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The War Profiteers - War Crimes,
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March 13th,
2007 - Girouard Trial Begins in Kentucky |
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Girouard Trial Begins in
Kentucky By Mia Rhodarmer The Monroe County Advocate & Democrat March 13, 2007 Army prosecutors say he is a
murderer, responsible for the shooting deaths of three Iraqi detainees while
leading his unit on an operation north of Baghdad last May. But friends and family say
he is an All-American boy, a proud Army Ranger who loved to play music as a
teenager at church and in Sweetwater High School’s marching band. The court martial of
24-year-old Staff Sgt. Raymond Girouard from Sweetwater began Tuesday in Fort
Campbell, Ky. Girouard stands charged with
three counts of premeditated murder, one count of attempted murder along with
charges of conspiracy to commit murder, obstruction of justice, conspiracy to
obstruct justice, larceny and violation of a general order. Three other 101st Airborne
soldiers charged with Girouard, Spc. William Hunsaker, Pfc. Corey Clagett and
Spc. Justin Graber, have all pleaded guilty to reduced charges and stand
poised to testify against the staff sergeant who once commanded their unit. A seven-person military
panel will hear the case. The panel is made up of five enlisted soldiers and
two officers. Three panel members were
excused Tuesday, including one solider who knew Girouard. Early on, it was apparent
two different storylines will emerge during the court martial. "This is a case of fact
versus fiction," Army prosecutor Capt. Joseph Mackey said in his opening
statement. Mackey said Girouard
orchestrated, planned and carried out the murder of the three men during an
operation called Iron Triangle May 9, 2006. Mackey said the other three
soldiers charged will testify that Girouard conspired with them to make up a
cover story the three Iraqi men were shot while trying to escape. Another soldier, Pfc.
Bradley Mason, is expected to take the stand against Girouard as well. But Girouard’s civilian
attorney countered. "The one fact everyone
can agree on is that Staff Sgt. Girouard did not shoot the detainees,"
attorney Anita Gorecki said. Girouard’s attorney said her
client did not order the other soldiers to shoot the three Iraqis either. "What you hear out of
(Hunsaker, Clagett and Graber) will be fiction," Gorecki said. The Sweetwater soldier has
family and friends in attendance at the court martial. Girouard and his friends and
family at Fort Campbell have a cheering section back home in Sweetwater. "I think they are going
to beat it," said Girouard’s grandfather, Ronald Bentley. Girouard seemed calm as
Mackey gave prosecutors’ version of the events of May 9. According to Mackey, the
American troops came upon a house and shot and killed one man standing in the
window. He said the soldiers found
three more Iraqi men in the house along with two women. The prosecutor said Girouard
and his men were told by superiors to take the Iraqis to a landing zone where
American troops had assembled other Iraqis found in their homes during the
operation. But Mackey said Girouard
told his men to cut the zip ties that bound the blindfolded detainees’ hands
behind their backs. The prosecutor said the
soldiers told the detainees to run but shot them while they were running. Graber has admitted to
shooting one of the detainees in a "mercy killing" when the Iraqi
man did not die after the first shots were fired. Mackey said during the cover
up of the crime, Girouard threatened to kill anyone who told on him. The court martial
proceedings could last up to two weeks with Girouard expected to take the
stand. External link: http://monroe.xtn.net/index.php?table=news&template=news.view.subscriber&newsid=138471 |