A Navyofficer's wife was imprisoned for killing two pedestrians while seeking medical attention inJapan, and was arrested outside the White House. held a rally to demand his release.
Brittany Alconis, 35, and a large group of relatives and friends traveled to her DC on Thursday to tell President Joe Biden Japan over the imprisonment of her husband Lt. Ridge. authorities to intervene. Arkonis was stationed in an East Asian country when the legal troubles began.
Lieutenant Arkonis, who returned from a hike to Mount Fuji with his wife and his three children in May 2021, was unconscious at the wheel and slammed into several parked cars. A car crashed into an elderly Japanese woman and her son who died. - law. That was days before he began deploying his USS His Benfold.
His Lieutenant Alkonis, a Mormon missionary fromCalifornia, paid $1.65 million and apologized to the victim's family on the advice of his attorney. Did. However, ignoring Navy investigators' conclusions that he had suffered a medical emergency during the accident, the court found him guilty of negligence and sentenced him to three years in prison. } ``No. ',' Arkonis told Inside Edition.
Lieutenant Ridge Arkonis is serving a three-year sentence in a Japanese prison
(via Fox News)
Alkonis said the ordeal has had a profound effect on her three children. They started crying and my son was asking, "Why does daddy have to go to jail?" Jail is for bad people. I don't want my dad in jail. can he go with him?
Trevor Reed, a former US Marine released from Russia after three years in prison, also spoke at a news conference outside the White House.
"The Japanese system has not given [Lt. Come," he said, holding a sign. House. "
Alkonis, relatives and friends took her to DC to ask President Biden to intervene in her husband's imprisonment
(Bring Ridge Home/Facebook )
"The conditions inside Japanese prisons are no joke. They are not what most people think they are in a modern country." He added, "The United States government, the Department of Defense, and the White House have a responsibility to release him." but his wife is now determined to release him.
"I need to talk to President Biden. I don't think he's here today, but that's okay. I'll be here whenever he's ready," Ms. Alkonis also said. Shortly after advocating for her husband's release outside the White House, she told the outlet.
"...there was no crime. It was a medical emergency." } Last month, Alconis told Fox News that her husband began to feel nauseous and passed out in the middle of a conversation with his daughter before the accident. Drugs or alcohol were involved and he was only driving 25 mph. His attorney provided evidence in court that he had been diagnosed with acute mountain sickness. }
Above, Lt. Arkonis' father, wife, and two children after he began serving his three-year sentence on July 25
(Bring Ridge Home/Facebook)
On Tuesday, his lawsuit was filed.
The 1960 Status of Forces Agreement requires Japan to release U.S. military members. Detention
This is due to an incident in which a U.S. military officer committed a violent crime against a Japanese national and was discharged from the military rather than serving time in prison.
Utah Senator Mike Lee said in a speech to Congress last month that Japan's judicial system is "trying to set an example for Lieutenant Alkonis."
"It would be unacceptable for an American experiencing a medical emergency to be treated so poorly by the allies he protected."