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New Hearing Sought in 'Fragging' Case
FORT BRAGG, N.C. (AP) - Lawyers for a soldier accused of killing two higher-ranking officers in Iraq argued Monday to start over with a new investigation hearing and new defense lawyers and prosecutors.The defense said New York Army National Guard Staff Sgt. Alberto B. Martinez, 39, of Troy, N.Y., received poor representation at his Article 32 hearing, the military equivalent of a civilian grand jury. Defense lawyers asked the military judge, Col. Patrick Parrish, to throw out the previous findings and order a new Article 32 hearing. They also asked the judge to disqualify all attorneys who have handled the case so far, arguing that the lawyers should have had experience in capital cases. The daylong hearing ended with no ruling by Parrish, who will decide later on the nine defense motions, which prosecutors opposed. The defense lawyers also said an Army investigator hadn't cooperated fully with them, and they disputed whether the incident took place during a time of war. Martinez is charged with two counts of premeditated murder in the June 8, 2005, deaths of Capt. Phillip Esposito, 30, of Suffern, N.Y., and 1st Lt. Louis Allen, 34, of Milford, Pa. He was accused of detonating grenades and a mine in their room at one of Saddam Hussein's former palaces near Tikrit, Iraq, the day before. Esposito and Allen were the sergeant's superiors in the 42nd Infantry Division of the New York National Guard. Martinez is the only soldier known to be charged with killing a superior - known as ``fragging'' - during the Iraq war. Martinez could receive the death penalty if convicted. His trial had been scheduled for August, but pre-trial proceedings have now been scheduled into October, The Fayetteville Observer reported. The delays have frustrated the widows of Esposito and Allen. ``I just hope my daughter will see justice,'' Siobhan Esposito said of her 3-year-old. ``She's been dealt an unimaginable loss. She doesn't have her father, and it doesn't seem like she'll ever even see justice.'' Posted by: 2007-07-17 |
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