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TRAVESTY OF JUSTICE: The Shocking Prosecution of Lt. Clint Lorance
On the morning of July 2, 2012, in the most dangerous warzone in the world, Lieutenant Clint Lorance took command of his small band of American paratroopers at the spearhead of the American War in Afghanistan. Intelligence reports that morning warned of a Taliban ambush against Lorance’s platoon. Fifteen minutes into their patrol, three military-age Afghan males crowded on a motorcycle and sped aggressively down a Taliban-controlled dirt road toward Lorance’s men. Three weeks earlier, outside the massive American Kandahar Airfield, Taliban terrorists struck by motorcycle, riding into a crowded area, detonating body-bombs and killing twenty-two people. Sixty-three days before that, three Ohio National Guard soldiers were murdered in another motorcycle-suicide bombing. Suicide-by-motorcycle had become a common Taliban murder-tactic against Americans.
Lorance had seconds to react. Either open fire and protect his men, or ignore the speeding motorcycle and pray like hell that his men weren’t about to get blown the hell up. In a split-second decision, Lorance ordered his men to fire. When no weapons were found on the Afghan bodies, the Army betrayed one of its finest young officers and prosecuted Lorance for “murder.” Hiding crucial evidence from the military jury, and ordering his own men to testify against him or face murder charges themselves, they railroaded Lorance into a 20-year prison sentence at Fort Leavenworth, where he remains today. TRAVESTY OF JUSTICE chronicles the true story of the most despicable political prosecution in American military history.
Lorance had seconds to react. Either open fire and protect his men, or ignore the speeding motorcycle and pray like hell that his men weren’t about to get blown the hell up. In a split-second decision, Lorance ordered his men to fire. When no weapons were found on the Afghan bodies, the Army betrayed one of its finest young officers and prosecuted Lorance for “murder.” Hiding crucial evidence from the military jury, and ordering his own men to testify against him or face murder charges themselves, they railroaded Lorance into a 20-year prison sentence at Fort Leavenworth, where he remains today. TRAVESTY OF JUSTICE chronicles the true story of the most despicable political prosecution in American military history.
- GenresNonfictionHistory
392 pages, Paperback
Published March 31, 2019
About the author
Don Brown
23 books115 followersLibrarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.
DON BROWN, a former U.S. Navy JAG Officer, is the author of Zondervan’s riveting NAVY JUSTICE SERIES. a dynamic storyline chronicling the life and adventures of JAG officer ZACK BREWER. In 2003, Don began writing TREASON, his first novel in the NAVY JUSTICE SERIES. After TREASON was published to rave reviews in 2005, drawing comparisons to the writing style of John Grisham, DON BROWN was named as co-chairman of national I Love To Write Day, an event recognized by the governors of nine states to promote writing throughout the nation, and especially among the nation’s schools. HOSTAGE and DEFIANCE, the second and third novels in the series, were published in 2006 and 2007. BLACK SEA AFFAIR, was released in June of 2008, and with a bonechilling plot and precipient accuracy of international events, has been called the “Novel that Predicted the Russian-Georgian War,” which broke out just two months later, in August of 2008! Don is now penning his fifth novel, entitled THE MALACCAN CONSPIRACY, to be released in June of 2010. Paying no homage to political correctness, DON BROWN’S writing style is described as “gripping,” casting an entertaining and educational spin on a wide-range of current issues, from radicalIslamic infiltration of the military, to the explosive issue of gays in the military, to the modern day issues of presidential politics in the early 21st Century. The Charlotte World Newspaper described TREASON as “A DAVID VERSUS GOLIATH STORY FULL OF ACTION, INTRIGUE, AND THE KIND OF CALCULATED TYRANNY THAT YOU COULD FIND IN THE HEADLINES OF ANY MAJOR DAILY AT ANY MOMENT.” The Romance Reader’s Connection described Don’s novels as “fascinating and fresh.” In November of 2009, four years after it was released, and in the wake of Fort Hood, TREASON rocketed to the top-selling in the nation on the Amazon.com bestseller list for fiction, and remained there for over a week. On Thanksgiving Day of 2009, all four of Don’s novels were ranked in the top 5 on the Amazon bestseller list for fiction! DON BROWN graduated from the University of North Carolina in 1982, and after finishing law school, continued his post-graduate studies through the Naval War College, earning the Navy’s nonresident certificate in International Law. During his five years on active duty in the Navy, Don served in the Pentagon, was published in the Naval Law Review, and was also a recipient of the Navy Achievement Medal, the Navy Commendation Medal, and the National Defense Service Medal.'
DON BROWN, a former U.S. Navy JAG Officer, is the author of Zondervan’s riveting NAVY JUSTICE SERIES. a dynamic storyline chronicling the life and adventures of JAG officer ZACK BREWER. In 2003, Don began writing TREASON, his first novel in the NAVY JUSTICE SERIES. After TREASON was published to rave reviews in 2005, drawing comparisons to the writing style of John Grisham, DON BROWN was named as co-chairman of national I Love To Write Day, an event recognized by the governors of nine states to promote writing throughout the nation, and especially among the nation’s schools. HOSTAGE and DEFIANCE, the second and third novels in the series, were published in 2006 and 2007. BLACK SEA AFFAIR, was released in June of 2008, and with a bonechilling plot and precipient accuracy of international events, has been called the “Novel that Predicted the Russian-Georgian War,” which broke out just two months later, in August of 2008! Don is now penning his fifth novel, entitled THE MALACCAN CONSPIRACY, to be released in June of 2010. Paying no homage to political correctness, DON BROWN’S writing style is described as “gripping,” casting an entertaining and educational spin on a wide-range of current issues, from radicalIslamic infiltration of the military, to the explosive issue of gays in the military, to the modern day issues of presidential politics in the early 21st Century. The Charlotte World Newspaper described TREASON as “A DAVID VERSUS GOLIATH STORY FULL OF ACTION, INTRIGUE, AND THE KIND OF CALCULATED TYRANNY THAT YOU COULD FIND IN THE HEADLINES OF ANY MAJOR DAILY AT ANY MOMENT.” The Romance Reader’s Connection described Don’s novels as “fascinating and fresh.” In November of 2009, four years after it was released, and in the wake of Fort Hood, TREASON rocketed to the top-selling in the nation on the Amazon.com bestseller list for fiction, and remained there for over a week. On Thanksgiving Day of 2009, all four of Don’s novels were ranked in the top 5 on the Amazon bestseller list for fiction! DON BROWN graduated from the University of North Carolina in 1982, and after finishing law school, continued his post-graduate studies through the Naval War College, earning the Navy’s nonresident certificate in International Law. During his five years on active duty in the Navy, Don served in the Pentagon, was published in the Naval Law Review, and was also a recipient of the Navy Achievement Medal, the Navy Commendation Medal, and the National Defense Service Medal.'
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
October 7, 2022
I’m giving this book four stars for the totality of the case and the fact that I’m somewhat familiar with Clint’s story and do believe he was given the shit treatment. But this book is not well written in any stretch of the imagination. There is so much repetition that I literally could fill in the sentences before they ended. I don’t know if this author is a professional writer but he did mention his experience in the military so that might be why he wrote this book.
I do feel that Clint was made a scapegoat by the absolute shit show of Obama’s administration, but what I would have really liked to see more was the details of the trial, the layout of what the army actually was trying to prove and exactly how the jurors came to their conclusions. I feel that info would have made me satisfied that Clint got the shaft and the reasons why. I’m glad Trump pardoned him.
I do feel that Clint was made a scapegoat by the absolute shit show of Obama’s administration, but what I would have really liked to see more was the details of the trial, the layout of what the army actually was trying to prove and exactly how the jurors came to their conclusions. I feel that info would have made me satisfied that Clint got the shaft and the reasons why. I’m glad Trump pardoned him.
August 4, 2021
Gripping and filled with great detail…
This is an extremely powerful book by Don Brown, and the first book I have read by Dan and will not be my last. I found The book to be filled with vivid and chilling details and it is a real page turner. The book is about Lieutenant Clint Lorance who took command of his small band of American paratroopers in the American War in Afghanistan. Without giving to much away in this book.
On the morning of July 2, 2012. Clint who is a trained and experienced Platoon Leader takes his men out on a mission promising only the day before to protect his men and bring them all home safe. During a Taliban attack, in the most dangerous part of Afghanistan. Three military-age Afghan males crowded on a motorcycle sped aggressively down a Taliban-controlled dirt road toward Clint Lorance’s men who open fire killing two of the three on the bike. In giving the order to fire whist protecting his men Clint Lorance did nothing that thousands of other combat leaders have done in Iraq and Afghanistan, but. After the mission Lieutenant Clint Lorance was sacrificed on the altar of political expediency.
The US. Army prosecutor deliberately withheld crucial information from the court and the defence that would prove the victims killed were IED Bomb Makers. The prosecutor also held a lot of other exonerating information, because someone, somewhere in the giant cog of the political BS wheel wanted to frame Clint Lorance for this, This resulted in Clints defence not having the correct information and Clint Lorance serving a 20-year sentence in Ft. Leavenworth for performing his duty.
This is an excellent in-depth review of an imposed miscarriage of the military justice system to justify the Obama Administration's policy of Leading From Behind, that has further endangered their troops in Afghanistan through ever changing rules of engagement to appease diplomatic interventions.
This book lays Out Overwhelming Evidence for the Exoneration of Lieutenant Clint Lorance and really brings home how far the Army went to sacrifice this officer for political gains. This book is excellently researched and extremely well written and a “must read for those concerned with Justice
Thanks to Wildblue Press I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
This is an extremely powerful book by Don Brown, and the first book I have read by Dan and will not be my last. I found The book to be filled with vivid and chilling details and it is a real page turner. The book is about Lieutenant Clint Lorance who took command of his small band of American paratroopers in the American War in Afghanistan. Without giving to much away in this book.
On the morning of July 2, 2012. Clint who is a trained and experienced Platoon Leader takes his men out on a mission promising only the day before to protect his men and bring them all home safe. During a Taliban attack, in the most dangerous part of Afghanistan. Three military-age Afghan males crowded on a motorcycle sped aggressively down a Taliban-controlled dirt road toward Clint Lorance’s men who open fire killing two of the three on the bike. In giving the order to fire whist protecting his men Clint Lorance did nothing that thousands of other combat leaders have done in Iraq and Afghanistan, but. After the mission Lieutenant Clint Lorance was sacrificed on the altar of political expediency.
The US. Army prosecutor deliberately withheld crucial information from the court and the defence that would prove the victims killed were IED Bomb Makers. The prosecutor also held a lot of other exonerating information, because someone, somewhere in the giant cog of the political BS wheel wanted to frame Clint Lorance for this, This resulted in Clints defence not having the correct information and Clint Lorance serving a 20-year sentence in Ft. Leavenworth for performing his duty.
This is an excellent in-depth review of an imposed miscarriage of the military justice system to justify the Obama Administration's policy of Leading From Behind, that has further endangered their troops in Afghanistan through ever changing rules of engagement to appease diplomatic interventions.
This book lays Out Overwhelming Evidence for the Exoneration of Lieutenant Clint Lorance and really brings home how far the Army went to sacrifice this officer for political gains. This book is excellently researched and extremely well written and a “must read for those concerned with Justice
Thanks to Wildblue Press I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
July 14, 2019
What Don Brown place before you in Travesty of Justice: The shocking prosecution of Lt. Clint Lorance should be required reading for law students who are taking their course of Professional Responsibility (legal ethics.) While my home state has quite a few opinions from the US Supreme Court regarding Brady violations. The Government/State has an obligation to turn over all evidence that weakens the Government/ States cases, exculpates the Accused or is favorable to the Accused. As the Court though William O. Douglas wrote: "We now hold that the suppression by the prosecution of evidence favorable to an accused upon request violates due process where the evidence is material either to guilt or to punishment... Society wins not only when the guilty are convicted, but when criminal trials are fair." See Brady v Maryland 3373 US 83 (1963) What is also important to understand that the ends do not justify the means. That is we are not allowed to cheat, lie, or win at all cost, including sending an innocent officer to jail.
The first time the Lt. got admonished was because of the "rule of Proportionality." The fact this is quite simple- if someone hits you with his fist; then you are allowed to hit him with your fist. If he pulls out a knife; then you may use a dangerous weapon of your choice. Not as the administration would have you use the same. His men were receiving fire, and they have an inalienable right to protect themselves from harm; they have right to respond in such a manner that overwhelms the shooter.
The rules of engagement as established by the andeminstration quite clearly placed the lives of the Taliban over his own forces. One does not have an hour or two to got into a full legal analyses before the troops on the ground are authorized to engage the enemy. What would result is more American deaths. What was suppressed at the trial was evidence that was relevant, and material to the issue. Quite clearly the Lt.s patrol was the target of an ambush; yet, it was not presented. That the two killed as well the one who was wounded, and the one who captured later were all Taliban bomb makers. They all had caused harm to US Soldiers, and Airmen. Well worth the read.
The first time the Lt. got admonished was because of the "rule of Proportionality." The fact this is quite simple- if someone hits you with his fist; then you are allowed to hit him with your fist. If he pulls out a knife; then you may use a dangerous weapon of your choice. Not as the administration would have you use the same. His men were receiving fire, and they have an inalienable right to protect themselves from harm; they have right to respond in such a manner that overwhelms the shooter.
The rules of engagement as established by the andeminstration quite clearly placed the lives of the Taliban over his own forces. One does not have an hour or two to got into a full legal analyses before the troops on the ground are authorized to engage the enemy. What would result is more American deaths. What was suppressed at the trial was evidence that was relevant, and material to the issue. Quite clearly the Lt.s patrol was the target of an ambush; yet, it was not presented. That the two killed as well the one who was wounded, and the one who captured later were all Taliban bomb makers. They all had caused harm to US Soldiers, and Airmen. Well worth the read.
July 5, 2020
This is a story worth knowing about. The takeaway? Choose your attorney carefully and do your due diligence. Finding and hiring the right attorney could make a huge difference in the rest of your life. Unfortunately for this guy he chose the wrong attorney. The good news? Trump pardoned him albeit he served 6 years at Fort Leavenworth. Surprisingly the guy’s not bitter.
I'm not a writer myself, but the writing in this narrative just didn't grab me. There were several parts in the narrative where I assumed that whoever proof read the manuscript must have been asleep at the wheel. Towards the end the author seems to get on sort of a rant and things become too repetitious. In fact, I skipped the last 25-30 pages because I just couldn't hang in there. Just my personal opinion. Your mileage may vary as the saying goes.
I'm not a writer myself, but the writing in this narrative just didn't grab me. There were several parts in the narrative where I assumed that whoever proof read the manuscript must have been asleep at the wheel. Towards the end the author seems to get on sort of a rant and things become too repetitious. In fact, I skipped the last 25-30 pages because I just couldn't hang in there. Just my personal opinion. Your mileage may vary as the saying goes.
September 19, 2019
Excellent truthful read!!! It angers me so much to know that politics comes before ALL of the brave men and women who put their lives on the line every day to keep us safe!! Obama was the worst president's in the history of the UNITED STATES!!! This treatment of our military is beyond DISPICABLE!!
I would highly recommend this book to everyone who cares about our military men and women who are boots on the ground!! They deserve better than this hellish DISPICABLE treatment!!
I would highly recommend this book to everyone who cares about our military men and women who are boots on the ground!! They deserve better than this hellish DISPICABLE treatment!!
May 7, 2025
Blood pressure alert - if you have hypertension and any reasonable sense of justice, this book may cause elevated blood pressure. Keep your lisinopril handy.
This book chronicled one of the worst miscarriages of justice in US military history, and should server as a permanent stain on the record of everyone who participated in railroading 1st. Lt. Clint Lorance. Put in an impossible position with limited information and only a split second to decide, Lt. Lorance ordered his men to open fire on a charging motorcycle in an environment where motorcycles had been used in bomb attacks for US troops. With two of the three riders killed, the Army, needing a scapegoat to satisfy US and Afghan politicians, the Army decided to charge Lorance with double murder and attempted murder. Worse yet, the prosecution unconscionably withheld multiple, significant pieces of exculpatory evidence, including the knowledge that the two killed were not civilians but Taliban combatants, that intelligence knew his platoon was the target of an ambush, knowledge of a firefight nearby, the knowledge that witnesses against him had been threatened with prosecution and granted immunity for testimony suited to the Army's liking, and biometrics information proving the deceased had participated in bombing attacks that had killed US troops. Furthermore, even after this evidence came to light post-trial by Lorance's attorney, the Army still failed to overturn the conviction. In other words, the Army *knew* Lorance had been denied his constitutional right to a fair trial, and still upheld the conviction, leaving it up finally to a presidential pardon to finally reverse the injustice after 6 years of incarceration.
The book also exposes the effect of this disgraceful prosecution, as 6 members of the US Air Force were killed in a motorcycle attack 3 years later - after they failed to fire at an oncoming motorcycle that detonated a bomb that killed them.
Honestly, after reading this book, I don't know why any young American would or should join the Armed Forces. I'm a veteran myself, but would not encourage one to join knowing the military will not have your back even when you do the job you were trained to do, and have to make split-second, life or death decisions in a combat environment. While there is some effort to reform the military ongoing, there are still too many cowards polluting the flag ranks and the chain of command in general, which means young soldiers, sailors, and airmen have to risk their lives not only in combat, but with the military "justice" system. Worse yet, even when the chain of command and military prosecutors engage in gross misconduct, there are no consequences when it is discovered.
As you can gather, this book left a pretty strong emotional impact on my. For that, I would definitely recommend it, with the blood pressure warning in mind. I did have to knock one star off of it though, due to some of the writing. Echoing what some other reviewers have said, there are times the book becomes repetitive, and in the early portions it often times takes too long to get to the point. Some judicious editing could have fixed those problems.
Still, it's worth a read, and it's a good warning for anyone thinking of joining the military in this day and age of broken institutions. It's a also call for us to demand better leadership in our armed forces, as well as in our politics. And finally, it's a reminder that we should not send our military in harms way without the most compelling of reasons and should never hamper them with ridiculous rules of engagement. Lives are unnecessarily lost and ruined when we do so. The people who choose to serve our country deserve so much better.
This book chronicled one of the worst miscarriages of justice in US military history, and should server as a permanent stain on the record of everyone who participated in railroading 1st. Lt. Clint Lorance. Put in an impossible position with limited information and only a split second to decide, Lt. Lorance ordered his men to open fire on a charging motorcycle in an environment where motorcycles had been used in bomb attacks for US troops. With two of the three riders killed, the Army, needing a scapegoat to satisfy US and Afghan politicians, the Army decided to charge Lorance with double murder and attempted murder. Worse yet, the prosecution unconscionably withheld multiple, significant pieces of exculpatory evidence, including the knowledge that the two killed were not civilians but Taliban combatants, that intelligence knew his platoon was the target of an ambush, knowledge of a firefight nearby, the knowledge that witnesses against him had been threatened with prosecution and granted immunity for testimony suited to the Army's liking, and biometrics information proving the deceased had participated in bombing attacks that had killed US troops. Furthermore, even after this evidence came to light post-trial by Lorance's attorney, the Army still failed to overturn the conviction. In other words, the Army *knew* Lorance had been denied his constitutional right to a fair trial, and still upheld the conviction, leaving it up finally to a presidential pardon to finally reverse the injustice after 6 years of incarceration.
The book also exposes the effect of this disgraceful prosecution, as 6 members of the US Air Force were killed in a motorcycle attack 3 years later - after they failed to fire at an oncoming motorcycle that detonated a bomb that killed them.
Honestly, after reading this book, I don't know why any young American would or should join the Armed Forces. I'm a veteran myself, but would not encourage one to join knowing the military will not have your back even when you do the job you were trained to do, and have to make split-second, life or death decisions in a combat environment. While there is some effort to reform the military ongoing, there are still too many cowards polluting the flag ranks and the chain of command in general, which means young soldiers, sailors, and airmen have to risk their lives not only in combat, but with the military "justice" system. Worse yet, even when the chain of command and military prosecutors engage in gross misconduct, there are no consequences when it is discovered.
As you can gather, this book left a pretty strong emotional impact on my. For that, I would definitely recommend it, with the blood pressure warning in mind. I did have to knock one star off of it though, due to some of the writing. Echoing what some other reviewers have said, there are times the book becomes repetitive, and in the early portions it often times takes too long to get to the point. Some judicious editing could have fixed those problems.
Still, it's worth a read, and it's a good warning for anyone thinking of joining the military in this day and age of broken institutions. It's a also call for us to demand better leadership in our armed forces, as well as in our politics. And finally, it's a reminder that we should not send our military in harms way without the most compelling of reasons and should never hamper them with ridiculous rules of engagement. Lives are unnecessarily lost and ruined when we do so. The people who choose to serve our country deserve so much better.
June 28, 2019
If I didn't know this was the unfortunate, true story of a soldier, you'd almost think it was too far-fetched to be true...but unfortunately, it is true. Lt Clint Lorance is still in Leavenworth at this writing. There is so much prosecutorial and judicial misconduct that it makes you wonder how far up the ladder the corruption goes. It's just disgusting.
Everyone that reads this book should be writing their congressperson, their senators, and the President and demand the release of this man.
What's tragic is that there are more men that are enduring the same sort of tragedy as Lt Lorance.
Everyone that reads this book should be writing their congressperson, their senators, and the President and demand the release of this man.
What's tragic is that there are more men that are enduring the same sort of tragedy as Lt Lorance.
June 18, 2019
A disturbing account
I served and although, not always being happy about it, (the draft was still in effect) when I served. I am proud that I did. I am ashamed of what happened to this gentleman. Anyone who served knows that this actually happens all too often, not to this extent, but way too often.
I served and although, not always being happy about it, (the draft was still in effect) when I served. I am proud that I did. I am ashamed of what happened to this gentleman. Anyone who served knows that this actually happens all too often, not to this extent, but way too often.
June 11, 2019
Excellent book. While accounts of the incident involving Clint Lorance differ, Brown makes a compelling case for his conviction to be overturned
October 20, 2019
Sad story
Well researched. A bit redundant. True travesty of justice if even 50% true which I suspect it is. Hope this wrong is corrected.
Well researched. A bit redundant. True travesty of justice if even 50% true which I suspect it is. Hope this wrong is corrected.
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews