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December 11th,
2004 - U.S. Soldier Pleads Guilty in ‘Mercy’ Killing of Iraqi |
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U.S. Soldier Pleads Guilty
in ‘Mercy’ Killing of Iraqi Staff sergeant is given a three-year prison term. Others in his unit
are accused in slayings. By Edmund Sanders Los Angeles Times December 11, 2004 Baghdad - A U.S. Army staff
sergeant who shot an unarmed, wounded Iraqi teenager to put the youth
"out of his misery" pleaded guilty to murder Friday and was
sentenced to three years in prison. Staff Sgt. Johnny Horne Jr.,
30, admitted that he killed Qassim Hassan, 16, after his unit attacked a
group of Iraqis on Aug. 18 in the Baghdad slum of Sadr City. Horne said the
teenager was so badly wounded that he would have died anyway. "I wanted to end his
suffering," Horne said during a court-martial trial in Baghdad.
"With my weapon I fired a shot to his head. His attempts to breathe
ceased." U.S. military prosecutors
did not call any of Hassan's relatives or Iraqis to testify Friday at the
trial and sentencing hearing. In interviews with The Times in October, family
members, including people who witnessed the shooting, said that Hassan's
wounds were not serious and that his life could have been saved with medical
attention. Horne pleaded guilty to one
count of murder and one count of conspiracy to commit murder. The plea
agreement ensured that his sentence would be no more than 10 years. A seven-member military
panel deliberated about four hours before passing sentence. Horne was also
reduced in rank to private, ordered to forfeit pay and given a dishonorable
discharge. He is among five U.S.
soldiers from the 1st Battalion, 41st Infantry Regiment who are accused of
killing four Iraqis during 10 days in August. The unit is based at Ft. Riley,
Kan. Two other members of the
unit are accused of executing two unarmed Iraqis inside their homes during a
series of house-to-house searches Aug. 28. The soldiers said the men
threatened them with weapons, but one soldier later acknowledged that the
story was fabricated. Two more soldiers from the
1-41st face murder charges for killing fellow troops in Kansas. The Aug. 18 killing occurred
after Horne's unit fired on a dump truck believed to be filled with
insurgents planting roadside bombs. In fact, the truck carried young men and
teenagers who had been hired to collect trash, witnesses and military
investigators said. "We just lit it
up," testified Spc. Joshua R. Sickels, a member of the company. "We
let loose with everything." At least seven Iraqis were
killed and eight wounded. Military prosecutors alleged that Horne, of North
Carolina, conspired with Staff Sgt. Cardenas Alban of Carson, Calif., and
platoon leader 2nd Lt. Erick Anderson to kill the Iraqi. Alban and Anderson
are also charged with premeditated murder. Horne agreed to cooperate in
the murder cases against his comrades. In an unsworn statement made
during his sentencing hearing Friday, Horne said he felt terrible about the
attack, particularly after approaching the scene and seeing dead and wounded
children. "My gut instinct was
either the wrong vehicle got shot at or … I don't know," he said Friday. Horne said he came upon the
badly burned body of a male whose internal organs had been blown away.
Despite massive injuries, the victim was struggling to breathe, Horne said in
his unsworn statement. Horne said he turned for
help to Alban and Anderson, his superior officer. "My god, he's just a
kid," Alban said, according to Horne's account of the conversation. "What do you want to
do?" Anderson asked Horne. "I don't want to leave
him like that," Horne said he replied. "Do it," Anderson
said. Horne said the three men had
a "mutual understanding" that Horne would shoot the victim. Alban
fired first, unloading a burst of bullets from his rifle. Despite the volley
of shots, Horne said, Hassan was still breathing, so he fired another shot. Soldiers on the scene argued
about Horne's actions, a debate that continues to divide the unit, soldiers
said. Some called the shooting a
"mercy" killing and noted that Horne rushed to rescue the victims
in the burning truck. "He pulled a small
child out of a truck believed to be full of explosives," said Spc.
Travis Vogt, a member of the unit. Others testified that they
watched the shooting in horror. "I was in
disbelief," said Spc. William Davis, a member of the unit. "I
couldn't believe it was happening." Davis said Horne first asked
him to shoot the Iraqi, but Davis refused. Horne denied that claim. Spc. Shonta Williams said he
was surprised that the victims were not rushed to hospitals or evacuated by
helicopters. A few days after the
shooting, a soldier in Horne's unit slipped an anonymous note under the
commander's door, saying "serious crimes" had been committed. During Friday's hearing,
Horne played an emotional taped appeal by his elderly parents and 6-year-old
daughter urging the panel to be lenient. As Horne's trial continued,
another soldier from the unit defended himself in a courtroom about 100 yards
away. Staff Sgt. Michael P.
Williams, 25, is charged with the premeditated murder of three Iraqis,
including a man who was seen running from the dump truck Aug. 18. Williams
opened fire on the man, despite the fact that another soldier claimed the man
was waving a white flag and shouting, "Baby! Baby!" "He was trying to
inform us that we were shooting a truck full of children," Pfc. Gary
Romriell testified. "He was unarmed. I didn't take him as hostile." Other soldiers said in the
chaos after the attack on the truck, Williams could not be sure whether the
man was a threat. External link: http://www.christusrex.org/www1/news/lat-12-11-04c.html |