Ex-soldier gets 5 life sentences...
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| Sat, 09-05-2009 - 10:02am |
Ex-soldier gets 5 life sentences Iraqi deaths
http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5iYeOUInDxFuT4T8CsYG9-_KfQ9pgD9AGNAU00
A former soldier received five consecutive life sentences Friday for his role in the rape and murder of an Iraqi teenager and the slaying of three of her family members.
"What the defendant did was horrifying and inexcusable," U.S. District Judge Thomas Russell said in sentencing to Steven Dale Green, 24, of Midland, Texas. "The court believes any lesser sentence would be insufficient."
A civilian jury in western Kentucky convicted Green in May of raping Abeer Qassim al-Janabi, conspiracy and multiple counts of murder.
Green shot and killed the teen's mother, father and sister, then became the third soldier to rape her before shooting her in the face. Her body was set on fire March 12, 2006, at their rural home outside Mahmoudiya, Iraq, about 20 miles south of Baghdad.
The panel couldn't reach an unanimous decision about whether Green should get a death sentence, automatically making Green's sentence life in prison. Barring a successful appeal or presidential pardon, Green will not be eligible for release from prison.
Green told the judge he merely followed orders from other soldiers involved in the attack.
"You can act like I'm a sociopath. You can act like I'm a sex offender or whatever," Green said. "If I had not joined the Army, if I had not gone to Iraq, I would not have got caught up in anything."
At a hearing in May, Green repeatedly apologized to the al-Janabi family, saying he knew little about Iraqis and realizes now his actions then were wrong. Green described the attacks as "evil" and said when he dies "there will be justice and whatever I deserve, I'll get."
During Green's trial, defense attorneys never contested Green's role in the attacks. Instead, they focused on saving his life by putting on witnesses that testified that the military failed Green on multiple fronts — by allowing a troubled teen into the service, not recognizing and helping a soldier struggling emotionally and providing inadequate leadership.
During the sentencing hearing, defense attorney Patrick Bouldin said Green tried to take responsibility for his role in the attacks, twice offering to plead guilty and serve life in prison. Assistant U.S. Attorney Marisa Ford said one offer came on the eve of jury selection, the other two weeks into jury selection.
Green and four other soldiers with the 101st Airborne Division based at Fort Campbell, Ky., were investigated after the killings. Three who went to the family's home, along with Green, received lengthy sentences up to 110 years but will become eligible for parole in seven years. Another who had a lesser role was released from military prison after serving 27 months.
All except Green were charged under the Uniform Code of Military Justice and faced a military trial, known as a court martial. Two of the soldiers who were at the home when Green shot the family pleaded guilty and a military jury convicted a third.
Green said the idea of his co-defendants being out of prison one day is "all right with me."
"They planned it," Green said. "All I ever did was what they told me to do."
Green was the first person charged under the Military Extraterritorial Jurisdiction Act, a law passed in 2000 that allows U.S. authorities to prosecute former military personnel, contractors and others for crimes committed overseas.
By the time the Army pressed charges in June 2006, Green had been honorably discharged with a personality disorder and returned to the United States. Because Green had been discharged, prosecutors filed an indictment against him as a civilian.
Green's attorneys have 10 days to file notice of an appeal.
Info. not in article above.........
>"The crime was planned while Green and the other soldiers drank whiskey and played card games at a traffic checkpoint where they were stationed.
The court heard that Green was seen by army mental health professionals after he had talked about a desire to kill Iraqi civilians.
He was sent back to his unit with medication to help him sleep after a nurse concluded he would not act out his thoughts.
The defence argued there was a lack of military leadership in the 101st Airborne Division.
The BBC's Imtiaz Tyab in Washington says that when details of the killings were revealed months after they took place, they sparked international outrage and led to the retaliatory killing of several US soldiers by Iraqi insurgents.
Green was discharged from the 101st Airborne before the case came to light.
He was the first ex-soldier to be charged under a US law that allows prosecution for crimes committed overseas."< Segment from...



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He recovered from that episode. Hindsight being 20/20, I could see how in the months prior to that breakdown there were warning s signs: Lost time-he'd leave for the store and be gone for hours and wouldn't know where the time went, etc. But those also could have been signs of an addict or a person having an affair or a person just wanting out of a relationship. KWIM? Personally, as the psychosis was coming on, I thought he had taken acid or mushrooms or something. He had friends that had just gone to Burning Man so ....???? But when it went on and on and kept getting worse......
But it was 6 to 8 months afterwards of medication adjustments, psych visits, therapy, visits to a bipolar specialist to restabilize. We were REALLY proactive. The ONLY way I would allow him to be home was to be compliant with his meds and therapy. If a person with an MI doesen't have that kind of support system around them, I think it's almost impossible for them to be highly successful. Even though he is the poster boy for how meds, etc should work, meds only help manage symptoms. There are still seasonal episodes of hypomania, triggers, etc. It is a chronic illness that will ALWAYS require management. We can't even take a vacation into a different time zone without careful planning.
People are ignorant when it comes to mental illness. They think it's like a cold or
I'm glad he's found something that's working for him. I know someone who has serious psychosis, too (well, I know a few but one who's close). Her meds worked for a while but don't any more and it's been scary watching her try to cope while trying to find something that does.
The thing is there is such a varying degree of illness and some can commit crimes and understand what they are doing and some have no idea. I think it takes a professional in the field to diagnose it. It's all easy in hindsight.
I just wanted to say this is the first time I've ever participated in a discussion about the news, or for that matter any type of discussion.
Hope to see you return to the board often now you've put your toe in the water. ;)
If you have any questions about the board features or whatever feel free to ask.
Have
I just wanted to throw my 2 cents in here, too, and say that I'm glad you decided to stick around the board!
And trust me, you're not the first to get emotional on this board!
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I'll try to remember and explain what happened to me.
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