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| Hearing ends on surprise testimony |
| 2005-11-18 |
| More details coming outFort Riley, Kan.- The hearing against a Twinsburg soldier charged with ordering two murders in Iraq ended Thursday following surprise testimony from a key prosecution witness that undercut the case. It could take up to three weeks before hearing officer Maj. James Ball decides whether to recommend dismissal of charges or a full court-martial for Erick Anderson. Anderson has been charged with two counts each of murder, conspiracy and making false reports in the so-called "mercy killing" of Qassim Hassan, 16, and the shooting of another unidentified wounded Iraqi man in separate incidents in August 2004. Defense attorney Neil Puckett said he almost fell out of his chair Thursday when Sgt. Michael Williams testified that Anderson had nothing to do with the killing of the unidentified Iraqi man. Puckett said the prosecution had no case and that Anderson was "unconvictable." Williams was facing life in prison for his role in one of the deaths but his sentence was reduced to 25 years after he agreed to testify against Anderson. But Thursday, Williams said the Iraqi man had pulled a gun on him. Williams said he shot the man twice in the chest in self-defense and a third time in the head to make sure he was dead. He said he lied in previous statements and told investigators what he believed they wanted to hear. He said he thought the Army was "out to get" Anderson and he wanted to cooperate to get a reduced sentence. Williams said he was angry that Anderson refused to testify on his behalf when Williams faced his court-martial. It was the second major setback for the prosecution in two days. Former Sgt. Johnny Horne, who previously said Anderson ordered him to kill a badly wounded Iraqi boy, refused to testify Wednesday without proof of immunity. Prosecuting attorneys asked the court to consider previous statements from both Horne and Williams that implicated Anderson in the killings. "Williams has a motive for lying in the courtroom today," said Capt. Chuck Neill. "He is going for an appeal, so he is now claiming that he killed the man in self-defense. Since Horne did not testify, we ask that the judge accept his previous statements." Horne and Williams were the only soldiers who could say they were ordered by Anderson to kill the wounded Iraqis. Several soldiers testified that Anderson could not have given the orders because he was not near the scenes at the time. Several witnesses, including Battalion Commander Lt. Col. David Batchelder, questioned Williams' mental state. "Williams is not at all credible," Batchelder said. "I'm not sure if he is completely stable." Other witnesses said there was a rogue element in Anderson's 36-man platoon, a clique of men - including Horne and Sgt. Cardenas Alban - that flouted the rules and had little respect for authority. Anderson and his superior officers had tried to remove the men to correct the situation. Horne and Alban were convicted of killing Qassim. Horne was sentenced to three years in prison and dishonorably discharged. Alban was sentenced to one year and received a bad conduct discharge. |
| Posted by:Steve |