Posted on 01/10/2005 9:40:17 AM PST by weegee
FORT HOOD -- In his quarter century working in military courts, attorney Guy Womack can count on the fingers of one hand the times he has allowed a client to testify. "My knee-jerk reaction is never to do that," said Womack, an ex-Marine Corps lawyer based in Houston. "I've never regretted not doing that."
But he may make an exception to his rule for Spc. Charles Graner Jr., the Army reservist accused of leading the much-publicized abuse of detainees at Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq.
He says Graner, whose trial begins with opening statements Monday, can explain better than anyone just what went on inside the notorious Baghdad prison.
"He is a calm, cool professional. He's very articulate, very bright," Womack said of his client, a one-time prison guard from Uniontown, Pa. "Frankly, I don't know anyone else in the case who can articulate everything as well as he can, so that would be a strong reason for him to testify.
"It would be a catharsis for (Graner) to take the stand and say, 'I want to tell you what happened, and what I was doing and why,'" he continued. "I think there's a very strong reason why he would want to do that and a strong reason for me to want him to do it."
Graner, 36, is charged with conspiracy to maltreat Iraqi detainees, assault, dereliction of duty and committing indecent acts. He is the first person to be tried for alleged acts that occurred at Abu Ghraib.
He seemed in a good mood after an all-male jury of four Army officers and six senior enlisted men was selected Friday to decide his fate. If convicted on all counts, he faces up to 17 1/2 years in a military prison.
"The sun is shining, the sky is blue and this is America," Graner said outside a Fort Hood courthouse. "Whatever happens is going to happen, but I still feel it's going to be on the positive side, and I'm going to have a smile on my face."
Under military law, a conviction requires guilty votes by seven of the 10 jurors. All the jurors have served in either Iraq or Afghanistan.
The Abu Ghraib scandal was ignited by the discovery of graphic photographs showing the treatment of detainees in the prison, and Graner is prominent in a number of them.
In one, a smiling Graner is giving a thumbs-up behind a pile of naked Iraqis. In another he is cocking his fist as if to punch a hooded prisoner.
Among the witnesses arrayed against him are three other members of the Maryland-based 372nd Military Police Company, each of whom has reached a plea deal with Army prosecutors.
Sgt. Joseph Darby, who first reported the alleged abuse, is also scheduled to appear. As many as three Iraqi detainees may testify via videotaped deposition.
Womack plans to argue that Graner was told by higher-ranking soldiers and intelligence agents to rough up the detainees prior to interrogation, and that he had no choice but to obey despite his personal misgivings.
On a Sunday appearance on ABC-TV's "Good Morning America", Womack said Graner often complained up his chain of command about what he was being told to do.
"They always told him he was doing a good job, that it was helping the war effort, and that he was to continue following the orders of military intelligence," the attorney said.
Womack said the photos, while explicit, are not proof that Graner committed any crimes under military law. If the orders he was given were lawful or if he didn't know they were unlawful, the jury must acquit, he said.
"Personally I feel the orders were all lawful," Womack said, who called the incriminating photos an expression of dark humor. "He's not charged with smiling wrongfully. He's not charged with raising a thumb. That's not a crime."
Can someone explain to me why Abu Ghraib was a big deal. I still don't get it. What the lead character on "24" did to the interrogation suspect in last night's episode is worse than anything which has been alleged against the so-called Abu ghraib "ringleaders".
White House Press Secretary Scott McClellan denied that the White House had a role in keeping a gruesome video of atrocities committed by Saddam Hussein's regime from the media. When asked by Talon News on Thursday to explain the virtual news blackout of the horrific images of Iraqis being beheaded, tongues being cut out, and fingers being chopped off, McClellan said that he'd "leave it to the media to address those issues."McClellan pointed out that Saddam Hussein has a long history of brutal crimes against his own people and his neighbors.
"It is important to remind people of the atrocities that Saddam Hussein's regime committed," McClellan said.
The press secretary indicated that he thought the information in the video would emerge at Saddam's trial.
"It's important to remember that this was a regime that had mass graves, torture rooms, and rape rooms, and engaged in the kinds of atrocities that no one should stand for," McClellan told Talon News. "And I don't think the Iraqi people will ever let people forget those atrocities."
Specialist Joseph M. Darby had just arrived at Abu Ghraib in October when his friend, Specialist Charles A. Graner Jr., showed him a picture on his digital camera, of a naked prisoner chained to his cell with his arms hung above him."The Christian in me says it's wrong," Specialist Darby would later tell investigators Specialist Graner had said. Specialist Darby said Specialist Graner then said that as a corrections officer he enjoyed it.
Specialist Darby came forward two months later, he told investigators, after deciding that the photo and others he saw were "morally wrong." He said in his sworn testimony: "I knew I had to do something. I didn't want to see any more prisoners being abused because I knew it was wrong."
Specialist Darby's report would initiate the investigation into mistreatment of prisoners at Abu Ghraib and other military facilities in Iraq and raise questions about whether the misconduct was authorized by military officials.
In alerting criminal investigators, Specialist Darby, a 24-year-old from from Maryland, stood out from other soldiers who learned of the abuse.
Local corrections officer faces court martial for abusing Iraqi prisoners (Posted on 05/07/2004)
TIMELINE (Prison Abuse Iraq Story)
Does anyone remember the name of the antiwar intermediary who put the turncoat guard in touch with CBS?
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.