Posted on 04/01/2005 4:31:39 PM PST by Former Military Chick
U.S. Soldier Convicted of Killing Iraqi Walks Free Fri Apr 1, 2005 11:41 AM ET
BERLIN (Reuters) - A U.S. army tank company commander convicted of shooting dead a wounded Iraqi walked free from court on Friday, although he was dismissed from the army for what he called a "mercy killing."
Army Captain Rogelio Maynulet had faced up to 10 years in jail after a court martial at a U.S. army base in Wiesbaden, Germany, found him guilty of assault with intent to commit voluntary manslaughter.
"He was sentenced with dismissal from the United States Army ... there will be no confinement time," a military spokesman said.
Prosecutors had pressed for conviction on a more serious charge of assault with intent to commit murder, which carries a maximum 20-year jail sentence.
The shooting occurred last May when U.S. troops were pursuing suspected militiamen supporting Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr near the Iraqi city of Najaf, the court was told.
U.S. soldiers fired on a car, wounding the driver and a passenger. Maynulet said he then shot dead the driver to put him out of his misery.
"He was in a state I didn't think was dignified. I had to put him out of his misery," Maynulet said in his defense according to U.S. military's Stars and Stripes magazine.
The jury was shown footage of the shooting filmed by a U.S. surveillance drone.
The mercy killing argument was used by the defense in the cases of two U.S. soldiers who were convicted in December and January of murdering an Iraqi.
The man suffered severe abdominal wounds and burns when U.S. troops attacked a rubbish truck they suspected guerrillas were using.
Staff Sergeant Johnny Horne was sentenced to three years in jail and Staff Sergeant Cardenas Alban to one year over the Iraqi's death.
Local Iraqis said the men on the truck were innocent rubbish collectors.
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And they delay and protect that murderer Akbar -who fragged a couple of Officers before they jumped in.Hear his military attorneys will claim he was temporarily insane-
so he can go to some rest home where he can become imam
to the demented.
That's the way it is.
Do you suppose this is one of those times where you say RHIP?
Thank goodness he wasn't jailed. But in the future... let'em bleed. But can't you get in trouble for that too?
It is already hamstringing our troops, it has to be hurting morale something fierce, and just killing recruiting. I'm not sure I could counsel a kid to join the military under these circumstances but... if they destroy our police and our military the republic WILL fall.
I'm relieved there wasn't an effort to 'set an example' with a much harsher result than dismissal.
'...didn't the people of Florida just commit a mercy killing..'
That's exactly what I thought when I heard about this soldier's story. Interesting, 2 "mercy" killings but very different verdicts.
What this soldier did was the right thing - and it was a far cry from starving an innocent woman to death in front of the whole world.
"December and January" seem to refer to two other incidents."
Marge! Coffee me!
That's my first thought. A company needs to give him a good job immediately. Do you know where he calls home?
Another good man Rummie and crew sacrificed to brown nosing the muslims....
ala Breaker Morant
I could just imagine them doing this to my kid or nephews
dont be too gung ho when you fight the muslim terrs
imo
"Charging a man with murder in this place is like handing out speeding tickets at the Indy 500."
The only thing Martin Sheen ever said that I totally agree with.
Justice in America's last aristocracy.
Maybe the court left the option to reenlist open.
Have to say I agree with you. What a week that I have had listening to several liberals that I found myself agreeing with, had to pinch myself to make sure I was alive.
May I ask--without mentioning "TS" by name--how vocal the "Life at Any Cost" crowd has been on this issue? Have they attacked this soldier for not erring on the side of life until we determined if the wounded combatant had a living will preference? Have they called him a murderer, and asked for President Bush to intervene?
Most everyone is sick of the TS issue, but there really are important questions here... why don't our lawmakers have the guts to allow merciful deaths, when almost everybody knows in their guts that it's the right and decent thing to do. And if we feel that way for an incapacitated enemy--why do we make our own loved ones suffer so much?
I do hope that when the inevitable new legislation comes out of the whole awful affair in Florida, people will consider the much broader picture--and explore what incidents like this one in Iraq mean, too.
As you probably know, dismissal from the service for an officer is the equivalent of at least a bad conduct discharge for an enlisted man or woman. In addition to being dismissed from the service, you lose your veterans benefits, it is tough to impossible to get a security clearance, etc. This will put some major road blocks in his path.
As indicated in one of my earlier posts in this thread, the military jury, if it felt compelled to find him guilty of something, was compassionate in finding him guilty of voluntary manslaughter (a lesser offense than murder). They were also merciful in simply dismissing him from the service without fine or prison time.
Thanks for the ping!
I agree with you. It is just talking with beloved as he faced situations of a similar nature in Iraq. Sometimes you just act and hope that you are doing the right thing, ensuring your troops are safe and alive. Then you worry about the others.
I am sure they will appeal. I would certainly say a second review might be a good idea.
They did show mercy. Why, well we may never know.
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