Posted on 03/01/2004 10:30:56 AM PST by SLB
One soldier waits in a Fort Knox jail. Two others rest in graves dug just months ago.
The Army says the jailed soldier, Sgt. Hasan Akbar, put the other two in the ground. But nearly a year after Maj. Gregory Stone and Capt. Christopher Scott Seifert were killed in a Kuwaiti desert, Akbar still doesn't know if he will face a court-martial in which he could receive the death penalty. His family — and the families of the deceased — are hoping the issue can be resolved. All were members of the 101st Airborne Division.
"We've learned a hard lesson," said Helen Seifert, Capt. Seifert's mother, who lives in Pennsylvania. "Nothing is guaranteed. We just all have to be patient."
In a surprise attack in the middle of a March night last year, Capt. Seifert was shot in the back and Maj. Stone was hit in the neck by shrapnel from a stolen grenade that was rolled into his tent. The attack was apparently premeditated: A light generator had been shut off to conceal the crime.
Akbar, who was in charge of guarding grenades that night, was found near the attacked officers' tents, even though as a member of the 326th Engineering Co., he should have been on the other side of Camp Pennsylvania, authorities said. Though many soldiers said they didn't think Akbar was the attacker, bullets recovered from Stone's abdomen were found to match Akbar's gun and his fingerprint was found on the light generator.
Akbar's pretrial military hearing was held last summer at Fort Knox.
After a week of testimony, it took a hearing officer less than an hour to recommend that there was enough evidence to try Akbar. His recommendation was to be reviewed by Maj. Gen. David H. Petraeus, 101st Airborne Division commander. Originally, Petraeus had until the end of July to decide. He ultimately decided his duties in Iraq would prevent him from making a decision, a spokesman said.
Akbar's family initially feared he would not get a fair trial; they thought his race and his Muslim religion made him a target in the military. They said he wasn't the type of person who could take another life.
The family, who had lived in Louisiana, couldn't be reached for comment for this story.
The man now charged with deciding if Akbar will be tried — maybe for his life — is Lt. Gen. John R. Vines, commander of the 18th Airborne Corps at Fort Bragg. Fort Campbell's higher command is located at the North Carolina base.
Vines is simply taking his time to make sure all procedures are followed to protect both sides in the case, said Lt. Col. Billy J. Buckner, a Fort Bragg spokesman. The process allows for several delays prompted by both prosecutors and defenders, Buckner said.
A press conference will be held when a decision is made, Buckner said. There is no set timetable for the decision.
The Army has stayed in touch with the Seifert and Stone families. The families are cautious about commenting for fear of jeopardizing the case, but they express optimism that issues will be resolved.
"They're going to do what they're going to do," said Frank Lenzi, Stone's brother who lives in Portland, Ore. "I haven't heard anything in a while."
Helen Seifert said she knows people are working hard and knows the incident hasn't been forgotten. She knows a court-martial would be painful, even as she hopes one will be granted.
"It's one step we have to go over," Seifert said. "It's not going to bring him back. We miss Chris dearly. As each day goes by, it doesn't get any easier."
Yea - he is a victim!
And now he is living in a whole lot better conditions than you are. I drive past the stockade on the way to work every day. They just renovated a large part of it. I am not sure if he is ever on any work details since he is in pre-trial.
He also deserves a speedy trial; it wouldn't be all that amusing if he walked because the government was too slow to give him one.
What the heck was he doing in the Army?
The chair is nice... especially if you bring it up nice and slow with a VARIAC!
Typically your Muslim terrorist WILL admit, even boast, of his crime -- all the more inportant to know what "Chris" has to say.
"... Special Agent Maier said three unused grenades were found in Akbar's gas-mask bag. Maj. Trey Cate, public affairs officer for the 101st, said few soldiers in the 1st Brigade had been issued grenades at that point.
Maier said he and a team of seven agents arrived at Camp Pennsylvania shortly after the shooting. He testified yesterday that the ranking officer on the scene, Col. Ben Hodges, commander of the 101st's 1st Brigade, told investigators that morning that Akbar made statements implicating himself.
Maier said that Hodges told the agents that Akbar had "made spontaneous statements that he had done this act because we, American soldiers, were going to kill and rape Muslims."
AKA "hearsay", and not generally admissable in court. Hopefully there was a tape running somewhere nearby, but then why not cite the tape?
Pleeazze! Don't try to tell a lawyer what the Rules of Evidence are -- unless you're actually trying to look dumb.
Statements made by a party/defendant are not hearsay, first per the rules, as also as a matter of elementary logic.
What makes you think that Maier won't be available to testify about what he found, and Hodge won't be available to testify about what Akbar said? My point in making the original post is that Akbar incriminated himself, as I suspected. And those statements that Akbar made WILL be admissible, as testified by Hodge.
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