US Soldier Sentanced in Baghdad killing
Quote:
Originally Posted by CNN.com
BAGHDAD (CNN) -- A U.S. soldier has been sentenced to three years in prison, forfeiture of all pay and a dishonorable discharge after he pleaded guilty to the killing of a severely wounded Iraqi civilian, the U.S. military said in a statement.
Staff Sgt. Johnny M. Horne Jr., 30, of Winston-Salem, North Carolina, accepted a plea bargain Friday to one specification of murder and one specification of conspiracy to commit murder, the military said.
The convictions stemmed from Horne's killing on August 18 of the civilian in Baghdad's Sadr City, where fighting raged at the time between U.S. troops and militia loyal to Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr.
The killing took place in Baghdad's Sadr City, during widespread fighting.
The pleas occurred during a general court-martial on the Camp Al-Tahreer in Baghdad.
A panel of seven senior service members passed the sentence Friday at 11:30 p.m. (3:30 p.m. ET), after hearing testimony from the prosecution and the defense.
They deliberated for approximately four hours before reaching their decision.
Horne is a member of Company C, 1st Battalion, 41st Infantry Regiment, Fort Riley, Kansas.
http://www.cnn.com/2004/LAW/12/11/ir...ier/index.html
From what I heard of the story he shot the guy because he was dying and was badly wounded and didn't want him to lay there suffering while he waited to die. If that's the case then this is just plain screwed up, in my opinion shooting a dying person who is in agony and really has no chance of survival is the right thing to do, I wouldn't want to lay there with a severe wound while people just walked by me and I was just waiting to die. The US Army is become one big PR group, there's no reason at all this guy had to be put in jail and given a dishonorable discharge (which basically strips your rights as a US citizen) for doing a mercy killing. At least the Marines stood by their guy who shot the person in Fallujah. The US is becoming way too worked up everytime they hear a person has been shot by US personal in conditions other then all out combat.
Thoughts, opinions?