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The War Profiteers - War Crimes,
Kidnappings & Torture |
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May 4th,
2009 - Prosecution Rests in Ky. Trial for Iraq Crimes News article from the
Associated Press |
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Prosecution
Rests in Ky. Trial for Iraq Crimes By Brett Barrouquere Associated Press May 4, 2009 Paducah, Ky. - Federal prosecutors
in western Kentucky on Monday rested their case against a former soldier
charged with the rape and murder of an Iraqi teen and the shotgun deaths of
her family south of Baghdad. Former Pfc. Steven Dale
Green, 23, of Midland, Texas, has pleaded not guilty to charges that could
bring him the death penalty if he is convicted of the March 12, 2006, attack
on 14-year-old Abeer Qassim al-Janabi, her parents and younger sister. He is being tried in
civilian court because he was discharged from the Army before charges were
brought in the case. The prosecution's final two
witnesses said Green confessed to the crime shortly before his arrest by the
FBI in June 2006. Noah Galloway, a former
specialist with the 101st Airborne Division, and Blake Huggins of Midland,
Texas, both said Green admitted to the crimes. "He just said to me, 'I
did it. I did it,'" Galloway said of their phone conversation in June of
2006. "He was apologizing. He apologized to me." The conversation came soon
after Green was honorably discharged because of a diagnosis of a personality
disorder, and returned to the U.S. from Iraq. Huggins, who knew Green
before he enlisted in the Army, said Green told him about the slayings before
leaving on a trip to attend the funeral in Arlington, Va., of another former
soldier. "He had mentioned to me
that he and a group of guys walked into a house, killed a family and raped a
young girl," Huggins said. "He just kind of mentioned it to
me." Galloway, who was medically
retired from the Army in 2006 after losing part of his left arm and leg in an
explosion, told jurors he got to know Green when the two deployed to Iraq
together in September 2005. Galloway said Green stayed
with him at the outpatient wing of Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington,
D.C. in June 2006. After leaving the funeral
and just days before his arrest on June 30, 2006, Green called Galloway and
admitted to the killings and said he expected to be arrested, Galloway said. "He said they were
after him," said Galloway, who described Green as remorseful. In a second call, Green
asked Galloway not to repeat anything he was told about the killings,
Galloway said. "He said he'd said a
lot and needed to figure out what to do," Galloway said. Assistant U.S. Attorney
Marisa Ford asked Galloway how specific Green was when he talked about the
killings. "Do you remember if he
told you that he pulled the trigger?" Ford asked. "He said he did,"
Galloway answered. After the prosecution case
ended, U.S. District Judge Thomas Russell told jurors he had a legal matter
related to the trial to research before the trial would proceed. Key prosecution witnesses
since the trial opened April 27 have included two soldiers who acknowledged
participating in the girl's rape and who said Green killed the parents and
sister with a shotgun. They said Green was the third soldier to rape Abeer
before shooting her to death with an AK-47 rifle. Early in the prosecution
case, jurors also heard from Abu Farras, a cousin to al-Janabi family
members, who testified through an interpreter about discovering the family's
bodies including the burning remains of the girl. A younger brother of Abeer
also testified. Wijdan Mikhail Salim, Iraqi
human rights minister, has attended some early portions of the trial, which
is being held in Paducah because Green was stationed at Fort Campbell, Ky.,
as a member of the 101st Airborne Division when he deployed to Iraq. © 2009 The Associated Press External link: http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/ap/tx/6407022.html By Evan Bright Steven Green Trial Blog May 4, 2009 The prosecution concluded
their case today. Green appeared a little bit more light hearted during
today’s proceedings. Before I forget: yellow button down. He also appeared to
have shaved … on Friday, the U.S. Marshall service allegedly refused to give
Green his razor for reasons unknown. The second to last witness
for the prosecution was Blake Huggins. Huggins became friends with Green in
2004 after meeting him through Green’s brother Doug. Huggins testified of
talking to Green via cell phone, stating that he “seemed really negative … he
seemed like he’d been through a lot.” Huggins was by far the most “spacey”
witness to have testified thus far. Green reportedly compared what he’d seen
to the Michael J Fox/Sean Penn war drama Casualties of War. Huggins said Green
did mention the murder/rape to him, occurring in the Triangle of Death.
Cross? Nuffin’. The next witness was Noah
Galloway, a former soldier who Green and his fellow soldiers had witness lose
an arm and a leg to an IED. At taking the stand, he was spotted giving the
defendant a “cheerful smirk,” if you will. Galloway was the radio/telephone
operator for Bravo Company (RTO). His relationship began with Green after
hearing of his discharge. He stated he wanted to talk to Green about his VA
benefits. Green allegedly told him about the crimes but Noah didn’t want to
get involved because “it was too soon for me to just jump into something, I
was still recovering in Germany.” For the defense, Pat Bouldin took the stage
again. He made one big point: during Galloway’s first deployment in ’04, he
saw only one death the entire time, but during his second deployment, within
a few months, he saw over fifteen (15) die before he himself was injured. He
also requested Galloway show his injuries to the jury. “I don’t watch enough
Court TV,” he added. At this point, the prosecution’s case concluded. It was about 11 AM at this
time, and there was a bit of legal confusion as to whether or not some of the
defenses witnesses would be allowed to testify. Court reconvened at 1:30 PM.
The defense called Lieutenant Colonel Karen Marrs. She was the psychiatric
nurse practioner who examined Green. She testified that Green was “very
stressed about the deaths of Casica and Nelson.” Green was exposes to
mortars, IEDs, wounded soldiers, and dead soldiers. According to Marrs,
Green’s chief complaint was “It’s fucking pointless!” She spoke about his
former use of illicit drugs, and his blackouts while drinking. She testified
to his speech being “abnormally slow, as was his eye contact.” His mood? “On
edge and angry.” She also mentioned his homicidal ideations and that he
recognized the consequences of acting on impulses. She would later make the
point that ideations do not mean intent to act upon said actions. Wendelsdorf
for the defense extracted “soldiers can change over time” out of Marrs. The defense MAY have one
witness tomorrow before resting and moving on to closing statements. Expect a
guilty/not guilty verdict by Wednesday, before moving to opening statements. External link: http://trialcoverage.blogspot.com/2009/05/on-edge-and-angry.html |