United States v. Bernier

Opinion of the Court

The question before us is whether the accused’s plea of guilty to the charge of involuntary manslaughter was provident. Under the circumstances of this case, we hold that it was not. United States v Woodrum, 20 USCMA 529, 43 CMR 369 (1971); United States v Saplala, 19 USCMA 344, 41 CMR 344 (1970), and cases cited at page 345.

During the inquiry into the providence of the plea (United States v Care, 18 USCMA 535, 40 CMR 247 (1969)), the accused informed the military judge that he had fired his weapon in the belief that he was firing at an enemy soldier. At the time of the…