SUMMARY
After the trial had concluded, the original 25-year sentence was reduced by five years by the commanding General of 101st Airborne and the Army Clemency Board subsequently reduced the sentence by another five years.
On March 14th, 2014, 1LT Behenna was paroled from U.S Disciplinary Barracks, Fort Leavenworth Prison after serving 5 years of his 15 year sentence. Upon release, Behenna was escorted home to Oklahoma by dozens of Patriot Guard motorcycle riders.
During this 6-year period, UAP donated a sum of more than $43,000 to 1LT Behenna’s legal defense team.
On Jan 17, 2018 Behenna filed a 10-page application with the U.S. Army seeking a pardon. On May 6, President Donald J. Trump signed an Executive Grant of Clemency (Full Pardon) for former Army First Lieutenant Michael Behenna of Oklahoma. The official statement from the Press Secretary regarding Michael Behenna continues to state his “case attracted support from the military, Oklahoma officials, and the public. Thirty-seven generals and admirals, along with a former Inspector General of the Department of Defense, signed a brief in support of Mr. Behenna’s self defense claim. Further, while serving his sentence, Mr. Behenna as a model prisoner. In light of these facts, Mr. Behenna is entirely deserving of this Grant of Executive Clemency.”
WHO IS MICHAEL BEHENNA?
Michael Behenna was born in 1983 to Scott Behenna, an FBI intelligence analyst and retired Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation Special Agent, and Vicki Behenna, a Federal Prosecutor who had worked on the Oklahoma City bombing case.
Behenna graduated from Edmond North High School in 2002, and after witnessing the 9/11 attacks, expressed an interest in joining the U.S. Army to serve his country. Persuaded by his parents to go to college and enroll in Army ROTC, Behenna graduated from the University of Central Oklahoma in 2006 with a degree in General Studies and minors in history and military science. Upon graduation, Behenna was commissioned a Second Lieutenant in the United States Army, attend the Infantry Basic Officers Leadership Course at Fort Benning and was selected for Ranger School. Behenna was assigned to the 101st Airborne Division as the platoon leader for 5th Platoon, Delta Company of the 1st Battalion, 327th Infantry Regiment and deployed to Iraq in 2007.
