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| Judge orders military to keep Akbar awake |
| 2004-05-10 |
| The judge in charge of today’s hearing for an Army sergeant accused of killing two officers in Kuwait last year has issued one ruling today at Fort Bragg. Army Colonel Patrick Parrish ordered the government to find a way to keep Sergeant Hasan Akbar awake during court sessions. After hearing pretrial motions filed by attorneys, he then recessed until May 28th. Akbar has been dozing during court proceedings at Fort Bragg and earlier at Fort Knox, Kentucky. His lawyers say it’s due to a sleep disorder that causes him to wake up frequently at night. That leaves Akbar sleepy during the day. Defense lawyers earlier asked that Akbar’s trial be moved, or that a jury pool be selected from another branch of service. They also say the pool is prejudicial in itself because everyone outranks the defendant. Akbar is charged with premeditated murder and other offenses for the attack on a group of fellow 101st Airborne Division soldiers in Kuwait during the early days of the Iraq war. |
| Posted by:TS(vice girl) |
| #15 They've probably got him doped up on valium so that he doesn't shout out something stupid like, Allah, the God of Peace, wants you all dead. |
| Posted by: B 2004-05-11 1:09:14 AM |
| #14 Nope, he probably has obstructive sleep apnea. It's a common medical condition. I treat patients with it all the time (pulmonary physicians see these patients as part of the specialty). The problem is that when he falls asleep, the muscles that normally brace the pharynx open fail to do so, so the tongue falls back and obstructs his tracha. He wakes up, breathes, falls asleep, obstructs, wakes up ... etc. This can happen 10 to 60 times an hour. Imagine how you feel the next day. Yep, you fall asleep. This happens every night for years and years. Long-term effects (not that he'll live that long) include obesity, right-sided congestive heart failure, pulmonary hypertension and death due to heart failure. Treatment is with a CPAP (continuous positive airway pressure) mask at night to splint the airway open with air pressure. Damned uncomfortable for some, but about 2/3 of the patients will get used to it. When it works, it's 100% effective in treating the disorder. Now to keep it on him at night if he becomes difficult, I'm told a few yards of duct-tape works nicely. |
| Posted by: Steve White 2004-05-10 11:39:02 PM |
| #13 #12 - Naahhh, he thinks he's going to heaven for killing infidels. Is he in for a fat surprise! |
| Posted by: Barbara Skolaut 2004-05-10 11:06:30 PM |
| #12 I'm hoping he keeps waking up at night because he is having horrific dreams of what hell is going to be like. |
| Posted by: TS(vice girl) 2004-05-10 9:35:35 PM |
| #11 I've got a lot of perfectly good fire ants that are going to waste. Couple hundred in his shorts ought to do it. |
| Posted by: Steve 2004-05-10 9:13:11 PM |
| #10 simmer is at 120V and 10 amps....he'll love that new permanent hairdo |
| Posted by: Frank G 2004-05-10 9:05:30 PM |
| #9 Truncheons? I'm old school like that. |
| Posted by: Raj 2004-05-10 8:17:16 PM |
| #8 More likely it's a dodge thought up in cahoots with the lawyer to try to get him some sympathy. Even odds they'll claim he was "asleep" at the time of the attack. |
| Posted by: Robert Crawford 2004-05-10 8:13:12 PM |
| #7 Paul, now that is a HOT topic! |
| Posted by: BigEd 2004-05-10 8:05:34 PM |
| #6 So, Frank, what is the threshold voltage on Akbar before it becomes a culturally insensitive value? |
| Posted by: Alaska Paul 2004-05-10 7:52:50 PM |
| #5 Frank G - Sizzling Brilliant! |
| Posted by: BigEd 2004-05-10 7:41:48 PM |
| #4 Stand him at attention, 45 minutes at a time and fifteen minutes at ease. It's legal, and I guarantee that he will think twice about falling asleep when he realizes he's going to hit the floor. Mike |
| Posted by: Mike Kozlowski 2004-05-10 7:15:03 PM |
#3 sleep disorder that causes him to wake up frequently at nightWere this true - which I doubt - it could be easily fixed. More likely it's a dodge thought up in cahoots with the lawyer to try to get him some sympathy. I hope they fix it so he gets plenty of sleep - permanently. And an unmarked grave. |
| Posted by: Barbara Skolaut 2004-05-10 6:56:37 PM |
| #2 ? Watt's pot never boils? |
| Posted by: Shipman 2004-05-10 6:47:34 PM |
| #1 I've got a suggestion - it involves voltage and Ohm's law |
| Posted by: Frank G 2004-05-10 6:32:47 PM |