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April 24th,
2008 - US Soldier Accused of Slaying Iraqi in 2007 Goes on Trial News article by the Associated
Press News article by Agence France
Presse News article by Honolulu
Star Bulletin |
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US Soldier Accused
of Slaying Iraqi in 2007 Goes on Trial By Audrey McAvoy Associated Press April 24, 2008 Wheeler Army Airfield,
Hawaii - The lawyer for a Hawaii-based soldier accused of killing an unarmed
Iraqi last year said Wednesday the shooting was neither unlawful nor
premeditated. Defense attorney Frank
Spinner said the defense won't contest that Sgt. 1st Class Trey Corrales shot
the man during the June 23 incident. He said the question was whether the
shooting was justified as part of a raid on a house suspected of being an
insurgent hideout. Spinner, in opening remarks
at Corrales' court-martial, said his client was worried an AK-47 was buried
in the backyard of the house and concerned the yard hadn't been secured. "He'll say, 'I was
shocked, surprised, upset and I shot,'" Spinner told the nine-member
panel, including five enlisted soldiers, serving on the military justice
system's equivalent of a jury during the court-martial. Corrales, of San Antonio,
pleaded not guilty Monday to all three charges against him: premeditated
murder, wrongful solicitation of another soldier to shoot an unarmed, wounded
Iraqi, and planting an AK-47 rifle next to the victim after the shooting. Corrales faces a minimum
sentence of life in prison with the possibility of parole if he's convicted. The court-martial, which
started Wednesday, is expected to last at least through the end of the week. It is the highest profile
military trial for alleged crimes committed in Iraq by a Hawaii-based
serviceman since the U.S. invasion in 2003. The alleged incident centers
around a raid Corrales' scout platoon conducted on a house near Kirkuk in
northern Iraq suspected of harboring insurgents who had been planting
roadside bombs. The U.S. military has not
disclosed the victim's name because they have been unable to identify him. Corrales, who was serving
both as platoon sergeant and platoon leader at the time, led the late night
assault on the house. Capt. Laura O'Donnell, the
chief prosecutor, said during her opening statement that Corrales had planned
the shooting from the moment he learned of the mission. She said Corrales ordered
his fellow soldiers to "kill all military age males" in the house. Army investigator Jesse
Whaley, testifying for the prosecution, said Corrales admitted to shooting
the man several times when he was interrogated a few days after the incident. Whaley said Corrales was
cooperative at the beginning of the seven-hour interview, which started after
5 a.m. on June 26. But he said Corrales later became upset and cried a few
times. Whaley quoted Corrales as saying "I'm so screwed... I'm going to
jail for murder." Corrales' attorney
challenged Whaley's recollection of the interview because the investigator
didn't take notes or record the session with audio or video equipment. Whaley said he wrote up his
notes immediately after the interview. Pvt. Christopher Shore, who
was court-martialed in February in connection with the same incident,
testified Corrales told him to fire additional shots at the Iraqi man to kill
him. Shore said he fired two
shots off to the side. Shore was convicted of aggravated assault for his role
in the incident. But Spinner, in his opening
remarks, said Corrales didn't order Shore to shoot the man. Copyright © 2008 The
Associated Press. External link: http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5jzuwkhrcOZ-H5K2HgCBMz-ICJ0nwD9080VJG0 US soldier
accused of executing Iraqi goes on trial By Agence France Presse April 24, 2008 Honolulu - An attorney for a
US soldier charged with shooting dead an Iraqi prisoner last year told a
military jury Wednesday that his client acted in self-defense. Army Sergeant First Class
Trey Corrales, 35, faces life in prison if found guilty of premeditated
murder and obstruction of justice. His court martial began
Wednesday at a military base in the state of Hawaii, where his unit is based. Corrales had a spotless
combat record and was the leader of an elite scout sniper platoon when the
events unfolded during a raid to flush out insurgents near the northern city
of Kirkuk just after midnight on June 23 last year. "Very simply put, did
he act reflectively or did he act reflexively? The defense theory of the case
is that Sergeant First Class Corrales acted reflexively," Attorney Frank
Spinner said. Prosecutor Captain Laura
O'Donnell told jurors that Corrales saw a fellow soldier testing suspected
insurgents for gunpowder residue and remarked, "The next (expletive)
comes up pink, I'm going to kill him." Corrales, a 14-year Army
veteran, has also been charged with obstructing an investigation by planting
an AK-47 rifle near the detainee. The raid came after
insurgents believed to have fired on an Army helicopter dashed into a home.
The soldier testing for gunpowder residue, Sergeant Trinity Ison, told jurors
that two suspects were seen hiding behind women in the house. A third cradled a baby. A number of fellow scout
platoon soldiers, including several testifying Wednesday, said Corrales ordered
them to kill all the men inside the suspected safe house. There were no witnesses to
the shooting. Prosecutors said it occurred
in the absence of any threat, but Spinner said Corrales would testify that he
shot the insurgent in an area that had not been secured. Copyright © 2008 AFP. All
rights reserved. External link: http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5gSn5eCF-tkfLwyRR_kxrcamEiUlQ Defense claims
soldier just ‘reacted’ in Iraqi killing By Gregg K. Kakesako Honolulu Star Bulletin April 24, 2008 The Schofield Barracks
soldier accused of killing an unarmed Iraqi civilian only did what he was
trained to do, his lawyer argued yesterday. Frank Spinner, attorney for
Sgt. 1st Class Trey Corrales, said the shooting was done in a legitimate
combat operation and that Corrales came across the Iraqi when he was checking
the back yard of the home where suspected insurgents had taken refuge in a
village near Kirkuk. "Then he did what he
was trained to do as a soldier," Spinner added, "and just reacted
and shot. ... This was not a case of unlawful killing or premeditated
murder." On Monday, Corrales, 35,
pleaded not guilty to the premeditated murder of a wounded Iraqi civilian
last June 22, and also to accusations that he ordered another soldier, Pvt.
Christopher Shore, to "finish" the victim. Corrales also denies
planting an AK-47 rifle near the body. Army investigator Jesse
Whaley testified that Corrales gave him three versions of the shooting
incident, including one in which he confessed to shooting the victim at least
four times. Spc. Franklin Hambrick
testified yesterday that he was in the back yard with Corrales and the unit's
interpreter when Corrales repeatedly told the detainee to run and even told
the interpreter to translate the order into Arabic. Hambrick said the Iraqi kept
walking backward with his hands up, "looking confused." At the same time Corrales
started slowly raising his M-4 carbine. "As soon as he
(Corrales) zoomed in," Hambrick said. "I looked away and stepped
into the house. That's when I heard three or four shots go off." Corrales faces a maximum
sentence of life in prison without parole if convicted. Spinner said Corrales
acknowledges shooting the Iraqi but denies ordering Shore, 26, to
"finish him." In opening statements at
Corrales' court-martial at Wheeler Army Airfield yesterday, Spinner told a
jury of five enlisted soldiers and four officers that "the
challenge" they face is "weighing the testimony of witnesses in
what is a credibility contest." He also pointed out that no
ballistic studies were done to show whether Corrales or Shore fired the fatal
rounds. During yesterday's daylong
session, Shore, who was convicted of aggravated assault two months ago,
testified that Corrales told his platoon before the start of the raid
"to kill all military-age males." During the raid, Shore said,
he went into the back yard of the home of suspected bomb-makers after he
heard several shots. "I saw the detainee
lying on the ground," Shore testified. "I saw blood." Shore said Corrales then put
his hand on his chest and "told me to finish him. I took it to mean to
kill him." Shore said he fired two
shots off to the side. External link: http://starbulletin.com/2008/04/24/news/story07.html Defendant says he shot Iraqi
on reflex By William Cole The Honolulu Advertiser April 24, 2008 Wheeler Army Airfield -
Starkly different versions of the shooting death of an Iraqi man were related
yesterday at the opening of the court-martial of a Schofield Barracks soldier
accused of premeditated murder. A defense lawyer said Sgt.
1st Class Trey Corrales was acting on reflex and was within the military
rules of engagement when he shot "an insurgent" in the backyard of
a house. A prosecutor, however, said
Corrales acted illegally as "judge, jury and executioner" with the
Iraqi, whom one soldier said was clearly in U.S. custody. Fellow soldiers said
Corrales pulled the unarmed Iraqi man out of the house, tried to get him to
hold an AK-47 rifle, told him to run - even getting an interpreter to say
"run" in Arabic - and then shot the man multiple times with his M-4
rifle. In addition to the
premeditated murder charge, Corrales, 35, also faces a charge of wrongfully
soliciting another soldier to shoot the Iraqi during the nighttime raid. The San Antonio man also is
accused of impeding a military investigation by having an AK-47 rifle placed
near the victim. The married father of three
faces a maximum of life in prison without parole if he is convicted of
premeditated murder by the nine-member jury of enlisted soldiers and officers.
The trial continues today. A second Schofield soldier
was convicted in February of aggravated assault after being accused of
shooting the Iraqi man upon being ordered to do so by Corrales. Corrales and Pvt.
Christopher Shore, 26, of Winder, Ga., are accused of shooting the
still-unidentified man on June 23, 2007, after a raid in the village of al
Saheed outside Kirkuk. More than 7,000 Schofield
soldiers were serving in northern Iraq at the time. The "target house"
had been under observation by U.S. helicopters that had been shot at, and
individuals inside the house were suspected of having planted roadside bombs. Frank Spinner, a defense
attorney for Corrales, said the issue of Corrales shooting the Iraqi is not
contested. But in opening statements
yesterday, he said the question is "very simply put, did (Corrales) act
reflexively or did he act reflectively?" Spinner said the government
would say Corrales thought about what he was going to do. But "the defense theory
of the case is that Sgt. 1st Class Corrales acted reflexively" when he
saw a man believed to be an insurgent in an unsecured backyard. Spinner said that Corrales
will tell the jury that he did not push the Iraqi to the back yard of the
house and that he does not know how the man got there. According to Spinner,
Corrales will tell the court, "What I do know is that when I went to
check the backyard, I saw an insurgent back there." The soldier was concerned
there was the potential that someone had buried an AK-47 in the backyard or
that the man had access to one. Spinner said Corrales will
tell the court "I did reflexively what I was trained to do as a
soldier" when he shot the man. The defense attorney also
said Corrales did not order Shore to shoot the Iraqi, and if Shore did shoot
him, "then who caused the insurgent's death?" But Capt. Laura O'Donnell,
the prosecutor, said that on that night, Corrales stepped out of his role of
a soldier and stepped into the role of "judge, jury and
executioner." She said that earlier
Corrales had told his soldiers to kill all military-age males in the village. That night, "the
accused went into that objective house, he found that detainee, he found him
guilty, he sentenced him to death, and he took him out to that backyard and
he executed him," O'Donnell said. The mission began after U.S.
helicopters came under fire. The Scouts platoon that Corrales led, part of
the 2nd Battalion, 35th Infantry, believed that Alpha Company soldiers were
pinned down in a house. Spinner revealed that
military planners had discussed dropping a bomb on the target house, which
possibly would have killed the more than nine men, women and children inside. Instead, the Scouts platoon
of about 20 soldiers was dispatched by helicopter, but then waited for more
than an hour outside the village until the battalion commander, Lt. Col.
Michael Browder, showed up. The soldiers hit the wall of
the house with an AT-4 anti-armor rocket, then secured the house without any
gunshots. No weapons were found. Some soldiers testified
yesterday that Corrales said he was going to kill the next Iraqi who turned
up positive on an explosives residue test that was administered. Spc. Franklin Hambrick said
Corrales took an Iraqi outside who was "confused, wondering what was
going on." He was told to run, he said. "He just looked at us.
Had his hands up," Hambrick said. That's when Corrales started
raising his M-4 rifle to fire, Hambrick said, adding that he looked away, and
as he did so, he heard three to five shots. Shore, the soldier who was
accused of shooting the Iraqi along with Corrales, yesterday testified that
Corrales ordered him to "finish" the wounded Iraqi as the man lay
in a ditch. At one point yesterday,
Shore, who is serving a 120-day sentence in the brig at Ford Island, looked
like he would not be able to continue as his eyes welled up. He said he fired two shots
off to the side of the Iraqi's head. Shore said that "as we
were leaving the area, Sgt. Corrales told me that I wasn't there (when the
shooting occurred.)" As Corrales subsequently
queried his soldiers on their reaction to the incident, the name of their
battalion commander, Browder, came up. "He (Corrales) told me
that Col. Browder said everything is all right. That we were good,"
Shore said. Shore, of Winder, Ga., added
that he had "heard rumors about things being swept under the rug." A group of soldiers, Shore
included, brought the incident to the attention of commanders. Browder, who was relieved of
command in Iraq, is expected to testify under a grant of immunity at
Corrales' trial. Special Agent Jesse Whaley,
an Army investigator, yesterday testified that in a seven-hour interview at
Kirkuk Airbase a few days after the shooting, Corrales told several versions
of what happened. Whaley said Corrales
eventually admitted trying to get the Iraqi to take an AK-47 rifle, pushing
the man out of the house, and telling the interpreter to tell him to run. "He ended up shooting
that detainee approximately four times," Whaley said. At the end of the interview,
Corrales became upset and cried, Whaley said. "He told me he was so
scared, so f---ed, words to that effect, and he was going to jail for
murder," the agent said. Spinner, the defense
attorney, criticized Whaley for not recording the interview. External link: http://tinyurl.com/3jvdxe |