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The War Profiteers - War Crimes,
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May 15th,
2009 - Defense: Ex-Soldier Facing Death Penalty had Troubled Childhood |
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Defense: Ex-Soldier Facing Death
Penalty had Troubled Childhood From Cable Network News May 15, 2009 Paducah, Kentucky - Defense
attorneys hoping to save former U.S. soldier Steven Green from the death
penalty presented witnesses Thursday who described Green's childhood as
troubled and stressful. Green was convicted last
week in U.S. District Court in Kentucky of murder, rape, conspiracy and
obstruction of justice. A jury found Green guilty of raping a 14-year-old
girl, then killing her and setting her body on fire to destroy evidence.
Green also was found guilty of killing the girl's parents and 6-year-old
sister. He could become the first
former U.S. soldier to get the death penalty for war crimes before a civilian
court, where he was tried because he had been discharged from the military
before his crimes came to light. Four other former soldiers are in prison for
their roles in the crimes and the cover-up that followed. Testimony in the sentencing
phase focused Thursday on Green's early years, with witnesses describing him
as the middle child of a dysfunctional west Texas family, unwanted by his
mother and routinely beaten to the point of injury by his older brother. Clinical social worker Jan
Vogelsang, testifying for the defense, said she interviewed the defendant's
immediate relatives and studied his family history. Vogelsang characterized
Green as the attention-starved second son among three siblings. Family
members told her that he "became the child that was odd and
different," she said. According to Vogelsang,
Green's mother, Roxanne, worked at a bar for most of his early years in the
town of Midland, Texas. His mother jokingly called him "demon
spawn" throughout his childhood, while she referred to his older brother
as "the golden child," Vogelsang said. "She often repeated
that had Steven been born in Colonial times, she would be able to take him
outside the village and stone him," Vogelsang said. His parents split up by the
time Green was 4. After he moved from Midland with his mother and her new
husband, he was diagnosed with attention-deficit disorder at 9 and put on an
anti-depressant drug, Vogelsang said, adding that she questioned whether his
mother properly administered the medication. She noted that Green's
standardized test scores reflected a bright child with "considerable
intellectual ability." But she said Green's mother had no interest in
parenting and it fell to Green's older brother to take on the role of
disciplinarian. Three years older and
significantly bigger, the brother once beat Steven Green to the point 'his
head swelled like a pumpkin," according to testimony. Vogelsang pointed out that
Green appeared to respond well to the discipline of military life. His family
members at the time noted "he was a changed man" in the Army. After returning from Iraq,
Green lived with various relatives. A cousin, Suzi Woolsey, testified that
Green briefly stayed with her. His appearance after returning from the war
was shocking, she said. He was thin and his eyes had
sunk into his head. He had few clothes, ate little and spent much of the week
at her house watching late-night television. He played with her 2-year-old
daughter, Woolsey said, and Woolsey recounted a trip to visit Green in jail
after his arrest. Her daughter, by then 3,
went with her and, when they met, Green was wearing shackles. The child asked
about the restraints, and Green told her, "Well, I run really, really
fast," Woolsey said. The trial resumes Monday in
the U.S. District Court of western Kentucky. External link: http://edition.cnn.com/2009/CRIME/05/15/kentucky.iraq.murder/ |