|
The
War Profiteers - War Crimes, Kidnappings, Torture and Big Money |
|
The Killing of Naser Ismail |
||||
|
|
||||
|
|
||||
|
Background -
Balad, January 3rd, 2004 “[…] An Army staff sergeant was acquitted of murder
Thursday in the death of an unarmed Iraqi he said he shot to save a fellow
soldier. A jury of four soldiers and two officers deliberated for less than
three hours before finding Staff Sgt. Shane Werst not guilty of premeditated
murder. He had faced a maximum of life in prison without parole. […]
Prosecutors said the killing of Naser Ismail, a suspected insurgent, was in
retaliation for an Army captain's death earlier that day. Werst, 32, said he
shot Ismail only because he was lunging for an unsuspecting soldier's weapon
during house raids in Iraq. Prosecutors declined to comment after the
verdict. Werst testified Thursday that he does not regret shooting Ismail,
but acknowledged his actions afterward in making the slaying look like
self-defense were wrong. […] After shooting Ismail, Werst said he quickly
fired the Iraqi pistol into a couch and told the other soldier, Pfc. Nathan
Stewart, to put the man's fingerprints on it. […]” Excerpt
of an Associated Press article
from May 27th, 2005. |
The accused: Shane Werst |
|||
|
|
||||
|
May 28th, 2005 - Acquitted Soldier Enjoys Taste
of Freedom, Cigar 1 news
article by the Orange County Register May 27th, 2005 - Soldier Acquitted in Shooting
of Iraqi 1 news
article by the Associated Press May 25th, 2005 - Witness: Iraqi Was Cooperating
Before Death 1 news
article by the Associated Press May 23rd, 2007 - Judge Allows Testimony in
Soldier’s Trial 1 news
article by the Associated Press November 25th, 2004 - U.S. Soldier Charged with
Murder of Iraqi Citizen 1 news article by
Cable Network News |
||||
|
|
||||
|
Court-Martial of Shane A. Werst February 28th, 2006 - Court-Martial Record -
Shane A. Werst - Volume 1 Record
of the U.S. Army Judiciary (5,1 MB) “[…] General Court-Martial Order - Number 12 - 30
August 2005 “Staff Sergeant Shane A. Werst, U.S. Army, Division
Troops Company, Special Troops Battalion, Support Brigade, 4th lnfantry
Division (Mechanized), Fort Hood, Texas 76544, was arraigned at Fort Hood,
Texas, on the following offenses at a General Court-Martial convened by the
Commander, 4th lnfantry Division (Mechanized). “Charge I. Article 118. Plea: Not Guilty. Finding:
Not Guilty. “Specification: Did, at or near Balad, Iraq, on or
about 3 January 2004, with premeditation, murder another, by means of
shooting him with a rifle. Plea: Not Guilty. Finding: Not Guilty. “Charge ll. Article 134. Plea: Not Guilty. Finding:
Not Guilty. “Specification 1: Did, at or near Balad, Iraq, on or
about 3 January 2004, wrongfully endeavor to impede an investigation and
influence the actions of two others, by directing them to alter their
statements regarding the murder of another. Plea: Not Guilty. Finding: Not
Guilty. “The findings were announced on 26 May 2005. All rights,
privileges, and property of which the accused has been deprived of by virtue
of these proceedings will be restored. By Command Of Major General Thurman
[…]” “The Article 32 Investigation in this case of United
States v. SSG Shane A. Werst, Headquarters Company, 4th, Infantry
Division, (Mechanized), Fort Hood, Texas, opened at 0920 hours, 21 January
2005, at the 4th Infantry Division Courtroom Building 410, Fort
Hood, Texas 76544. […] “The following witness for the Government was
called, sworn, and testified in substance as follows: SA Matthew T. Elliott,
48'h MI Detachment, Fort Carson, CO “Direct Examination “I have been with CID for 2 M years. I have worked a
variety of larceny, sexual assault and death cases in Fort Carson.
Previously, I was stationed in Bamberg, Germany, as a military police
soldier. This case began at Edmonds Army Community Hospital where PFC Stewart
told his psychologist about the act that occurred in lraq. COL James A. Polo
contacted CID with a report of a possible war crime that occurred in lraq. He
did not disclose anything other than the soldier had reported to him that his
squad had possibly committed a war crime in lraq. “SA Armstrong and I went off post to get PFC
Stewart’s statement. A rights advisement was not initially given, he made a
statement against self-interest, and then we continued the interview after
advising him of his rights. We took a sworn statement - both handwritten by
him and then typed in summary by me. “In his narrative, PFC Stewart describes raids that
occurred in the area of Balad, Iraq, and his and other’s actions during them.
He described separation of an lraqi insurgent from the last house they went
to that night. SSG Werst and PFC Stewart were alone with the insurgent in a
back room where SSG Werst stated that he was going to kill the
‘mother-fucker’. PFC Stewart and SSG Werst began to hit the Iraqi, Naser
Ismail. At this time in the interview, CID gave PFC Stewart a rights advisal.
PFC Stewart said that he had hit the lraqi with his Maglite. SSG Werst told
PFC Stewart to stop hitting him and to pull Mr. lsmail to his feet. As PFC
Stewart got Naser lsmail to his feet, 2 or 3 rounds were shot off by SSG
Werst and the lraqi remained on his feet. SSG Werst shot a few more times,
the lraqi fell to the floor but was still breathing, so SSG Werst fired more
shots into ismail's body and he finally quit breathing. […]” February 28th, 2006 - Court-Martial Record -
Shane A. Werst - Volume 2 Record
of the U.S. Army Judiciary (9,7 MB) February 28th, 2006 - Court-Martial Record -
Shane A. Werst - Volume 3 Record
of the U.S. Army Judiciary (4,8 MB) |
||||
|
|
||||
|
Background 1)
Shane Werst at his court-martial at Fort Hood - May 2005 - L. M.
Otero/Associated Press; |
||||
|
Back to the Second
Gulf War/Iraq Invasion II Back to U.S.
Department of Defense |
||||
