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The War Profiteers - War Crimes,
Kidnappings & Torture |
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April 26th,
2009 - Prosecutors Want Arguments Barred in Ex-Soldier’s Trial |
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Prosecutors Want
Arguments Barred in Ex-Soldier’s Trial Judge asked to bar claim case should be in military court By Andrew Wolfson Louisville Courier-Journal April 26, 2009 On the eve of former soldier
Steven Green's trial on capital murder charges in the deaths of an Iraqi
family, the government has asked a judge to bar the defense from arguing he
should have been tried in a military court. Advertisement Federal prosecutors say
arguments that Green should have been tried by a jury of soldiers would
prejudice the government because of "improper deference to the
military." Prosecutors Marisa Ford and
Brian Skaret say in a motion filed in U.S. District Court that some jurors might
be biased in favor of a military trial because of "our sense of
indebtedness to the service and sacrifice of our fighting men and
women." But lawyers for Green, who
goes on trial tomorrow in Paducah, said the jury should know that he would
have faced lesser sentences in a court-martial and that he would have been
eligible for parole. "The government should
not be allowed to prohibit the jury from considering these issues in deciding
whether Mr. Green should live or whether he should die," Patrick Bouldin
and Darren Wolff said in response to the government's motion. Green was discharged from
the Army before his alleged role in the murders was discovered, and he is the
first former soldier to face the possibility of the death penalty in a
civilian court for actions during wartime. He is accused of the rape
and murder of a 14-year-old Iraqi girl and the murder of her sister and
parents. Three soldiers who were court-martialed for the same offenses are
eligible for parole in 10 years. Green is the only one to
face a possible death penalty. The former member of the
101st Airborne Division is the first former Army soldier to be charged as a
civilian under the Military Extraterritorial Jurisdiction Act, which was
passed to address a gap in the law allowing spouses of military contractors
and spouses of soldiers to go unpunished for crimes abroad. The government
says the statute also can be applied to former soldiers. Green is being prosecuted in
federal court in Kentucky because he was deployed from Fort Campbell. On Friday, federal
prosecutors said three soldiers who were expected to testify in Green's trial
are likely to refuse. Advertisement Prosecutors asked a federal
judge to force the testimony of the three. Acting U.S. Attorney Candace Hill
said the soldiers - James Barker, Paul Cortez and Anthony Yribe - may invoke
their right against self-incrimination if called to testify at Green's trial. All three have testified
about the killings in military court. Green's case is expected to
take three to five weeks to try, and Chief Judge Thomas Russell has scheduled
opening statements for tomorrow. The 23-year-old from
Midland, Texas, faces 17 charges including murder and sexual assault. By the
time the Army pressed charges in June 2006, Green had been honorably
discharged with a personality disorder and returned to the United States. Green's attorneys argue the
2000 law wasn't intended for defendants like him and treats him differently
from his alleged co-conspirators, all of whom faced military juries. Green is also subject to
potential sentences of 85 years for using a firearm during the crimes; there
is no such penalty under military law. External link: http://www.courier-journal.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2009904260415 |