Punishment First, Vindication Later

All charges against Capt. James Yee have now been dropped, including those related to the adultery and pornography offenses that were discovered during the government's fruitless search for evidence of espionage. You might have missed the story (I almost did), since Yee's vindication did not receive nearly as much press attention as his arrest and confinement. In fact, the Miami Herald reports that Gen. James T. Hill, head of the U.S. Southern Command, decided to dismiss the last remaining charges against Yee and remove the resulting reprimand from his record "because of the personal and professional stigma already experienced by Yee because of extensive media coverage of the case."