the ADMINISTRATOR
Posts: 1212
(9/2/06 15:31) Reply
Death!Army Recommends Death for Accused GIs
Sep 02 2:50 PM US/Eastern
An Army investigator has recommended the death penalty for four soldiers accused of murder during a raid in Iraq.
Lt. Col. James P. Daniel Jr. made the recommendation in report obtained Saturday by The Associated Press.
Daniel found several aggravating factors that warrant a sentence of death in the case of four soldiers accused of killing three men during the May raid in the Salahuddin province.
Staff Sgt. Raymond L. Girouard, Spc. William B. Hunsaker, Pfc. Corey R. Clagett, and Spc. Juston R. Graber, all of the Fort Campbell, Ky.- based 3rd Battalion, 187th Infantry Regiment, 101st Airborne Division, were accused in the deaths.
The soldiers have claimed they were ordered to "kill all military-age males" during a raid on an island on a canal in the province.
2006 The Associated Press.
2006 BREITBART.COM, LLC.
the ADMINISTRATOR
Posts: 1249
(10/18/06 15:07) Reply
Re: Death!
Troops to face courts-martial on charges
By RYAN LENZ,
Associated Press Writer
45 minutes ago
EVANSVILLE, Ind. - Eight soldiers from the 101st Airborne Division were ordered Wednesday to be court-martialed on murder charges stemming from their service in Iraq, and two could get the death penalty for allegedly raping a 14-year-old and killing her and her family.
The Fort Campbell soldiers facing the death penalty are Sgt. Paul E. Cortez and Pfc. Jesse V. Spielman. Both are accused of raping 14 year old Abeer Qassim al-Janabi in her family's home in Mahmoudiya, about 20 miles south of Baghdad, then killing the girl, her parents and younger sister.
Spc. James P. Barker and Pfc. Bryan L. Howard are also accused in the rape and murders but will not face the death penalty, the military said in a statement.
Military prosecutors have said the five — all from the division's 502nd Infantry Regiment — planned the attack from a checkpoint near the family's home, changed their clothing to hide their identities and set the girl's body on fire to destroy evidence
In statements given to military investigators, Spielman was described as a "look-out" while the others entered the home. His attorneys said they were shocked that he faces a death penalty.
Four soldiers from the division's 3rd Brigade also will be tried in a separate court-martial on charges of murdering Iraqi detainees in northern Iraq's Salahuddin province during a raid on a village.
Pfc. Corey R. Clagett, Spc. William B. Hunsaker, Staff Sgt. Raymond L. Girouard and Spc. Juston R. Graber are accused of murdering three Iraqi men taken from a house May 9 on a marshy island outside Samarra, about 60 miles north of Baghdad.
Maj. Gen. Thomas R. Turner has not yet ruled on whether to order a court-martial for Sgt. Anthony W. Yribe, who is accused of failing to report the attack on the girl but is not alleged to have been a direct participant.
Yribe has requested a discharge from the Army in lieu of a court-martial.
2006 The Associated Press.
2006 Yahoo! Inc. All rights reserved.
Edited by: XSha Tell at: 10/18/06 15:08
the ADMINISTRATOR
Posts: 1259
(11/15/06 11:30) Reply
GUILTY !!!!!
Nov 15, 11:48 AM EST
Spc. Pleads Guilty in Iraq Rape, Murder
By RYAN LENZ
Associated Press Writer
FORT CAMPBELL, Ky. (AP) -- One of four U.S. soldiers accused of raping an Iraqi girl last spring and killing her and her family pleaded guilty Wednesday and will testify against the others
Spc. James P. Barker agreed to the plea deal to avoid the death penalty, said his civilian attorney, David Sheldon.
The killings in Mahmoudiya, a village about 20 miles south of Baghdad, were among the worst in a series of alleged attacks on civilians and other abuses by military personnel in Iraq.
Sgt. Paul E. Cortez and Pfc. Jesse V. Spielman, both members of the 101st Airborne Division with Barker, face the death penalty if convicted in the case in courts-martial at Fort Campbell.
The ringleader, former Army private Steve Green, 21, pleaded not guilty last week to charges including murder and sexual assault.
Green was discharged from the Army for a "personality disorder" before the allegations became known, and prosecutors have yet to say if they will pursue the death penalty against him.
The indictment accuses Green and others of raping the girl and burning her body to conceal their crimes. It also alleges that Green and four others stationed at a nearby checkpoint killed the girl's father, mother and 6-year-old sister.
Barker has already given investigators vivid accounts of the assault.
the ADMINISTRATOR
Posts: 1260
(11/16/06 21:10) Reply
Ninety years!!!Soldier Gets 90 Years in Rape, Killing of Iraqi Child
By Josh White
Washington Post Staff Writer
Friday, November 17, 2006; Page A18
An Army specialist who admitted that he and a group of other U.S. soldiers raped a 14-year-old girl and killed herand her family in an Iraqi village was sentenced to 90 years in prison yesterday, by far the longest sentence for a U.S. soldier in connection with the death of an Iraqi civilian since the war began in 2003.
Spec. James P. Barker, 23, could be eligible for parole in 20 years, as part of a plea agreement with prosecutors that spares him the possibility of a death sentence. Barker has indicated he will testify against other soldiers in the case, some of whom face the death penalty.
Barker yesterday became one of 16 U.S. troops sentenced to prison time for the deaths of Iraqi civilians during the war, and he received a sentence of more than three times the length of the next-longest sentence in any case that has concluded. Two soldiers are serving 25-year sentences in unrelated homicide cases.
Also yesterday, Marine Lance Cpl. Tyler A. Jackson pleaded guilty to aggravated assault and conspiracy to obstruct justice in the death of an Iraqi man near Hamdaniyah. As part of a deal, he was sentenced to 21 months in prison.
The slaying of the girl, Abier Kassim Hamzah Rashid al Janabi, on March 12 was particularly shocking because it had no connection to military combat operations and was carefully planned by soldiers who had spotted her while patrolling the Mahmudiyah area weeks before. The girl's father, mother and young sister were also killed, and soldiers set the teenager's body on fire to try to conceal the crime.
In a nine-page document that provides chilling details of the case, Barker confessed to plotting the attack on Abier with other soldiers as they played cards and drank whiskey mixed with a carbonated energy drink. The soldiers donned disguises, cut through chain-link fences and sneaked into the house, planning to kill everyone inside, according to the document.
The soldiers alternated holding Abier down on the floor while raping her, according to the document.
Another soldier, former Pfc. Steven D. Green, herded Abier's family members into a bedroom before shooting them, according to Barker's account. Green then raped and killed Abier, according to the document.
"I want the people of Iraq to know that I did not go there to do the terrible things that I did," Barker said in court, the Associated Press reported. "I do not ask anyone to forgive me today."
Barker said he became "angry and mean" as a way to survive in the austere and dangerous conditions where he served south of Baghdad, and as a result he began to hate everyone in Iraq.
Attorneys for Barker have argued that he was under extreme pressure and emotional distress while working in the Yusufiyah area, an insurgent stronghold where U.S. forces faced daily attacks and were severely understaffed. David Sheldon, Barker's civilian attorney, said he believes his client's sentence should make it difficult for prosecutors to get the death penalty against the other soldiers.
"Specialist Barker took responsibility for his actions and has expressed sincere remorse for his conduct," Sheldon said. "This sends a clear message to the government that it will be difficult to obtain a death sentence against any of the defendants, including Pfc. Green."
Staff researcher Julie Tate contributed to this report.
2006 The Washington Post Company
Edited by: XSha Tell at: 11/16/06 21:11
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