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The War Profiteers - War Crimes,
Kidnappings & Torture |
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February 20th,
2009 - US Soldier Guilty of Murder in Deaths of 4 Iraqis |
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US Soldier Guilty
of Murder in Deaths of 4 Iraqis From the Associated Press February 20, 2009 Vilseck, Germany - A
military court has sentenced a U.S. Army medic convicted of murder for his
role in the execution-style slayings of four bound and blindfolded Iraqi
detainees to life in prison with the possibility of parole. The sentence was handed down
Friday night after nearly five hours of testimony. Sgt. Joseph Leahy, 28,
will also have his rank reduced to private, his pay forfeited and be
dishonorably discharged. Leahy was found guilty on
charges of murder and conspiracy to commit murder by the nine-person jury who
had heard testimony about the killings at the court-martial at the Army's
Rose Barracks Courthouse since Wednesday. This is a breaking news update. AP's earlier story is below. Vilseck, Germany - A U.S.
Army medic was convicted of murder Friday for his involvement in the
execution-style slayings of four bound and blindfolded Iraqi detainees shot
in the back of the head in the spring of 2007. Sgt. Michael Leahy Jr. was
found guilty on charges of murder and conspiracy to commit murder by the
nine-person jury who had heard testimony about the killings at the
court-martial at the Army's Rose Barracks Courthouse since Wednesday. A sentencing hearing was
scheduled later Friday, and Leahy could receive a life sentence and a
dishonorable discharge, pending the judge's decision. Leahy, 28, was acquitted of
murder in a separate incident involving the death of another Iraqi in January
2007. Wearing his dress uniform, he sat impassively as the verdicts were
handed down by the foreman of the jury made up of officers and enlisted
personnel. Leahy pleaded not guilty to
charges of premeditated murder, conspiracy to commit premeditated murder and
obstruction of justice in the deaths of a total of four Iraqi prisoners who
were dumped in a Baghdad canal in 2007 after they were killed. He had faced charges,
including murder, for the separate incident in January 2007. Leahy, of Lockport,
Illinois, confessed to military investigators that he shot one of the
prisoners point-blank in the back of the head with a 9mm pistol. In closing arguments
earlier, Leahy's civilian lawyer, Frank Spinner, argued that Leahy went along
with the killings because he was dazed from a lack of sleep and numb from
being in a war zone for months. It was a sentiment bolstered on Thursday in
testimony from Col. Charles Hoge, a doctor and director of psychology and
neuroscience at the Army's Walter Reed Army Institute of Research. He testified that Leahy was
unable to reason properly because of the constant danger of living and
operating in a war zone and getting little sleep for months on end. "The tragedy resulted
not so much by design but rather the working of fear, danger and madness
attendant on many combat operations," Spinner said in his closing
arguments. The Iraqi prisoners were
taken to the U.S. unit's operating base in Baghdad for questioning and
processing, although there wasn't enough evidence to hold them for attacking
the unit. Later that night patrol members took the Iraqis to a remote area
and shot them in retribution for the attacks against the unit, according to
testimony. Leahy, Master Sgt. John
Hatley, 40, and Sgt. 1st Class Joseph Mayo, 27, are accused of pulling the
trigger, the jury of seven men and two women was told. But prosecutors contended
that Leahy knew what he was doing after the four Iraqis had been taken into
custody following a shootout with a patrol that included five other accused
soldiers. "The defense can't just
stand there and throw their arms up and say: 'We were protecting ourselves
from future harm,'" Army Capt. Derrick Grace, the lead prosecutor, said,
adding that the killings were the result of a breakdown of discipline and
moral responsibility. All of the accused were with
the 1st Battalion, 18th Infantry Regiment, 2nd Brigade of the 1st Infantry
Division in Iraq, which is now part of the Germany-based 172nd Infantry
Brigade. Three soldiers are scheduled
for later courts-martial. Sgt. Charles Quigley, 28, of Providence, Rhode
Island, faces one charge of conspiracy to commit premeditated murder. Mayo
and Hatley are charged with premeditated murder, conspiracy to commit
premeditated murder, and obstruction of justice. Copyright © 2009 The
Associated Press. External link: http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5hYtcV7GUHRC88uGXnQ8Hl6I5lvbAD96FIRQG1 |