Update: U.S. Soldier Convicted of Killing Iraqi Walks Free - Captain Rogelio Maynulet

Reuters ^ | Reuters

[StonyBurk]

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.

[muawiyah]

That's the way it is.

[Mark17]

The officer gets discharged and the enlisted go to prison.

Do you suppose this is one of those times where you say RHIP?

[johnb838]

Thank goodness he wasn't jailed. But in the future... let'em bleed. But can't you get in trouble for that too?

[johnb838]

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.

[windchime]

I'm relieved there wasn't an effort to 'set an example' with a much harsher result than dismissal.

[4integrity]

'...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.

[Reactionary]

The cowards in Washington need to be prosecuted for being too stupid to conduct a war.

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.

[dsc]

"December and January" seem to refer to two other incidents."

Marge! Coffee me!

[doug from upland]

That's my first thought. A company needs to give him a good job immediately. Do you know where he calls home?

[Former Military Chick]

CBS 2

Please do not link to printable views of stories. The full story can be accessed using the link below. Thank you.
http://cbs2chicago.com/topstories/local_story_088190553.html

CBS 2 Chicago WBBM-TV | cbs2chicago.com

Chicago Soldier Faces 20 Years For Shooting Iraqi

• VIDEO: Kristyn Hartman reports.

Mar 29, 2005 6:03 pm US/Central

A Chicago soldier is on trial for killing a wounded Iraqi. Prosecutors say he violated Army rules by shooting the unarmed man. But the tank commander maintains his innocence. CBS 2's Kristyn Hartman reports on a court martial that could end with a 20-year prison sentence.

A US Army tank commander from Chicago who served in Iraq is in the middle of a court martial. Captain Rogelio -- or "Roger" -- Maynulet stands accused of assault with intent to commit murder. Jean Letizia, who knew him in school, says it just doesn't fit.

“He's an upstanding individual. He cares about doing the right thing,” Letizia says.

His attorneys say Maynulet was trying to do the right thing last May when his patrol fired on a vehicle thought to have a driver of radical Shiite cleric Muqtada al Sadr. The Iraqi was seriously wounded. Maynulet's lawyers say their client shot him to end his suffering.

“If that's what it was it would certainly be more believable than something that was malicious. He would never just kill somebody in cold blood,” Family friend Mary Magis says. She has known Maynulet since he was a child. Her son Craig, in Germany, is going to be a character witness for the army captain.

Magis says, “We're sending these boys over to fight and when something like this happens we should stand behind them.”

People are.

There is a petition online in Maynulet's name. among the comments: “he was an inspirational commander to me” and “killing the enemy is not murder, it is war."

“Bad things do happen in war, but American soldiers -- particularly American officers -- are trained,” Retired Army Major General John Scully says the rules of engagement and the Geneva conventions prohibit shooting someone who's unarmed and injured.

Scully supports the court martial, to get to the bottom of what he calls a tough case made tougher because “he's on the battlefield -- you and I are not -- we don't know what was going on… I believe he felt he made the right decision at the time.”

That decision, according to Maynulet's lawyers, was right in line with the Geneva conventions because he meant to "minimize suffering."

The retired major general we met says there's another issue: the Iraqi killed might not fall under Geneva conventions because he might be considered a mercenary, not a wounded combatant.

The court martial is expected to conclude Friday.


© MMV, CBS Broadcasting Inc., All Rights Reserved.

[joesnuffy]

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

[FlingWingFlyer]

"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.

[SENTINEL]

"The officer gets discharged and the enlisted go to prison."

Justice in America's last aristocracy.

[philetus]

Maybe the court left the option to reenlist open.

[Former Military Chick]

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.

[Gondring]

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.

[Captain Rhino]

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.

[Alamo-Girl]

Thanks for the ping!

[Former Military Chick]

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.