A Marine discharged for failing to remove a Bible verse posted in her work area recently stood before the military’s highest court to appeal the firing.
In 2014, Lance Cpl. Monifa J. Sterling was convicted in a court-martial at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina. Her charges included disrespecting a superior commissioned officer and four counts of disobeying a lawful order.
She was reduced in rank, and her discharge will follow her the rest of her life, making her ineligible for veterans benefits such as the G.I. Bill. Her initial appeal was denied last year by the Navy-Marine Corps Court of Criminal Appeals, but finally made it before the Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces.
Sterling’s court-martial and subsequent sentencing stemmed from a single Bible verse she had taped three times in various locations around her cubicle. She was charged after refusing to take down the verse after her supervisor, a staff sergeant, ordered her to.
According to court documents, her supervisor found the language “combative.” The verse, “No weapon formed against me shall prosper,” is a riff on Isaiah 54:17. The original reads: “No weapon that is formed against you shall prosper.”
Mike Berry, Sterling’s lead attorney, thinks the punishment can be overturned as it falls under provisions in the Religious Freedom Restoration Act. He also believes the case could have wide-ranging implications for how the military approaches religious freedoms.
A ruling is expected this summer.