Accused Sit in Jail As Mil Courts Drag Out Appeals

Marine Corps Gunnery Sgt. Brian W. Foster served nearly a decade in Leavenworth for a crime he didn't commit.

Foster is now free and serving his country once more. The military appeals system that failed him, meanwhile, is still trying to right itself.

"It's a terrible system," Foster said. "The judges and attorneys who had the opportunity to stand up and say 'this isn't right,' they didn't do that."

The court that finally freed Foster in 2009 called him a victim of "judicial negligence" and "intolerable" errors. The nine-year delay between conviction and appeal was "unacceptable," the U.S. Navy-Marine Corps Court of Criminal Appeals acknowledged.

While Foster's experiences were extreme, they were not entirely unique. Other Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen and Marines have likewise languished in appellate limbo.