This is so sad. Why send this kid to prison. Why not hospitalize him and treat him.

SAN ANTONIO –Sgt. Paul Miles‘ family knew something was different about him when he came back from Iraq. The Eagle Scout and former church missionary was jumpy. Behind the wheel, he would suddenly drive as if under attack. Later they would learn he built a bomb and used it to damage a statue of the Virgin Mary. Then, he killed a cat.

Ultimately, the 22-year-old National Guardsman was arrested in November on federal charges, accused of building explosives in his apartment, and was diagnosed with bipolar disorder, or manic depression. He could get 10 years in prison.

Thousands of soldiers and Marines who served in Iraq and Afghanistan are believed to have been damaged psychologically by the experience. Whether the 22-year-old Miles is one of them - whether he was unhinged by the war, as his family suspects, and a psychiatrist who examined him says is possible - is not clear.

But Miles’ father wants authorities to take his Norman Rockwell youth and service record into consideration.

“I’d love for them to use some discretion,” Curtis Miles said. “That’s a pretty harsh sentence to mess his life up for the rest of his life for bad decision-making that resulted from him coming home from Iraq.”

The prosecutor on the case said he cannot simply let Miles go.

“I’m not in a position to give him a pass,” said John Ratcliffe. “There is no ’service exception’” for criminal activity, he said, adding: “It could be argued that anyone who makes explosive devices and blows up personal property has mental issues.”

Miles’ family and supporters say his prewar life never hinted at violence.

In addition to achieving Boy Scouts’ highest rank and serving as a church missionary, Miles volunteered at a center for mentally retarded adults, padding his skinny frame to play Santa Claus at Christmas parties.

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