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July 31st,
2007 - Testimony to Begin for Pa. Soldier Charged in Iraq Rape-Killing 1st news article by
the Associated Press |
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Testimony to Begin for Pa. Soldier
Charged in Iraq Rape-Killing By Ryan Lenz Associated Press July 31, 2007 Fort Campbell, Ky. - Jurors
were expected to hear testimony on Tuesday about troubling conditions for
soldiers in Iraq when a court-martial for a Fort Campbell soldier facing rape
and murder charges in the death of a 14-year-old Iraqi girl and her family
resumed. Pfc. Jesse Spielman, who is
being tried on rape and murder charges, pleaded guilty Monday to lesser
offenses as his court-martial began. The charges included conspiracy to
obstructing justice, arson, wrongfully touching a corpse and drinking. Spielman is accused of
serving as a lookout while other soldiers raped and killed Abeer Qassim
al-Janabi and slayed her family in March 2006. He was charged because under
military law a soldier present when a crime occurs can be found guilty if
prosecutors can establish the soldier had prior knowledge. Three soldiers have pleaded
guilty for their roles in the crimes and received sentences ranging from five
to 100 years. Another soldier discharged from the military before being
charged will face the possibility of the death penalty when he is tried in federal
court in Kentucky. Defense attorney Craig
Carlson spent much of Monday's proceedings asking potential jurors, all
soldiers, whether they could believe testimony that conditions were worse
than they might have experienced themselves in Iraq. "Is anyone going to
hold it against my client if we show things that are unflattering to the
Army?" Carlson asked. Spielman pleaded guilty to
crimes he had already confessed to committing during interviews with military
investigators. Defense attorneys, who have
argued that Spielman had no prior knowledge of the attack, filed a motion on
Monday to exclude from evidence nine grisly crime scene 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. But Col. Stephen Henley, the
military judge, said he would allow all but one of the photographs taken by
soldiers who responded to the home after hearing reports from Iraqi police
that a family had been slain. "While the photographs
are bloody, they appear to accurately reflect the crime scene," Henley
said. Defense attorneys also filed
a motion to grant immunity to members of the Army's combat stress team, which
was attached to the unit that the accused soldiers served. The judge did not
immediately rule on the motion. 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 both the nature of the crime and that there was any conspiracy to
commit it. The Department of Justice
declined to grant immunity in June, but defense attorneys say the information
military psychiatrists have about the mental state of the soldiers is
critical to their arguments. Two soldiers have told
investigators 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 hammered out details over swigs on a bottle of Iraqi 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. Green, who is accused of being the ringleader, shot Abeer
in the head after raping her, they said. 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, who pleaded guilty
in November to rape and murder, said Spielman came to the home knowing of the
plans. 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
rape and murder. Cortez also pleaded guilty in the case. Barker, Cortez and Howard
are expected to be called to testify against Spielman. External link: http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/news/breaking/s_519893.html Relevance of
psychiatrist testimony weighed in rape-slaying case By Ryan Lenz Associated Press July 31, 2007 Fort Campbell, Ky. - A military
judge was considering on Tuesday whether to allow testimony from an Army
psychiatrist on the mental state of a Fort Campbell solider in his
court-martial on rape and murder charges. Pfc. Jesse Spielman, who is
accused of being a lookout while his colleagues attacked and killed a
14-year-old Iraqi girl and her family in March 2006, pleaded guilty to some
lesser offenses Monday but still faces rape and murder charges. The lesser
charges included conspiracy to obstructing justice, arson, wrongfully
touching a corpse and drinking. Spielman was charged with
rape and murder because under military law a soldier can be found guilty if
prosecutors can establish the soldier had prior knowledge of the crime. Three soldiers have pleaded
guilty for their roles in the crimes and received sentences ranging from five
to 100 years. Another soldier discharged from the military before being
charged will face the possibility of the death penalty when he is tried in
federal court in Kentucky. Spielman's attorneys, who
have argued that he had no prior knowledge of the attack, have filed a motion
to dismiss the charges against him unless the military grants Army
psychiatrist Lt. Col. Elizabeth Bowler immunity to testify. Defense attorney Dan
Christensen said Tuesday that Bowler's testimony would be a critical
component in arguing whether Spielman participated in a conspiracy. "His mental state and
the mental state of his coconspirators is all relevant," Christensen
said. Spielman's attorneys have
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 both the nature of the crime or that there was any
conspiracy to commit it. Bowler was attached to
Spielman's unit and treated at least three of the soldiers charged in the
attack. Through her attorneys, she has declined to testify unless she is
granted immunity from prosecution. The Justice Department last
month declined her request for immunity, but the military authority
overseeing the Army case has yet to issue a ruling on the request. The judge said Tuesday that
he would hear testimony about the relevance of Bowler's testimony before
ruling on the motion. Two other soldiers charged
in the attack have told investigators 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 hammered out details over swigs on a
bottle of Iraqi 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. Green, who is accused of being the ringleader, shot Abeer
in the head after raping her, they said. 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, who pleaded guilty
in November to rape and murder, said Spielman came to the home knowing of the
plans. 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
rape and murder. Cortez also pleaded guilty in the case. Barker, Cortez and Howard
are expected to be called to testify against Spielman. External link: http://www.jacksonville.com/apnews/stories/073107/D8QNLVV80.shtml |