On November 15, 2019 President Trump intervened in 1LT Clint Lorance’s case and granted him a Presidential Pardon. He was released from Leavenworth prison later that evening and reunited with family after serving more than six years of a nineteen year sentence.
Lorance never fired his rifle, but gave the order to fire to protect his soldiers after a paratrooper saw three Afghan men on a single motorcycle speeding at the Platoon’s patrol through a minefield. The Army claimed the riders were civilian casualties, but fingerprint and DNA evidence shows they left their prints and DNA on improvised explosive devices, which the prosecution did not disclose. Additionally, the prosecution did not disclose an Army Report that concluded Lorance’s platoon was being scouted for an impending attack or ambush and that at least one insurgent was killed. Nine soldiers were initially accused of murder, but given immunity and ordered to cooperate against Lorance.
Lorance’s new book, Stolen Honor, was published on September 22, 2020 and we were fortunate to be able to ask some questions about his reasons for writing it, what the process was like, and what his plans are for the future. We hope you enjoy this exclusive Q&A.
You can purchase your copy of his book HERE!
UAP: What inspired you to begin writing about your experiences?
Clint Lorance: Despite decades of meaningless measures put forth to reform it, the Uniform Code of Military Justice remains a broken system of laws. Our troops have less Constitutional protections that normal American citizens. That is wrong. I wrote Stolen Honor to expose the faults in the system, and to outline the effect of such a broken system on my life, and that of everyone I care about.
UAP: What aspects of writing a book did you find most challenging?
Clint Lorance: Time management. I went from prison cell to law school classroom in nine months. That includes the entrance exam and preparation and moving out of state twice. The most challenging part of writing the book was keeping up with the demanding timeline while doing all this. It was like writing emails on your iPhone while you’re on a treadmill at level 10. It’s hard to do, but, not impossible.
UAP: What aspects of writing a book did you find most rewarding?
Clint Lorance: Being able to acknowledge and formally thank all of the people around me who have contributed to my success. We never get enough time with one another to adequately convey these sorts of things. Being able to put my appreciation on the record, for all time, was and still is the most rewarding part of this process.
UAP: What author(s) do you list as your favorite and why?
Clint Lorance: Erik Larson, Bill O’Reilly, and Glenn Beck. History is a big part of my life. I read history and watch documentaries about history for fun. I find it incredibly enriching. These three authors all write about history in a journalistic way. It makes the reading more interesting and brings history to life. I will make some of these authors’ books required reading for my kids someday.
UAP: Did you have an opportunity seek advice from other published authors during your book writing process, and if so, what advice did they give?
Clint Lorance: No, there wasn’t time. I just had a goal in mind and went for it. I knew we’d get it done. We always do. That’s the best thing about having a great team of people around you; you always win, eventually.
UAP: What primary message do you hope that a reader takes away from reading your book?
Clint Lorance: That we need real military justice reform; there are men and women who are being negatively affected by the UCMJ right now who should not be. It doesn’t matter who the President is, and whether or not s/he is pro-military. This goes way deeper than that. It’s deeply rooted law, and there is only one way to change it: with solid, statutory law–that is, law that originates in the US House of Representatives. Not the Supreme Court, (like gay marriage and abortion) and not the President via Executive Order. Both Supreme Court and Executive Order law can be easily overturned in the future. We need good solid law that will stick around. That will start with the Justice for Warriors Caucus. We’ve got to get more congressmen to join it. If I have to get elected to Congress myself and go jump up and down on people’s desks in Washington, I will. But that’s the nuclear option; I’d rather the JFW Caucus get it done while President Trump is in office and will likely sign it.
UAP: Do you plan to write another book at some point, and if so, are you willing to tell us what it’ll be about?
Clint Lorance: Roger that. I’m already writing it. It’s a layman’s overview of how the UCMJ works, and how we fix it. I think we shouldn’t identify a problem unless we have a few solutions to present along with it. In my view, the reason most people don’t care about military justice is because they don’t know anything about it. It’s crucial that we educate everyone we come into contact with about it. In a perfect world, organizations like UAP would not need to exist. But in the real world, there are men and women every single day who are being mistreated by those wielding the power of military justice. Now, it’s important to note that not every exercise in military justice is an unjust one. Some people are treated fairly, because they have a commander who still cares about troops. But there are an alarming number of cases where careerist commanders exploit the broken cracks of the UCMJ for their own political gain. The system as it is set up now does not have guardrails in place for those commanders. We’ve got to fix this.
PURCHASE YOUR COPY OF STOLEN HONOR TODAY!
