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The War Profiteers - War Crimes,
Kidnappings, Torture and Big Money |
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March 31st,
2007 - Murder Trial for Fort Campbell Soldier Delayed |
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Murder Trial
for Fort Campbell Soldier Delayed By Kristin M. Hall Associated Press March 31, 2007 Nashville, Tenn. - The trial
for a soldier accused in the rape and murder of an Iraqi teenager and the
slaying of her family has been delayed. Pfc. Jesse V. Spielman's
trial was scheduled to start Monday at Fort Campbell, Ky., but was pushed
back after his defense attorney received new information regarding witnesses,
attorney Dan Christensen said. A public affairs officer at
Fort Campbell, Master Sgt. Terry Webster, said the trial has been rescheduled
for July 23. As a matter of protocol, military prosecutors won't discuss the
case. Spielman is the last of four
101st Airborne soldiers from Fort Campbell, located on the Kentucky-Tennessee
line, to face trial in the March 2006 attack on the family in their home near
a military checkpoint in Mahmoudiya. "The government
disclosed a bunch of information in the 11th hour," Christensen said
Saturday. Christensen said a military
judge approved the delay late Friday night after attorneys argued they needed
more time to review the new information. Christensen declined to
reveal the new details, but said it had to do with other soldiers charged in
the case, as well as other witnesses scheduled to testify. "This information is
important enough to move the trial," he said. Spielman, 22, from
Chambersburg, Pa., faces up to life in prison without parole if convicted on
rape and murder charges. Three other soldiers have
pleaded guilty and been sentenced in the case. A former private, Steven
Green, is being prosecuted in federal court. Spc. James P. Barker and
Sgt. Paul E. Cortez said they took turns raping the 14-year-old Iraqi girl
while Green shot and killed her mother, father and younger sister. Barker was
sentenced to 90 years in prison, and Cortez was sentenced to 100 years. Pfc. Bryan Howard, 19,
pleaded guilty to being an accessory to the rape and murder and was sentenced
to 27 months. External link: http://www.contracostatimes.com/mld/cctimes/news/nation/17007752.htm |