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The War Profiteers - War Crimes,
Kidnappings & Torture |
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May 21st,
2009 - Ex-Soldier Gets Life Sentence for Iraq Murders News article from the New
York Times |
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Ex-Soldier
Gets Life Sentence for Iraq Murders By James Dao New York Times May 21, 2009 A jury in Kentucky sentenced
a 24-year-old former soldier to life in prison without parole on Thursday for
raping a 14-year-old Iraqi girl and murdering her, her parents and a younger
sister in Iraq. The verdict spared the
defendant, Steven D. Green, death for a crime that prompted Iraqi demands for
retribution and raised questions about Army oversight of its combat-stressed
forces. After deliberating for just
one day, the 12-member jury, sitting in Paducah, Ky., declared itself hung
late Thursday afternoon, resulting in the lesser sentence, said Dawn Masden,
a spokeswoman for the United States attorney for the Western District of Kentucky,
based in Louisville. The verdict seemed likely to
anger Iraqis who had argued that Mr. Green and the other soldiers involved in
the murders should have been tried by an Iraqi court and who had asserted
that only a death penalty could satisfy the family and fellow villagers. At least four other soldiers
have pleaded guilty or were convicted in military courts for their roles in
the rape and murders. While most received long prison terms, none are facing
the death penalty, and all will be eligible for parole in 10 years or less. Mr. Green’s trial was the
first capital punishment case tried under a 2000 law allowing federal
criminal courts to try crimes committed overseas by former members of the
military, military dependents, contractors and other civilians, legal experts
said. Mr. Green left the Army, with an honorable discharge on a diagnosis for
a personality disorder, just weeks before he was arrested in 2006. The March 2006 murders in
Mahmudiya, 20 miles south of Baghdad, were so bloody that American and Iraqi
authorities first thought they were the work of insurgents. The American
soldiers were implicated after at least one acknowledged to fellow soldiers a
role in the crimes. At the time, the Iraq
insurgency was near its violent apex, and American forces were suffering
heavy casualties. Private Green’s unit, Bravo Company, First Battalion, 502nd
Infantry, Second Brigade Combat Team of the 101st Airborne Division, was sent
to a particularly violent area that soldiers called the Triangle of Death
soon after arriving in Iraq in the fall of 2005. The battalion quickly
suffered casualties, including a sergeant close to Private Green. In
December, Private Green, along with other members of his platoon, told an
Army stress counselor that he wanted to take revenge on Iraqis, including
civilians. The counselor labeled the unit “mission incapable” because of poor
morale, high combat stress and anger over the deaths, and said it needed both
stronger supervision and rest. It got neither, testimony at Mr. Green’s trial
showed. On March 11, 2006, after
drinking Iraqi whiskey, Private Green and other soldiers manning a checkpoint
decided to rape an Iraqi girl who lived nearby, according to testimony.
Wearing civilian clothing, the soldiers broke into a house and raped Abeer
Qassim Hamza al-Janabi. Soldiers in the group testified that Private Green
killed the girl’s parents and a younger sister before raping and then
shooting the girl in the head with the family’s own AK-47, which it had kept
for self defense. At his trial, Mr. Green’s
lawyers built a case intended less to deny his role in the crime than to
plant questions about whether he deserved the death penalty. Mr. Green, who was reared in
Midland, Tex., came from a broken and chaotic home, defense witnesses
testified, and despite scoring well on intelligence tests, was highly
impulsive and did poorly in school. He got into the Army in 2005 on a
so-called morals waiver, having had problems with alcohol and drug abuse. On May 7, the same jury that
issued the life sentence convicted Mr. Green on 17 counts, including
premeditated murder. In the sentencing phase of
the trial, the Army stress counselor, Lt. Col. Karen Marrs, a mental health
nurse practitioner, testified that Private Green was disturbed by deaths in
his unit and had expressed a desire to hurt Iraqi civilians. But Colonel
Marrs also said such sentiments had been expressed by other members of the
unit and were not uncommon among troops in combat. On questioning from the
prosecution, she also said that she thought Private Green clearly understood
that hurting civilians would be wrong and that he had no plans to act on his
anger. The defense argued that the
Army should have provided stronger leadership to Private Green’s unit and
should have removed Private Green from front-line duty for more intensive
mental health care. The prosecution strenuously
rejected that argument, saying that many combat troops faced the same kinds
of trauma and stress as Private Green and his platoon, but that few committed
atrocities. “The defendant failed to
live up to his duty to protect the innocent people of Iraq,” Marissa Ford,
one of the federal prosecutors, said near the beginning of the penalty phase.
After the sentencing, Doug
Green, 28, Mr. Green’s brother, told The Associated Press: “I do think it
gives him a chance to have some semblance of a life. We’re grateful for
that.” The team of defense lawyers,
Scott Wendelsdorf, Darren Wolff and Patrick Bouldin, said in a statement:
“The defense thanks the jury for their careful consideration and ultimate
decision. There are no winners in a case like this that is tragic on so many
levels.” External link: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/22/us/22soldier.html A sentence and a life - Day
17 By Evan Bright Steven Green Trial Blog May 21, 2009 Both sides presented
excellent closing statements…some would call each of them “perfection.” Given
the circumstances, I would. Perhaps it was the closing statements, so wrought
with history and emotion and pain, which caused the jury to hang. A short review In closing statements, Brian
Skaret presented a contrasting tale of the now deceased family versus the
defense case. “Imagine little Hadeel’s body when it snapped as the bullet
flew through her head… and Dr. Gur says Green had frontal lobe damage?” Skaret
then presented a previously entered picture of Qassim Al-Janabi’s crime
scene, “Well, here’s Qassim’s frontal lobe.” He talked about the rest of the
family, especially Abeer, “Abeer had dreams of escaping her circumstances, of
joining the city life, of meeting a man, but Steven Green prevented that … but
they say that Green’s parents spent a lot of time at bars.” He also stated
that if Casica and Nelson, Green’s now deceased superior officers while in
Iraq, knew of their use in this case, “they would roll over in their graves!”
He spoke of the defense building a smoke screen around the case, “but it is
the smoke from the fire of Abeer’s burning body.” “How many people will they
try to blame? This isn’t about childhood, background information, combat
stress … this is about heinous acts. The search for a scapegoat ends today.”
In contrast to the defense’s statements and questioning regarding Barker and
Cortez’ parole option, he made sure to tell the jury “there is no evidence
that they’ll make parole, this is pure speculation. The letter will say
‘these men cooperated,’ yes, but we can also speculate that they’ll die in
prison in 90 or 100 years.” To no surprise, Skaret’s
ended emotionally and valiantly, “Today is the day when you can stand up, and
say no … no, no, NO! Our soldiers do not do this. He (points to Green) held
that family’s life in his hands and crushed it, and in doing so he signed his
own name to this death sentence. We ask that you finish what he started.” A shorter review Scott Wendelsdorf did his
absolute best in pulling on the emotional strings of jurors. “There has been
enough horror to last each of us, a lifetime,” he began. “The prosecution
acts like we don’t care about Abeer.” Once again he spoke of the horrific
nature of the crimes. “They (points to prosecution) act like life in prison
is a slap on the wrist. No … a slap on the wrist is what Cortez and Barker
got.” Echoing Pat Bouldin’s opening, Wendelsdorf reminded the jury, “As you
know we never disputed Steven’s role in these crimes.” He talked about
justice and what plays a role in it, stating that “you know, a big component
of justice is fairness.” He talked about rape being Barker’s idea, and of
Green confessing to Col. Marrs four separate times about his homicidal
ideations. He talked about Marrs’ psychiatric reports and dissertations, in
one of which she stated that ‘Combat can make the best soldiers commit the
worst of crimes.’ Wendelsdorf ramped up in rhetorically questioning, “Where
was Fenlason? Where was Goodwin?! There WERE no hard stripes at TCP2!” He
talked about the “combat incapable” status that Marrs gave the platoon.
“We’re not diverting responsibility,” he told the court. He implied that the
Army knew that soldiers like Green were prime candidates for suicide and
homicide. “This war changed them, it broke them, and it cut them, and led to
this 15 minutes of madness.” He brought up a quote stating that, “Man’s law
is most like God’s law when mercy seizes justice,” after which he vigorously
ended his opening. “NO! America does not kill its broken heroes! Spare this
boy! SPARE HIM!” The verdict The jury was given their
instructions and the deliberations began. They deliberated for three and a
half hours yesterday before adjourning. Throughout yesterday and today, there
was much speculation regarding the possible outcome. Some thought out loud,
“it can’t be good if [the jury is] taking this long.” Others speculated about
a single juror holding out on the death penalty, and one unidentified person
jokingly commented, “Hell for all we know they could be in there sleeping or
playing poker.” Some people expressed frustration upon hearing that the jury
had ordered lunch for tomorrow (Friday) as well as requesting extra work
release forms. Various parts of the media could be seen camped out around the
courthouse, and others were seen napping in the media room. At 3:51PM a U.S. Marshall
notified the court that the jury had reached a verdict. The gabble sirens
were sounded and everyone came running. The jury deliberated for a
total of ten hours and twenty minutes. While waiting for the jury, Jim
Lesousky (P) was seen, hands clasped, as if in prayer. Scott Wendelsdorf (D)
was pacing around the defense table, anxious and apprehensive. His hands were
shaking as he took his seat. Green, appearing in the same maroon sweater vest
as before, appeared surprisingly calm, his breathing steady; the exact same
calm-cool-collected look could also be seen on Green’s father John and uncle
David, present in court. Pat Bouldin (D) twiddled his thumbs with his head
down, knowing that this was the moment they’d spent the past two and a half
years preparing for. The jury entered, looking
quite stern. Two juror’s lips were near quivering. The members of the defense
team looked down, while the prosecution eyed the flock of jurors for the last
time. After reviewing the verdict forms, Judge Russell announced that the
jury was unable to reach a unanimous verdict, giving Green life in prison
without possibility of parole. Relief A collective sigh of relief
went up from the defense side. Wendelsdorf leaned back in his chair and eyed
the sky, thankful. Steven Green’s brother Doug slouched in his court-pew,
murmuring “thank you,” his hands shaking with relief. John Green, David Green,
Doug Green, and an assistant from the defense team shared hugs all around.
The three defense lawyers pounced on their phones, presumably informing wives
and witnesses of the [lack of a] verdict. The prosecution appeared content.
After the jury exited, Russell thanked everyone for his or her cooperation
and assistance. Doug, Green’s brother, said
that “Given the choices, this was the only appropriate verdict,” later adding
that he has “mixed emotions about the verdict, but at least he’ll have some
semblance of life. We’re grateful.” Green’s father merely stated that it was
“the best of two bad choices.” The defense team issued statements. They are
as follows: "We are obviously
pleased with the penalty phase verdict given the two choices available to the
jury. However, there won’t be any celebrating tonight by the defense team.
Mr. Green will spend the rest of his life in jail and the events of March 12
2006 have forever changed the lives of many. It is a tragic case on so many
levels. At the end of the day, we truly hope the US military will take a hard
look at the resources they provide our service members dealing with combat
stress issues. If they do not, we are certain a tragedy like this will occur
again in the future." - The Defense team Darren Wolff also issued a
separate statement, being that he does not work for the government: "Steven Green did not
want to try this case. He offered to plead guilty on two separate occasions
in exchange for his life. Those pleas were rejected by the Department of Justice.
That is when it became obvious that this case was not about fairness or
equity, it was about appeasing the overseas communities who have been calling
for Mr. Green’s execution. We are pleased the jury did not bow to those
politically motivated pressures." - Darren Wolff, Individually For the prosecution, Marisa
Ford gave the age-old response you might expect: "This trial represents
some of the most important principles of our Constitution and our democracy
in action. The decision of how just would be best served was left to the
people. We have the utmost respect for their decision and we very much
appreciate the attention the jury gave to the evidence in this case." Later, Darren Wolff and Pat
Bouldin told the editor of this blog that they feel they “have a good chance
with appeals … this is a law that has not been tested yet … but it will be.”
Wolff stated that “This as a tragedy for the Al-Janabi family, this was a
tragedy for the soldiers, this was a tragedy for Green and his family.” Like
the witnesses he questioned, he stated that, “yes,” he “will maintain contact
with Steven while in prison.” End. External link: http://trialcoverage.blogspot.com/2009/05/sentence-and-life.html |