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The War Profiteers - War Crimes,
Kidnappings, Torture and Big Money |
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December 28th,
2006 - Cortez Submits Plea Agreement in Iraqi Rape, Murder Case |
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Cortez Submits Plea Agreement
in Iraqi Rape, Murder Case By Aaron Aupperlee Desert Dispatch Thursday, December 28, 2006 Sgt. Paul E. Cortez, 24, the
Barstow native charged with rape and murder while serving in Iraq, has
submitted a plea agreement. "I can't say what the
plea is or whether it has been approved," said Cortez attorney William
Cassara. The plea agreement will go
to the commanding general of Fort Campbell, Ky., Maj. Gen. Jeffrey J.
Schloesser, for his approval before Cortez's Feb. 20 trial date, Cassara
said. Details will be released later. The military has charged
four Fort Campbell soldiers and one civilian in the March 12 rape and murder
of a 14-yearold Iraqi girl and the murder of her family. Cortez was arraigned
a month ago on charges of pre-meditated murder, felony murder, kidnapping,
rape and assorted military charges. He is being held at the Christian County
Jail, a civilian jail near Fort Campbell, under a different name. The assumed
name is to protect Cortez from all the media attention surrounding the case,
Cassara said. Other pleas Pfc. Jesse V. Spielman, 22,
could still face life in prison if convicted of the rape and murder. Spec. James P. Barker, 23,
pleaded guilty to rape and murder in November and agreed to testify against
the other soldiers. Steven D. Green, 21, was
discharged before details about the case surfaced. He pleaded not guilty to
charges in a Kentucky civilian court. Barker's plea ag reement to
testify did not influence the decision to submit a plea agreement, Cassara
said. Cortez's plea agreement process, Cassara said, started before Barker's
plea became public. "Barker said some
things harmful to the case, and Barker said some things helpful to the
case," Cassara said. Cassara said Barker
testified that Cortez had been involved with the March 12 incident but also
talked a lot about the amount of stress the soldiers were under. "If nothing else, it
has brought to light some of the stresses and strife facing our guys
overseas," Cassara said. According to Cassara, the
soldiers were sleep-deprived and living on energy drinks and sleeping pills
in a situation where anyone outside the fence was considered the enemy. He
plans to bring up these factors during the defense portion of Cortez's trial
as well. Plea process If the commanding general
approves Cortez's plea agreement, a sentencing trial will occur in February.
William Bruzzo, a former major in the Marine Corps and civilian and military
criminal defense lawyer in Santa Ana, said the defense usually calls
character witnesses and presents honors and distinctions earned during
service in an attempt to sway the judge toward a lighter sentence. Because of the severity of
Cortez's charges, Cassara said, the judge may be legally only able to choose
between life in prison without parole or life in prison with parole. A plea
agreement allows someone to serve less time than the legal minimum. He said
Barker pleaded to a 90-year jail sentence because it was lower than the legal
minimum of life in prison with parole. Bruzzo said the government
usually approves plea agreements in rape and murder cases when the government
plans to use the defendant as a government witness in a different case. He
called plea agreements in capital cases very rare but said, "You're
seeing a lot recently because you're seeing multiple defendants." In cases with multiple
defendants, Bruzzo said, the government often makes deals with some of the
defendants in order to create a strong case against a few individuals. External link: http://www.desertdispatch.com/2006/116731772627578.html |