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The War Profiteers - War Crimes,
Kidnappings, Torture and Big Money |
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January 25th,
2007 - 101st Airborne Soldier Pleads Guilty to Murder in Detainee Deaths |
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101st Airborne Soldier Pleads
Guilty to Murder in Detainee Deaths Beth Rucker Associated Press Thu, Jan. 25, 2007 Fort Campbell, Ky. - A 101st
Airborne Division soldier was sentenced Thursday to 18 years in prison for
murdering a detainee and taking part in the killings of two others in Iraq
last year. Pfc. Corey R. Clagett, 22,
was one of four soldiers from the division's 3rd Brigade
"Rakkasans" who were accused in the detainees' deaths during a May
9 raid on the Muthana chemical complex in Samarra, about 60 miles north of Baghdad. In an agreement with
prosecutors, Clagett, of Moncks Corner, S.C., pleaded guilty to charges of
murder, attempted murder, conspiracy to commit murder and conspiracy to
obstruct justice. Prosecutors dropped a second obstruction charge and charges
of disrespecting an officer and threatening. The soldiers first told
investigators they shot the detainees because they were attempting to flee -
a story they now say they made up - and that commanders had given them orders
to kill all military-age males on the mission. Two of those soldiers, Spc.
William B. Hunsaker and Spc. Juston R. Graber, have changed their stories and
pleaded guilty. The squad leader, Staff Sgt. Raymond Girouard, is awaiting
his court-martial. "(Sgt. Girouard) said
we were going to cut the zip ties loose and kill the detainees," Clagett
told the military judge, Col. Theodore Dixon, on Thursday. "I knew it
was an unlawful order. I just went along with it." The judge asked Clagett what
his intention was when he shot at the detainees. "To kill them, your
honor," Clagett said. Clagett's lawyer, Paul
Bergrin, has insisted Clagett was following orders, but sought the plea
agreement after Hunsaker, 24, told a military judge that Clagett helped him
shoot the detainees. "My client was 100
percent convinced at all times that the individuals that were killed were
terrorists," Bergrin told reporters after the sentencing. "His
heart is bleeding that he can no longer serve his country." Clagett will also be demoted
to private and dishonorably discharged. If he does not cooperate with
prosecutors, he could be sentenced to life in prison with a chance at parole. Military prosecutors would
not discuss the case. Hunsaker pleaded guilty to
murder, attempted murder and obstruction of justice this month and was also
sentenced to 18 years in prison. Graber, 21, pleaded guilty
to a lesser charge of aggravated assault with a dangerous weapon as part of
his agreement to cooperate with prosecutors. He was sentenced to nine months
in military jail. Hunsaker testified that
Girouard cut him on the face and arm to make it appear there was a struggle
after he and Clagett killed the detainees. Clagett repeated that story
Thursday. "Just like anyone, we
didn't want to get caught," Clagett said. Clagett's mother, Melanie
Dianiska, also of Moncks Corner, testified that her son had never known his
biological father and had a troubled childhood because of her marital
problems. She said Clagett wanted to be a nurse when he got out of the Army. Crying throughout her
testimony, Dianiska whispered "I love you" to her son as she left
the witness stand. The case is one of two
involving soldiers from the 101st Airborne Division accused of killing Iraqis
during a deployment to Iraq that ended in September. Four other soldiers from the
division's 2nd Brigade Combat Team are accused of raping and killing an Iraqi
teenager and killing three others in her family last March. A former Army
private also faces murder and rape charges in federal court. External link: http://www.kentucky.com/mld/kentucky/news/local/16545413.htm |