A convicted murderer who had been working in a jail-avoidance program for veterans lied about his military experience during his trial, court records show.
Charles C. Delaney III was convicted of second-degree murder in 1989 for strangling his ex-wife and burying her in a hole he had dug two days earlier behind his Plymouth home. He was sentenced to life in prison with the possibility of parole.
Delaney, who was paroled from prison around 2004, had been working with a federally funded program called Mission Direct Vet, which gives veterans who commit crimes an alternative to jail. The program has offices in courts in Worcester and Lawrence, and had started in Plymouth County at the Brockton Trial Court in July.
However, District Attorney Timothy Cruz terminated the program in Brockton when he learned of Delaney’s involvement.
“Allowing Charles Delaney, a man who fabricated combat experience in order to evade responsibility for the brutal murder of his ex-wife, to work in this program is an insult to veterans,” Cruz said.
Delaney strangled his ex-wife, Pom Song Delaney, with a piece of rope.
His defense team argued at his 1989 trial that he was “flashing back” to an incident in Lebanon where he garroted an enemy soldier. He also told a psychiatrist that in Lebanon he discovered the tortured, mutilated body of a 10-year old boy he had befriended, according to an Appeals Court filing from 1993 that upheld his conviction.
Charles Delaney joined the Army in 1976 after graduating from high school. He served in Lebanon from 1983 to 1984.
“Delaney’s commanding officer in Lebanon could not confirm these incidents or that Delaney, who spent most of his duty in Lebanon in a Beirut hotel, had ever been exposed to hostile fire or combat,” the state Appeals Court said in the ruling.
Delaney also tried to blame his actions on post-traumatic stress disorder from service in Vietnam. However, court documents point out he entered the Army in 1976, well after that war was over.
“It may be that Delaney was attempting to clothe his PTSD defense in a more credible manner by spuriously identifying himself as a member of the most widely recognized group of PTSD sufferers, the Vietnam veterans,” said the Appeals Court.
Delaney also affected a “twitch” that vanished after his third interview with a psychiatrist working with the prosecution, according to the Appeals Court.
The state Department of Mental Health operates the Mission Direct Vet program, which is still running in Worcester and Lawrence.
DMH spokeswoman Jennifer Kritz said Wednesday the state knew Delaney had a criminal history, but didn’t know he had been convicted of murder.
The detailed background check had been done by the Bedford VA Research Corp. Inc., a nonprofit group associated with the Edith Nourse Rogers Memorial Veterans Hospital in Bedford.
Delaney is still employed by the Department of Mental Health, but is no longer working in courts, Kritz said.
When asked on Thursday specifically about Delaney’s claims about his military service, Kritz said she couldn’t comment on personnel matters or veterans’ military service.
Bedford VA Research Corp. Inc. Executive Director Reginald Griffin declined to comment on Thursday, refusing to even confirm his agency did the background check on Delaney.
“Absolutely no comment on anything like this,” he said.
The organization’s website describes the company as a liaison between the veterans administration and non-VA funding sources.
Delaney’s LinkedIn profile says he is employed as a peer specialist at Mission-Direct-Vet in the greater Boston area. It also says he earned a bachelor of science degree in psychology from Boston University from 1995 to 1998 and a masters of liberal arts degree there from 1996 to 1998.
Despite the end of the Mission Direct Vet program in the Brockton court, Cruz said his office would continue working with veterans.
“My office is aware of the need to help those veterans who have sustained either physical or mental injuries related to their service to our country,” he said. “My office will continue to review these cases as we did prior to this program. Our service men and women deserve that review.”
Justin Graeber may be reached at jgraeber@enterprisenews.com or follow him on Twitter @justingraeber.
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