. "But none were more innocent than the unborn child whose life never even had a chance to fully begin."

In the letter sent last Wednesday, the legislators point to a provision in the Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ) which states that anyone who is committing an illegal act that causes the death of a child in utero shall be charged with a separate crime, just as if the violence had been committed against the child's mother.

"Indeed, such action would underscore the fundamental point that unborn children must be afforded the same legal protections against offenses that can be committed against individuals, such as homicide," the letter states.

The UCMJ statute mirrors a similar act passed in 2003 by the 78th Texas Legislature, which provides that someone who commits a crime that causes the death or injury of an unborn child can be charged as if the crime was committed against someone who was born.

Representative Riddle was a coauthor of the House version of the measure.

by: Matt Hoffpauir

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