|
The War Profiteers - War Crimes,
Kidnappings, Torture and Big Money |
|
March 21st,
2007 - Girouard Receives 10-Year Sentence |
|
Girouard Receives 10-Year
Sentence By Tommy Millsaps The Monroe County Advocate & Democrat March 21, 2007 Staff Sgt. Raymond Girouard
has been sentenced to 10 years in confinement, a dishonorable discharge,
reduction to private and forfeiture of all pay and allowances. Family members said Girouard
is eligible for parole in three years, with the year he has already spent in
jail counting as one of those three years already. During his sentencing
hearing Monday, Girouard, 24, admitted he made a mistake lying about the
fatal shootings of three Iraqi detainees in an effort to protect the men
serving under him. He said he hopes his
4-year-old son, Hunter, would learn to tell the truth because of his father’s
experiences, according to an Associated Press report. “There’s a fine line between
loyalty and truth,” he said during the sentencing hearings Monday. “Do what’s
right all the time.” Late Friday night, a
military panel at Fort Campbell, Ky., found the 101st Airborne soldier from
Sweetwater guilty of three counts of negligent homicide but not guilty of
premeditated murder in the deaths of three Iraqi detainees May 9, 2006. Girouard faced up to life in
prison had he been found guilty of premeditated murder. Back home in Sweetwater, his
grandfather thought the sentencing was fair but said he’s disappointed his
grandson’s military career is over. “He loved being an Army
Ranger,” Ron Bentley said. “It could have been worse,” Bentley said. “I think
they were fair. He just made a mistake. He’s going to have to pay for it. He
was trying to protect his men but two wrongs don’t make it right.” During the sentencing
hearing, Girouard’s sister, Kelly Camps, asked that her brother be allowed to
return to his family. She pointed out that
Girouard, their older sister Joy Oakes, and she, did not get to grow up with
their parents. Oakes had just arrived home
from Kentucky Tuesday morning when she talked to The Advocate & Democrat.
She said it was uncertain where her brother would serve his time. According to Oakes, it could
be in Leavenworth, Ks., Washington, D.C., Fort Knox, Ky., or Charleston, S.C. She said her brother plans
to take college courses while in prison and perhaps that could reduce his
sentence even more. “There are many
possibilities,” she said. But like her grandfather, she thought the
sentencing was fair. She thanked the community
for all its support. Oakes said the private
attorney, Anita Gorecki, who was hired with money raised by the community,
made a big difference for her brother. Two soldiers in his unit,
Pvt. Corey Clagett and Pvt. William Hunsaker, testified
against Girouard during last week’s court martial proceedings, claming he had
told them to untie the three Iraqi men and shoot them. But on the stand, Girouard
denied he ordered the shootings but did admit to helping his men cover up the
killings. Girouard called his
grandparents early Saturday morning and was happy with the verdict as were
his grandparents when they got the news. “We are overwhelmed about
it,” Bentley said. “He was just trying to protect his men. He had about three
minutes to decide. He stood by his men. That’s what they got him on.” The panel, which deliberated
for four hours, also found Girouard guilty of obstruction of justice for
lying to investigators, of conspiracy for trying to conceal the crime and of
failure to obey a general order. Girouard could have been
sentenced to a maximum of 21 years in prison with the verdict he received
Friday. External link: http://monroe.xtn.net/index.php?table=news&template=news.view.subscriber&newsid=138717 |