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The War Profiteers - War Crimes,
Kidnappings, Torture and Big Money |
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August 10th,
2007 - Couple Say Son Defends Role in Iraq Deaths, Refused Plea |
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Couple Say Son Defends Role
in Iraq Deaths, Refused Plea By Associated Press August 10, 2007 Asheville - The parents of a
North Carolina soldier charged with killing three Iraqis and planting weapons
on them say their son turned down a plea offer and maintains his innocence. Staff Sgt. Michael A.
Hensley of Candor is one of three soldiers charged with murder and
obstruction of justice. The deaths occurred between April and June south of
Baghdad. "In your worst
nightmare, you don't think something like this could happen," Jannette
Hensley said Tuesday. The Hensleys are from the
Asheville area and have been out of the country working as missionaries in
Macedonia. Jannette Hensley came back to North Carolina over the weekend. Michael Hensley is being
held in Kuwait and stays in regular contact with his parents. He last spoke
to his mother Tuesday morning, she said. His father, Bill Hensley,
remains in Macedonia for now. The parents said their son refused a military
plea deal. The military didn't immediately respond to inquiries about the
case. "He's not saying he
didn't kill them," Jannette Hensley said. "He's just saying they
were legitimate (kills). I believe him. He's just very adamant about
it." Spc. Jorge G. Sandoval, Jr.,
of Laredo, Texas, was charged with Hensley in June, the military said. They
were accused of killing the Iraqis near Iskandariyah, a mostly Sunni Arab
city south of Baghdad, and placing weapons on their bodies to make them look like
fighters. Charges against them
included wrongful placement of weapons. Sgt. Evan Vela, of Rigby,
Idaho, was charged in July with one count of premeditated murder, making a
false official statement and obstruction of justice, the military said in a statement. The soldiers are members of
the Fort Richardson, Alaska-based 501st Infantry Regiment, 4th Brigade
(Airborne) of the 25th Infantry Division. Jannette Hensley said her
son caught malaria in Afghanistan and stayed in the Army instead of being discharged.
He deployed on his first tour in Iraq in October. Her son had been in Iraq a
month when his best friend was killed in a roadside bombing. She said her son
watched the soldier die. Michael Hensley's fiance
committed suicide two months later in Alaska and he returned home to bury
her, she said. "In my heart, I didn't
feel like he was ready" to return to Iraq, Jannette Hensley said. External link: http://www.wilmingtonstar.com/article/20070809/NEWS/708090349/-1/State |