Posted on 09/08/2004 9:34:28 AM PDT by HAL9000
HANAU, Germany, Sept 8 (AFP) - A US army captain charged with murdering an Iraqi follower of a radical Shiite Muslim cleric has claimed that he shot dead the man as an act of mercy, a military hearing was told Wednesday.Captain Rogelio Maynulet, 29, is charged with murdering the man on May 21 in an incident during which US troops fired at a civilian vehicle they believed had militia men aboard near the central Iraqi town of Kufa.
Under US troop rules of engagement in Iraq, shooting at suspect cars is allowed under certain circumstances. Two men were in the vehicle. The passenger died instantly and the driver was badly injured.
A witness, 1st Lieutenant Colin Cremin, confirmed that Maynulet and his men told him that the driver "had half his brain hanging out, there was nothing more that could be done for him."
He confirmed that Maynulet said he had stepped back and shot the man in the base of the neck or the back of the head.
"It was something he didn't want to do but it was the compassionate response, it was definitely the humane response," Cremin said.
Maynulet has denied charges of murder and dereliction of duty for killing the follower of Moqtada Sadr, the radical cleric whose large militia has been involved in protracted battles with the US-led forces occupying Iraq.
He is one of only a few US soldiers to face such charges and is being heard in a military Article 32 investigation over three days at a US base in the town of Hanau, near Frankfurt, western Germany.
An Article 32 investigation is the equivalent of a civilian grand jury hearing. It could lead to a court martial and, in this case, possibly a life prison sentence.
After military investigators questioned Maynulet over the killing a few days later, Cremin said the accused told him: "I wouldn't be surprised if this would have some kind of negative action for me."
Many of the nine witnesses due to be called Wednesday to give testimony to military investigating officer Michael J. Fadden praised Maynulet.
"He was the best company grade officer I've ever known," said Captain Jeremy Dovos.
"An inspiring leader, someone soldiers really look up to," said Captain Jeff Wright.
Prosecutors described him as a soldier who broke the rules of engagement and used illegal weapons.
Earlier, reporters were ordered to leave the hearing while the first witness, neurosurgeon Lieutenant Colonel Rocco Armonda, who had seen the injuries to the two men, testified in camera.
His appearance was classified because a 10-minute army video of the shooting was shown, which would have revealed how the US military gathers information.
Maynulet was dressed in combat fatigues and accompanied by his wife, also a member of the military, and she held his shoulder and talked quietly with him as proceedings got under way.
Three days of hearings have been scheduled until Friday, after which Fadden will make a recommendation on whether any court martial should go ahead.
The hearing originally began in Baghdad on June 25 but was postponed while the accused's 1st Armoured Division returned to its base in Germany.
A second session was held here at the Pioneer Barracks in Hanau on July 28 but it was also adjourned until all the witnesses could give testimony.
The US military started to announce probes into the conduct of its soldiers and officers after the revelations of abuse at Abu Ghraib prison where Iraqi prisoners were sexually humiliated and beaten by guards.
The looneylefties will certainly cry foul about this, but not even give a second thought to so-called medical doctors that perform even more gruesome procedures on unborn children.
That's "choice".
I can't imagine stuff like this going on in a war.
</sarcasm>
This was one of Sadr's stooges. Certainly he was entitled to a few minutes of intense suffering. Why take it away?
PING.
What would YOU have done?
"Buzzard's gotta eat."
Damn PC crap!
How were charges brought against the Cap? One of his men turned him in? As a result of a report he filed?
I'm worried about the chilling effect prosecutions will have on men in the field.
That is one thing my pop taught us...dont let an animal or man suffer....put it out of it's misery quickly...if there is nothing else you or anyone else can do...at least do that...
He did the right thing...
imo
What "illegal weapons" were used?
http://dailyrecycler.typepad.com/blog/files/mtv_kerry_interview.WMV
JUST REMEMBER GUYS AND GALS THAT WE PASSED 1000 DEAD IN THIS WAR ON TERROR THREE YEARS AGO THIS SATURDAY.
Would the incident, as described by the accused, be legal if it happened just the way he described it?
Steaming BS; he did the right thing. Damned PC crap!
No.
Think of it as remedial birth control.
Why don't we ask F'ing kerry what he would have done. He shot an wounded VC with a 50 cal. Maybe he could shed some light on this. < /sarcasm>
Prosecutors described him as a soldier who broke the rules of engagement and used illegal weapons.
WHAT illegal weapon - his own assigned sidearm!?!?
They should find out which Troop screwed up the head shot and then send him out to range road for practice.
This is an outrage. The Captain should be given a medal, and the prosecuters should be put on Guard Duty in Sadr City at night!
What a waste of military assets, time, and attention.
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