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The War Profiteers - War Crimes,
Kidnappings, Torture and Big Money |
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March 17th,
2007 - Jury Spares Sergeant Accused of Ordering Iraqis’ Deaths |
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Jury Spares Sergeant Accused
of Ordering Iraqis’ Deaths He’s guilty on lesser counts but acquitted of murder charges. By David Zucchino Los Angeles Times March 17, 2007 Ft. Campbell, KY. - An Army
squad leader accused of ordering his soldiers to kill three unarmed Iraqi
detainees in May was acquitted Friday of premeditated murder and murder
conspiracy. A court-martial panel convicted him of three counts of negligent
homicide as well as obstruction of justice and conspiracy to obstruct
justice. Staff Sgt. Raymond L.
Girouard, 24, had faced a maximum sentence of life in prison without parole
if convicted on the murder charges. His attorney said he now faced a maximum
of 21 years in prison, with the opportunity to argue for a lower penalty at a
sentencing hearing scheduled for Monday. Girouard, who had maintained
a military bearing during his four-day court-martial, smiled and hugged his lawyers
and sister moments after the verdict was announced by an Army lieutenant
colonel who served as president of the seven-member panel. His lawyer, Anita Gorecki,
said Girouard told her it was the first night he would return to his cell
with hope for the future. "I have something to look forward to,"
she said he told her. In the private family
meeting room at the military courthouse, Girouard hugged and kissed his wife,
Melanie Denise, and his 4-year old son, Hunter, according to his sister, Joy
Oakes. Oakes helped lead a fundraising drive in the family's hometown of
Sweetwater, Tenn., for legal fees. "It's been a very good
day," Oakes said after the verdict. Girouard also was found
guilty of violating a military regulation by not turning over a handgun his
squad confiscated from a house 60 miles northwest of Baghdad, where the
detainees were captured during an air assault mission May 9. His convictions carry an
added penalty of dishonorable discharge and forfeiture of pay and allowances. The handgun charge carries a
maximum penalty of two years. The three counts of negligent homicide carry a
maximum sentence of three years each, and the obstruction of justice counts a
maximum of five years each. There is no minimum sentence for any of the
counts. Girouard will receive credit
for 368 days served - more than he actually has been confined because some of
those days were in solitary confinement or under other restrictions. Earlier Friday, an Army
prosecutor told the jury that Girouard plotted the murders of the detainees,
then persistently lied about virtually every detail. "This man has lied and
lied and lied and lied," Capt. William Fischbach said as Girouard sat
stoically at the defense table a few feet away. "This guy is all about
coverups." Gorecki told the jury that
Girouard never said anything to his men about killing the detainees, but made
"a bad decision based on loyalty" when he helped them orchestrate a
phony cover story. For the first time,
prosecutors offered a motive: Clagett was so eager to prove himself in his
squad's first major combat operation that he overreacted to a vulgar comment
blurted out by his first sergeant. Cursing loudly, 1st Sgt.
Eric Geressy angrily asked over the radio why the squad hadn't killed the
detainees. Geressy testified that he believed the Iraqis had fired on the
squad and thus should have been shot in combat. In fact, they were detained
unarmed and without a fight. Because the mission was
Girouard's "opportunity to shine," Fischbach said, he believed he
had let his first sergeant down. "You guys are wussies.
You should have killed them during the assault," Fischbach said,
paraphrasing Geressy. "This changed Sgt.
Girouard," he went on. "He knew how the first sergeant felt. … That's
why these three guys [detainees] were targeted." Gorecki said that if
Girouard had wanted to kill the detainees, he could have done so without fear
of prosecution because - according to testimony by some soldiers - the rules
of engagement were to kill every military-aged male on the island. A military attorney for the
brigade commander, Col. Michael Steele, has denied that Steele issued such an
order. Operation Iron Triangle was
carried out by units of the 101st Airborne Division, operating in north-central
Iraq as Task Force Band of Brothers - a reference to a World War II 101st
Airborne unit featured in the book and movie "Band of Brothers." Gorecki spent much of her
closing arguments trying to refute testimony by five squad members that
Girouard abruptly convened a squad meeting shortly after the detainees were
captured, then discussed a plot to kill the Iraqis. Pvt. William B. Hunsaker and
Pvt. Corey R. Clagett admitted shooting the detainees but said they were
following Girouard's orders. Both soldiers testified against Girouard under
plea agreements in which they were sentenced to 18 years in prison. Pvt. Justin Graber testified
that he shot one detainee as he lay bleeding after Girouard told him to put
the man out of his misery. Graber's plea agreement provides for a nine-month
prison sentence. Fischbach conceded that
Hunsaker and Clagett - and possibly Graber - could be motivated to lie
because of their plea deals. But he said two other squad members who were not
charged had no motive to falsely implicate their squad leader. Gorecki said the prosecution
was based on "a bunch of convicted murderers." She gestured toward
court exhibits containing color photographs of bloodied detainees: "Sgt.
Girouard didn't do that. Their [prosecution] witnesses did that." Fischbach, calling Girouard
"smart and clever," said he sent the bulk of his squad to a
helicopter landing zone a few hundred yards away to eliminate witnesses.
Girouard had Hunsaker and Clagett guard the detainees so that they would be in
a position to carry out the killings, he said. Gorecki pointed out that one
squad member described Girouard as white with shock when he first saw the
detainee's bodies. "You can't fake suddenly having the blood drain out
of you because you're scared," she said. Fischbach countered:
"Of course he's nervous, waiting to see if he can pull it off." External link: http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/asection/la-na-soldier17mar17,1,2674685.story |