Iraqis seek Death Penalty for American soldier

Politics International Politics
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Jury weighing death sentence for American soldier

[quote]Iraqi officials and civilians called Friday for the death sentence for a former American soldier who was convicted of a crime that pressed at the worst extremes of the complicated and often fraught relationship of Iraqis and the American military: the rape of a 14-year-old Iraqi girl, and the killings of her and three members of her family.

Steven Dale Green, 24, who was an Army private at the time of the assault, in March 2006, was convicted Thursday on all 17 counts, including four counts of premeditated murder, in United States District Court in Paducah, Ky. Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty.

News of the conviction reignited anger at the Americans among residents of Mahmudiya, the town 20 miles south of Baghdad where the girl and her family lived. Some were enraged that so heinous a crime should be tried in an American court.

Mr. Green was charged with being the instigator, moving the girl’s parents and her young sister into a back room while two of the soldiers raped her. Mr. Green shot the family members before raping the girl and then shooting her repeatedly in the head and trying to set fire to her body.

For some Iraqis, loathing of the American presence blended with skepticism that Mr. Green would receive a just penalty. “The American government won’t let anyone touch them,” said Qassim Salman Abdullah, 47, who lives in Yusufiya, not far from Mahmudiya. “All of their soldiers’ actions are brutal and criminal.”

If Mr. Green is sentenced to death, said Sheik Qais Aboud al-Janabi, 64, the head of the tribe of the rape victim, Abeer Qassim al-Janabi, it would “give Iraqi people full trust in the American judicial system.” He added, however, that otherwise, “there will be no room for trust between us and the American forces.”[/quote]

Throw the book at this despicable piece of filth. Reminds me of what Japanese soldiers did to whole families in the Rape of Nanking.

Of course if Bush had not ordered the Iraq invasion, this would not have happened.

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After having Saddam Hussein and his sidekicks hanged, the US really doesn’t have a leg to stand on.

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[quote]Throw the book at this despicable piece of filth. Reminds me of what Japanese soldiers did to whole families in the Rape of Nanjing.

Of course if Bush had not ordered the Iraq invasion, this would not have happened.
[/quote]

Hmmmm, Moral Equivalency :ponder:

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We’ll see what sentence he gets, but at this point there’s no need to even mention Hussein or moral equivalency. If any civilian committed those acts in the US on other americans and were tried and sentenced by a civilian court, he would clearly be sentenced to death. No doubt about it.

At least this guy’s not being tried by a military tribunal, which are notorious for unreasonable lenience, so if he doesn’t get the death sentence it will only be due to empathy for him as a shell-shocked soldier, which I imagine his lawyers may argue. But I don’t see that happening. His “alleged” acts were so horrific I predict he’s a goner.

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Maybe sentence him to life (without parole of course) and put him in with a rapist, maybe he’ll get raped and killed in prison…

I think life without parole is worse than death.

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The US wasn’t responsible for having Saddam hanged. That was the Iraqis.

According to US and Iraqi law, he probably should die. Myself, I’m opposed to the death penalty, even for such a crime.

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The US wasn’t responsible for having Saddam hanged. That was the Iraqis.[/quote]
The Iraqi government is a US puppet state. So yes, in essence, the US hanged Saddam. I considered it an outrage: not that Saddam was executed (though I would have preferred him be incarcerated for life, as I oppose the death penalty for any crime), but that the US saw fit to have him executed in barbaric 19th century manner in what is supposed to be the 21st century.

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The US wasn’t responsible for having Saddam hanged. That was the Iraqis.[/quote]
The Iraqi government is a US puppet state. So yes, in essence, the US hanged Saddam. I considered it an outrage: not that Saddam was executed (though I would have preferred him be incarcerated for life, as I oppose the death penalty for any crime), but that the US saw fit to have him executed in barbaric 19th century manner in what is supposed to be the 21st century.[/quote]

Some US States still execute by hanging, some by electric chair, and even one by firing squad. I think he should be executed by 五馬分屍… or crucified.

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The US wasn’t responsible for having Saddam hanged. That was the Iraqis.[/quote]
Note I wrote that the US had him hanged, not that it hanged him. Of course the execution got the nod from the US. I doubt Saddam would have been hanged if he’d been caught and tried in the British occupation zone, because Britain and the EU have no death penalty so it would have looked very bad for Britain if Saddam had been hanged on their patch.

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I hope they torture him to death. Justice for the Iraqis. :discodance:

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If he doesn’t get the death penalty then he’ll have empathy to thank. If he does get the death penalty then the Iraqis will have the law to thank.

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The verdict is in…Life, without the possibility of parole.

Ex-soldier apologizes to Iraqi family for raping, killing
" Green was found guilty in U.S. District Court in Kentucky of raping a 14-year-old girl and murdering her, her parents and her 6-year-old sister in the town of Yusufiya, about 20 miles south of Baghdad, in 2006.
A jury could not reach a unanimous decision on the death penalty, which means the judge is required under law to impose a sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole."

“Green was tried in a civilian court in Paducah, Kentucky, because he had been discharged from the Army by the time his crimes surfaced.”

I disagree with this. IMO he should have been tried in a military court as he was subject to the UCMJ, when he committed his crimes.
If he been tried in a Military court, he would very likely be executed for his crimes. Military Courts are quite a bit more severe in their penalties and have less ‘wiggle room’ as regards sentences meted out to individuals subject to UCMJ jurisdiction.

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A just sentence.

Surprising.

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A just sentence.

Surprising.[/quote]

Yea… let him rot in prison. I am sure his cell mates will want to “welcome” him properly.

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A just sentence.

Surprising.[/quote]

Not really. He raped one woman, killed her and three others. He should have to forfeit his life as a result of the crimes he committed. There are some crimes so heinous in nature that life in prison isn’t an appropriate sentence, only the forfeiture of your own life is.

I’m with TC, he committed the crimes while serving in the military so he should be tried under the UCMJ which has much tougher sentencing on capital crimes.

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How do they execute prisoners in the military? do they line you up and shoot you?

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No, they usually hang you. Only 10 men have been executed by firing squad. Here’s the link: Capital punishment by the United States military

Under the UCMJ, committing a rape-murder is a capital offense that brings with it the death penalty. If they had tried him under military law (which he was subject to at the time of committing the offenses) he would probably end up hanging. I wonder why they didn’t? His crimes were committed while he was in uniform, so why try him in a civilian court?

[quote=“UCMJ”]
918. ART. 118. MURDER
Any person subject to this chapter whom without justification or excuse, unlawfully kills a human being, when he- -
(1) has a premeditated design to kill;
(2) intends to kill or inflict great bodily harm;
(3) is engaged in an act which is inherently dangerous to others and evinces a wanton disregard of human life; or
(4) is engaged in the perpetration or attempted perpetration of burglary, sodomy, rape, robbery, or aggravated arson;
is guilty of murder, and shall suffer such punishment as a court-martial may direct, except that if found guilty under clause (1) or (4), he shall suffer death or imprisonment for life as a court-martial may direct.
[/quote]

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[quote=“lbksig”]Under the UCMJ, committing a rape-murder is a capital offense that brings with it the death penalty.

[quote=“UCMJ”]Any person subject to this chapter who…(is)… found guilty under clause (1) or (4)…shall suffer death or imprisonment for life as a court-martial may direct.
[/quote][/quote]
Always a good idea to read the things you quote.

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You’re right. I should have wrote “brings with it the possibility of the death penalty”. The sentence as I wrote it confers that the death penalty is the only option, while you are correct in pointing out that life imprisonment is also an option.