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78 UMKC L. Rev. 215 (2009-2010)
Fallen from Grace: Why Treatment Should Be Considered for Convicted Combat Veterans Suffering from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder

handle is hein.journals/umkc78 and id is 217 raw text is: FALLEN FROM GRACE: WHY TREATMENT SHOULD BE CONSIDERED FOR CONVICTED COMBAT VETERANS SUFFERING FROM POST TRAUMATIC STRESS DISORDER Adam Caine* I. INTRODUCTION Hector Matascastillo is the best of the best. At the age of seventeen, he walked into an Army recruiting station and volunteered to serve his country.' During his nine year tenure as a United States Army Ranger, Matascastillo served as a platoon leader and infantry marksman.2 As a Ranger, Matascastillo was deployed twelve times for combat intelligence and rescue missions to the Middle East, the Caribbean, South and Central America, and Kosovo.3 In Kosovo, he witnessed the mass execution of Albanian civilians.4 Hector Matascastillo is also a convicted felon.5 On January 24, 2004, Matascastillo came home after an intense verbal dispute with his ex-wife and mother of his young son.6 Because of the disturbance, his ex-wife called the local authorities.7 Matascastillo then suffered a severe mental breakdown, culminating in a standoff with several police officers as he held two unloaded pistols.8 Eventually, Matascastillo's flashback subsided when he realized the flashing lights he saw belonged to the sirens mounted on the police cruisers.9 The enemy he faced was a police officer and a fellow military veteran.'0 Matascastillo was ultimately charged with felony gun possession, but the charges were reduced to gross misdemeanors.' He was sentenced to a stint in jail, community service and two years probation.'2 ° J.D. University of Missouri-Kansas City School of Law, 2009; M.P.A. University of Missouri- Kansas City, 2009; B.S. Political Science, Missouri State University, 2005. The author would like to offer special thanks to Lisa Eyberg for helpful edits and support and Professor Sean D. O'Brien for his guidance and assistance with this Comment. The author would also like to thank his parents, sister, and grandparents, Lyle and Florence Clinkingbeard, Patricia and the late John J. Caine for their love and support. 1 Ruben Rosario, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder Left a Twin Cities Veteran With a Criminal Conviction, ST. PAUL PIONEER PRESS, June 18, 2008, at Al. 2id. 3id. 4Id. 51d. 61d 6 id 7 See id. 8 Id. 91d. 1 Id. The arresting officer, upon discovering that Matascastillo was a fellow veteran, was disturbed by the revelation that he had almost killed a veteran. Id. The officer had just returned from a deployment to Iraq. Id. 1 Id. 12 id

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