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| Iraq |
| Ex-U.S. soldier gets life sentence for Iraq murders |
| 2009-05-22 |
| LOUISVILLE, Kentucky (Reuters) - A former U.S. soldier convicted of raping a 14-year-old Iraqi girl and killing her and her family will be sentenced to life in prison after a jury on Thursday failed to agree on whether he should be executed. Prosecutors had sought the death penalty for Steven Green, 24, found guilty by the same jury two weeks ago of committing the 2006 crimes near Baghdad. But after two days of deliberations, the jury of nine women and three men could not decide if he should be executed or given life without parole, so the life sentence prevailed. Judge Thomas Russell of the U.S. District Court in Paducah, Kentucky, who presided over the trial, will issue the sentence on September 4. Green's lawyers depicted him as a victim of combat stress and a bad childhood trapped in the "Triangle of Death" combat zone south of Baghdad where he saw comrades die and could no longer tell friend from foe. "America does not kill its broken warriors," defense attorney Scott Wendelsdorf said in his final argument to the jury asking it to spare Green's life. Prosecutors said Green was the ringleader of a gang of five soldiers who plotted to invade the home of the family of four to rape the girl, and who later bragged about the crime. Three of the four other soldiers pleaded guilty in the attack and the fourth was convicted, all in military courts-martial. They received sentences ranging from five to 100 years, although they could be paroled much sooner. Green was tried in federal court as a civilian on murder, rape and obstruction of justice charges because his arrest came after he was discharged from the Army with the rank of private first class for a "personality disorder." Green, 19 at the time of the crime, was described as the trigger-man in the group who donned black "ninja" outfits and raped Abeer Qassim Hamza al-Janabi and shot to death her and her father, mother and 6-year-old sister. The rape-murders took place after the soldiers drank whiskey, played cards, and plotted the attack in Mahmudiya, 20 miles south of Baghdad. Green, from Midland, Texas, was described by prosecutors as predisposed to killing Iraqis. Defense attorneys acknowledged he took part in the killings but argued he was suffering combat stress after the death of close colleagues and should be spared the death penalty. |
| Posted by:Steve White |
| #7 Roger that, up against the wall with the lot. Not that he's likely to find being a "short-eyes" in the joint an agreeable experience. |
| Posted by: mojo 2009-05-22 19:26 |
| #6 I would hope the relative got their moment in court as well. This was a cruel and horrible event. The guy deserves a firing squad. |
| Posted by: 49 Pan 2009-05-22 17:23 |
| #5 But soldiers that are handed over to other countries turn into political fodder I guess there is that. I guess the best thing then would be to make sure that their relatives got their say in court on the USA's dime, and perhaps that the Iraqis had a hand in deciding on their punishment, with limits set by the US Constitution. It looks like they didn't, though. |
| Posted by: gorb 2009-05-22 17:12 |
| #4 I agree with the consensus here except that the firing squad is much too good for these savages, and Green was the worst of a very bad gang. He killed the other family members with a shotgun before he raped the girl. He then shot her in the face and set her body on fire. A short rope would be the least we can do. |
| Posted by: Atomic Conspiracy 2009-05-22 16:11 |
| #3 Agree with everything you say Gorb except about giving them to Iraq. This was not a blood lust event, it was planned and organized, a criminal event. But soldiers that are handed over to other countries turn into political fodder, everyone loves a show trial. While there may not have been a Status Of Forces Agreement back then in Iraq, I think the UCMJ covers stuff like this fairly adequately. This guy should have been brought back on active duty, tried in military court and shot. |
| Posted by: 49 Pan 2009-05-22 13:15 |
| #2 Firing squad for the whole bunch. |
| Posted by: Cyber Sarge 2009-05-22 08:56 |
| #1 It doesn't get much worse than this, except maybe in numbers. And maybe I'm wrong, but I'm not buying into PTSD causing pre-planned group criminal behavior. He was broken before he got there, like most criminals who commit crimes, and he ought to get the same considerations as other common criminals get for their crimes. I can imagine PTSD causing spontanteous revenge killings, but this goes way beyond that. He and his cohorts should be handed to the Iraqis for punishment since this was simply a heinous criminal act committed on Iraqi soil against Iraqis. |
| Posted by: gorb 2009-05-22 01:33 |