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The War Profiteers - War Crimes,
Kidnappings, Torture and Big Money |
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July 30th,
2007 - Court-Martial Begins for Soldier in Iraqi Girl’s Rape and Killing |
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Court-Martial Begins for Soldier
in Iraqi Girl’s Rape and Killing By Ryan Lenz Associated Press July 30, 2007, 3:28PM Fort Campbell, Ky. - A Fort
Campbell soldier accused of acting as a lookout while his colleagues attacked
and killed a 14-year-old Iraqi girl and her family pleaded guilty to some
lesser offenses Monday as his court-martial began on rape and murder charges. Pfc. Jesse Spielman pleaded
to conspiracy to obstruct justice, arson, wrongfully touching a corpse and
drinking. He still faces trial on the
more serious charges in the March 2006 attack on Abeer Qassim al-Janabi and
her family. Under military law, a soldier present when a crime occurs can be
found guilty if prosecutors can establish that the soldier had prior knowledge. Three other soldiers have
pleaded guilty for their roles in the crimes and received sentences as long
as 100 years. Another soldier, Steven D. Green, who grew up in Midland,
Texas, was discharged from the military before he was charged and could face
the death penalty if found guilty in federal court in Kentucky. Defense attorney Craig
Carlson said Spielman's plea to the lesser charges was part of an agreement
with prosecutors that involved crimes that Spielman had already confessed to
committing during interviews with military investigators. A military judge was
expected to begin seating a jury for his court-martial on the rape and murder
charges later in the day. Defense attorneys have
argued that Spielman had no prior knowledge of the attack. On Monday, they
filed a motion requesting immunity for members of the Army's combat stress
team, which was attached to Spielman's unit. Carlson argued that
questionable practices and undocumented distribution of medication to
soldiers could have left them in a mental state in which they were unable to
recognize the nature of the crime. The Department of Justice declined to
grant immunity in June, but defense attorneys say the information is critical
to their arguments. The defense also filed a
motion to exclude nine photos taken of the victims the day after they were
killed. Prosecutors have argued the
photos provide crucial information about the crime. "These photos painfully
demonstrate that she is dead," said Maj. William Fischbach of photos of
the 14-year-old girl. He said the position of her body in the photos
suggested she had been raped. "Taken together, these
crime scene photos are the government's only evidence that a murder
happened," Fischbach said. Two soldiers have told
investigators that Spielman, 22, of Chambersburg, Pa., knew of the plan to
rape the girl in Mahmoudiya, a village 20 miles south of Baghdad, and was
present when they set the details over swigs of whiskey. During their courts-martial,
Spc. James P. Barker and Sgt. Paul E. Cortez testified they took turns raping
the girl while then-Pfc. Steven D. Green shot and killed her mother, father
and younger sister. They said Green, who is accused of being the ringleader,
shot Abeer in the head after raping her. The girl's body was then set on fire
with kerosene to destroy the evidence, according to testimony and military
documents. Green has pleaded not guilty
in federal court to charges including murder and sexual assault. No trial
date has been set. Barker said Spielman came to
the home knowing of the plan. Pfc. Bryan L. Howard, who stayed at the
checkpoint to monitor radios, testified during a hearing in March that he
overheard Spielman and the others discuss the rape beforehand. Howard pleaded
guilty to being an accessory to the rape and murder and was sentenced to 27
months. Cortez and Barker pleaded
guilty to rape and murder; Barker was sentenced to 90 years and Cortez to 100
years. © 2007 The Associated Press External link: http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/ap/nation/5011885.html |