Gregg Reese, contributor to the Los Angeles-based Our Weekly, has written on the case of PFC LaVena Johnson. The article provides an informative snapshot of the background behind LaVena’s death, autopsy findings and official statements, accounts of Congressional efforts that have thus far fallen short of results, and a broader look at the issue of

As announced four days ago, the name-gathering phase of the LaVena Johnson petition effort has concluded. Attention here now turns to preparing the document for delivery to the Armed Services Committees of the Senate and the House of Representatives. Please visit this site again – or subscribe to this website’s RSS feed – for further developments, and thanks!

We’ve reached the final days of signature-gathering for the LaVena petition to the House and Senate Armed Services Committees. I will close out the petition this weekend, sometime Saturday morning (May 24) and add those names I haven’t yet incorporated into the final document. Because of the code used by the petition website, I will have to take down the petition altogether rather than leaving the names and comments up for viewing. That is, there’s no way to simply remove the text entering fields while leaving the rest of it up. As I mentioned before, only the names and comments of the signatories will be included in the printed document – no states or ZIP codes.

I am working on details of printing and delivery, and will announce word of that as soon as things are finalized.

Incidentally, the end of name-gathering for the petition does not mean the end of this website. The site will continue to serve as a place to read about developments regarding LaVena’s case, posted as events warrant.

So: plenty of time for final thanks to all who have so generously lent their support to this effort. More to come.

The petition to the House and Senate Armed Services Committees asking the members of those bodies to direct the Army to revisit the investigation of the suspicious death of Pfc. LaVena Johnson is once again open for signatures and supportive comments. This reopening of the petition comes just one day after its announced closing. The reason for the reversal is that LaVena’s father, Dr. John Johnson, requested that the petition remain open for a while longer. I am more than happy to oblige him in this.

An earlier goal for this petition effort was ten thousand names; that mark was met and surpassed, and the current count stands at just over twelve thousand signatories. I hope that the additional time given the open period of the petition will result in even more public support for the effort to uncover the truth behind LaVena’s death.

No new deadline for the end of the name-gathering phase has set; that info will be posted here and elsewhere as soon as it has been determined.

Thank you, again, for your attention and support.

As announced earlier, the name-gathering phase of the LaVena Johnson petition effort has come to an end. The next phase will consist of weeding out duplicate entries, formatting and printing copies of the document, and arranging for their delivery to the members of the two Armed Services Committees.

Information on the status of the petition effort and related news will continue to be posted on on this site.

Many, many thanks to all who have lent their names to this effort. More news to come.

The last day of the name-gathering phase of the petition to the House and Senate Armed Services Committees is Friday, April 18. As that day approaches, I’ll work on formatting the petition and making arrangements for delivery to the lawmakers on those committees, and will add more names as they appear on the online list.

A note about formatting: The names and comments of the signatories will be included, but ZIP code and state information will not.

I’ll post more information about the process in the coming days. Thanks very much for your attention, and for your help in communicating LaVena’s story.

My apologies to anyone who tried and failed to access the LaVena petition recently. The yearly membership at the site hosting the petition needed to be renewed. I’ve done that, and the petition is up and running with no problems. Again, apologies for any inconvenience.

Following the most recent post on the LaVena petition, a correspondent asked for assurance that the names and information of signatories will not be used for other purposes. This is a potential concern that I should have allayed on the day that I launched this petition, and I apologize for not doing so.

To make things clear, then: The names and personal information of petition signatories will not be used for any purpose other than the stated one – appealing to the members of the House and Senate Armed Services Committees. The petition database will be deleted following the successful delivery of the petition.

Other questions on this matter, or other aspects of the petition effort, are welcome.

It has been some months since I last wrote on the effort to prompt a reinvestigation of the 2005 death in Iraq of Pfc. LaVena Johnson. Though not much has happened on an official level during that time, the Johnson family continues working to bring the story to the attention of the media and other parties. The petition addressed to the Armed Services Committees of the House and Senate has continued to draw interest and signatures, though at a more moderate pace than earlier; the signature count stands at just shy of eleven thousand names.

As the author of the petition, I’ll be collating the names for hard copy publication and will make sure they get into the hands of the members of both committees. I’ve not set a specific date for this final phase of the petition work, but will announce it with plenty of lead time.

In the interim, I’d like to thank again the many kind folks who have lent their names to the petition and have spread word of it on their own weblogs, via email, and in conversations with others. I think I may also speak for the Johnsons in relaying their thanks as well.

Until the day comes when the list goes to the printer, please take a moment to lend your own name to the effort!

The petition asking that the Senate and House Armed Services Committees compel the Army to investigate anew the death of Pfc. LaVena Johnson stands at just over 3500 names at the moment. It has taken some three months to reach this point.

The petition to change the logo for the London 2012 Olympics passed 10,000 signatures in less than a day.