Please, lets come together next week at the Montgomery County Court House, July 29th at 10:30 AM to demand justice and leniency for Dwain Stanford as he is facing 30 years in prison.  Military veterans with severe mental illnesses deserve treatment not prosecution.  He gave 30 years of military and civilian service to support and defend the Constitution of the United States. Lets support and defend a disabled veteran with well documented service connected mental health illnesses. He still lives by the Air Force core value which is Integrity First!  

Please sign this petition to express support for Mr. Dwain Stanford, a retired disabled veteran who dedicated his life to his country.  He has no criminal history and retired from the U.S. Air Force in 2005 and the Department of the Air Force in July 2020 due to PTSD and a severe mental illness, along with many serious service-connected medical conditions.  He was found guilty of Felonious Assault, Aggravated Robbery, Assault, and Resisting Arrest in the Montgomery County (OH) Court.  The incident that led to the charges occurred Sept 25, 2020, while experiencing acute psychosis, a neighbor called 911 to report him for using profanity.  By the time the police arrived, he was unclothed, speaking incoherently, and acting bizarre.  Unfortunately, there was no mental health officials called to the scene to help deescalate the situation.  Instead of remaining in the cruiser, the officer exited the vehicle and Dwain who was obviously experiencing psychosis punched the police officer.  Other officers arrived and tased him twice, placed a spit hood over his head, double handcuffed him, strapped him to a gurney and had Englewood EMT inject him with ketamine which nearly cost him his life.  For those of you Dwain know he has been a tremendous asset to the country, community, and his family.  

Dwain has been wrongfully convicted of very serious crimes.  The court appointed Forensic Psychiatrist that first interviewed him stated during the trial that "Mr. Stanford was experiencing the acute effects of an acute mood-derived, psychotic episode at the time of the alleged offenses".  He further stated that "due to his acutely psychotic mental state at the time of the offenses, he does not believe Mr. Stanford was able to appreciate his wrongfulness of his crimes".  He went on to state, "There was no psychosis producing drug test that would indicate Mr. Stanford voluntarily ingested chemical substances that would cause rise to psychosis." The state's expert witness also stated that the diagnosis of "intoxication by drug" was based on assumption and speculation.  Lastly, the state's expert witness acknowledge that stopping anti-psych meds can cause someone to experience psychosis.  Although the court appointed forensic psychiatrist stated our father met the criteria for not guilty by reason of insanity, he was still found guilty despite the overwhelming evidences he was experiencing a psychotic episode like he did in the past. 

President Lincoln's promise was "To care for him who shall have borne the battle, and for his widow, and his orphan" by serving and honoring the men and women who are America's Veterans. 

Lets not fail another veteran. GET INVOLVED and take action!  Please be there next week to support him.

There is no evidence to indicate he knowingly committed the offenses charged.  There was no criminal intent and had he not been suffering from PTSD/mental health emergency, this incident would have never occurred.  There are mitigating circumstances that should afford Mr. Stanford medical and mental health treatment and not criminal prosecution.   

Personal facts about Mr. Stanford

- No criminal history

- Never been arrested

- No traffic violation history

- No city ordinates violations

- No positive or confirmative evidence of psychosis-producing drug use

- No positive or confirmative evidence of Bath Salts ingestion 

- Led a law-abiding life for 53 years

- Married to Sharon Stanford (USAFR, retired) for 22 years & has 9 children

- Lived in Clayton OH for 20 years

- The offenses charged were committed due to a mental-status change

-  Awarded the Air Force Achievement Medal, Southwest Asia Medal, Kuwaiti Liberation Medal (Saudi), & Kuwaiti Liberation Medal (Kuwait) for service in Operation Desert Shield/Storm

- Received the National Defense Service Medal and Global War on Terrorism Service Medal which recognizes all military members who supported operations to counter terrorism after 9/11

- Served in Riyadh AB Saudi Arabia, Kunsan AB Korea, Yokota AB Japan, and Incirlik AB Turkey

-  Supports local business, churches, schools and YMCA

- Coached youth football & basketball in the community for over 10 years

- Addressed racial issues in the community