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The War Profiteers - War Crimes,
Kidnappings, Torture and Big Money |
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May 15th,
2008 - Attorneys: Former Soldier May Use Insanity Defense |
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Attorneys:
Former Soldier May Use Insanity Defense By Brett Barrouquere Associated Press Writer May 15, 2008 Louisville, Ky. - A former
Army soldier charged with murder and rape in Iraq may rely on an insanity
defense when the case goes to trial next year. The attorneys for Steven D.
Green said in two motions filed Thursday that they may raise the issue both
at trial and sentencing if Green is convicted of attacking and killing an
Iraqi teen and her family. Green is scheduled to go to
trial on April 27, 2009. Green, 22, of Midland, Texas, faces a possible death
sentence if convicted on 16 charges that include premeditated murder and
aggravated sexual assault. Thursday was the deadline
for Green's lawyers to file their motions if they want to keep open the
option of an insanity defense. Prosecutors say Green raped,
killed and set afire the body of 14-year-old Abeer Qassim al-Janabi and shot
and killed her father, mother and sister in Mahmoudiya, about 20 miles from
Baghdad, in March 2006. He pleaded not guilty in November 2006. Green was deployed in Iraq
with the 101st Airborne Division. The unit is based at Fort Campbell, an Army
post on the Kentucky-Tennessee border about 185 miles southwest of
Louisville. Green is being prosecuted in
federal court because he was discharged from the military for having an
anti-social personality disorder before being indicted. Five pages of documents
filed by Green's attorneys in U.S. District Court in Paducah do not give
details, but serve as notice of intent to possibly raise an insanity defense
and introduce expert testimony at the trial and sentencing. The Associated Press
reported in January 2007 that Green was found to have "homicidal
ideations" after seeking help from an Army Combat Stress Team in Iraq on
Dec. 21, 2005. The AP reported that Army
doctors prescribed Green a drug to regulate his mood and directed him to get
some sleep. A day after the medication prescription, Green was returned to
duty in a particularly violent stretch of desert in the southern Baghdad
suburbs known as the "Triangle of Death." Patrick Bouldin, the federal
public defender representing Green, declined to comment on the filings
Thursday. A telephone message seeking
comment was left Thursday with the U.S. Army Human Resources Command in
Alexandria, Va., which maintains records related to Green's service. Army officials declined to
comment specifically on the filings. "This is a matter being
reviewed by civilian authorities under civilian jurisdiction and will
ultimately work itself out in a court of law," Army spokesman Paul Boyce
said. Telephone and e-mail
messages left with the U.S. Department of Justice in Washington, D.C. were
not immediately returned. "Because this is an
active case in the federal court system, I am unable to comment at this
time," said Cathy Gramling, spokeswoman for Fort Campbell, where Green
last served. Four other soldiers pleaded
guilty or were convicted for their roles in the crime for which Green faces
charges. Pfc. Jesse Spielman, the
only soldier to contest the charges in military court, received a 110 year
sentence, with the possibility of parole after 10 years. Spc. James Barker,
Sgt. Paul Cortez and Pfc. Bryan Howard all cooperated with military
prosecutors. Barker received a 90 year
sentence. Cortez was sentenced to 100 years in prison. Howard received five
years in prison. Associated Press writer Ryan
Lenz in Evansville, Ind., contributed to this report. © 2008 The Associated Press External link: http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/ap/tx/5783244.html |