The military is attempting to charge Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl with desertion and misbehavior before the enemy, two crimes that could earn Bergdahl a life sentence in federal prison. However, military lawyers say that even if Bergdahl is court-martialed he might not have much jail time at all due to ‘mitigating factors’ such as torture during captivity.

In 2009, Bergdahl walked away from his post in Afghanistan and was subsequently captured by the Taliban. He was in Taliban custody for five years before President Obama had him exchanged for five Afghan prisoners.

According to the survival specialist who debriefed Bergdahl after his release, Bergdahl was frequently whipped with hoses, chained up until his muscles atrophied, kept in a cage and starved by Taliban agents. His suffering at the hands of the Taliban was so severe that the courts are likely to give him a lenient sentence.

“It’s hard for me to imagine either a judge or a military panel sentencing him to any additional confinement with the facts of this case,” said Victor Hansen, a former Army lawyer. “From a fairness point, what more do we want to punish him for?”

Zachary Spilman, an Afghanistan veteran, former Marine and military criminal justice expert, had a similar opinion. “If we say Bergdahl is to blame for what happened to him — then what?” Spilman said. “Do we as a society just cast this kid out? Any objective observer would say whatever Bergdahl did wrong, he has suffered enough.”

Few dispute that Bergdahl was tortured by the Taliban, but there is still a large faction of people who say Bergdahl can’t receive a ‘get out of jail free’ pass for his crimes. Unfortunately for Bergdahl, that faction includes the Army itself.

“The foreseeable consequences of his actions was putting his unit in danger. There has to be some kind of accountability,” an Army spokesman said.