PARRIS ISLAND, SOUTH CAROLINA: After a Marine recruit died after his hard training session, a Marine drill instructor was acquitted of negligent murder. An eight-member military jury found Staff Sergeant Steven Smiley not guilty of negligent murder and four other counts in the death of Marine recruit Dalton Beals in 2021.
On June 4, 2021, Beals, a 19-year-old recruit from New Jersey, died of hypothermia during Smiley's 54-hour 'Crucible' training. According to a military investigation into the incident, his death was avoidable and not the result of the trainees' own actions. However, jurors agreed with Smiley's counsel that Beals died as a result of an undiscovered heart problem.
Smiley looked to cry after being acquitted at the Marine Corps Recruit Depot
Smiley looked to cry after being acquitted at the Marine Corps Recruit Depot on Parris Island on Friday before apologizing to Beals' family for their son's death. The prosecution claimed, supported by medical experts, that Beals died of heat stroke and that Smiley overworked the recruits.
The prosecution's Lieutenant Colonel Ian Germain said that Smiley sought to 'break' the recruits by ordering greater workouts despite the 90-degree heat. Germain claimed that "Beals was given to Steven Smiley, who handled him like he was going to break him, not make him, and that's why we're here," as reported by DailyMail.
He further claimed that the Seargent overlooked apparent indications of heat exhaustion in Beals and disregarded a warning from a recruit who attempted to alert him that Beals had gone missing. Beals had been absent for more than an hour before he was discovered. However, the defense appeared to have effectively persuaded the jury that Beals died as a result of a previous heart disease.
'If the conditions of the Crucible are hot or difficult, that doesn't fall on Staff Sgt. Smiley'
Smiley's attorney, Colby Vokey, told the jury that "if the conditions of the Crucible are hot or difficult, that doesn't fall on Staff Sgt. Smiley." He pleaded with the jurors not to "make [Smiley] a scapegoat because of a tragic event." During the tough 54-hour session, Beals died shortly after one of the workouts.
The adolescent allegedly participated in a pugil stick tournament, in which combatants from two rival platoons wear football helmets and pound each other with padded sticks.
