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The War Profiteers - War Crimes,
Kidnappings, Torture and Big Money |
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December 19th,
2007 - 5th Trial in Iraqi Rape Case Drags On |
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5th Trial in
Iraqi Rape Case Drags On By Ryan Lenz Associated Press December 19, 2007 Evansville, Ind. - They were
convicted one after another - four U.S. soldiers who helped gang rape and
kill a 14-year-old Iraqi girl in one of the war's worst atrocities. In exchange for leniency,
each struck deals to testify against a fifth man, a troubled former Army
private who allegedly killed the family and planted the idea of raping the
girl. But the case against Steven
D. Green has dragged slowly forward in the 18 months since the allegations
surfaced. It's a pace, military legal experts note, that bears stark contrast
to swift prosecutions of nearly every other crime to come from Iraq and
Afghanistan. Green, 22, is accused of
being a central figure in slaying the family in Mahmoudiya, a village about
20 miles south of Baghdad. He was charged in federal court because he was
discharged from the Army for anti-social personality disorder before being
accused of the crimes. On Tuesday, his trial was
set for April 13, 2009, in Paducah, Ky. Defense attorneys and
federal prosecutors in the case have fought each other on the reach of
federal courts into military affairs, the access civilian attorneys have to
classified military evidence, and, most recently, what constitutes enough
time to prepare for trial. Some legal experts say the
delays and infighting suggest challenges ahead in trying the last chapter of
what many regard as the worst atrocity committed by U.S. military personnel
in Iraq. "You've got some very
smart people trying a type of case that they normally don't," said
Charles Rose, a law professor at Stetson University and former deputy
military judge advocate. "Federal criminal courts are designed for
paper-driven cases. They don't do violations of the laws of war." Unlike his co-accused,
Green, 22, of Midland, Texas, is the only soldier charged in civilian court
for the March 2006 slayings, where he faces a possible death sentence if
convicted. Green pleaded not guilty in
November 2006 to charges of rape and murder. Four Fort Campbell,
Ky.-based 101st Airborne Division soldiers have since been convicted for
their roles in targeting the girl from a checkpoint near Mahmoudiya, a
village 20 miles south of Baghdad, and helping rape and kill her. They were
given sentences in courts-martial ranging from five to 110 years under
agreements with prosecutors. Two of the soldiers
testified they took turns raping the girl while Green shot and killed her
mother, father and younger sister. Green shot the girl 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 previous testimony. At the core of Green's trial
is the law used to charge him in U.S. District Court. The Military
Extraterritorial Jurisdiction Act allows prosecutors to try military
personnel in federal court if they no longer are in the service and are
charged for a crime punishable by at least a year in prison. Described as a catchall for
the military, the law has been used rarely, and never before on a
high-profile case. But the law has dissolved
Green's chances of receiving a sentence comparable to those of the other
defendants if he is convicted, attorneys have argued. Each soldier was
charged identically, but those convicted in the military have a chance for
parole in 10 years no matter the sentence they received. While legal experts say
disparity in sentencing is not unusual, Green's attorneys have argued there
is a fundamental issue of fairness that is lost by the government's
insistence on trying Green outside of the reaches of the military. A telephone message seeking
comment was left Tuesday at Assistant U.S. District Attorney Marisa Ford's
Louisville, Ky., office. Green's attorney, Patrick Bouldin, declined to
comment Tuesday night. Green, who was also a member
of the 101st, had been honorably discharged from the military with
anti-social personality disorder when he was arrested by U.S. marshals in
June 2006 after attending the military funeral of a friend. Delays are expected in a federal
death penalty case, where proceedings have lasted as long as three years,
legal experts say. As an example, it took federal prosecutors two years to
convict Timothy McVeigh and sentence him to death for the April 1995 bombing
in Oklahoma City. But Gary Solis, a law
professor at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, N.Y., remains baffled
that prosecuting the Mahmoudiya slayings has lingered when so many other
crimes in Iraq have come to a close. The allegations of rape and
murder at the hands of U.S. soldiers in July 2006 enraged the world
community, including Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, who demanded full
accountability. The U.S. military promised
justice. Solis said trying Green in
U.S. District Court undoubtedly reflects political pressure to ensure the
most severe punishment for the crime's alleged ringleader. "The death sentence is
a dead letter in the military," Solis said. "If tried in the
military, Green probably would not be sentenced to death. And if sentenced to
death, it's questionable the sentence would ever be carried out." External link: http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5gS9-ssFGmse6OtSA4HV6De8XN6bQD8TKDHK80 |