Posted on 09/26/2005 10:34:06 AM PDT by SmithL
FORT HOOD, Texas -- Prosecutors in Pfc. Lynndie England's prison abuse case portrayed her in closing arguments Monday as an eager participant with a "sick" sense of humor, while defense attorneys described her as a weak-minded pawn trying to appease a sadistic boyfriend.
A jury of Army officers was to start deliberating Monday afternoon. England, one of the most visible figures in the Abu Ghraib scandal, faces up to 11 years in prison if convicted on seven counts of conspiracy and maltreatment of detainees at the Iraq prison in 2003.
Jurors heard competing descriptions of the 22-year-old reservist from Fort Ashby, W.Va., during closing arguments.
"The accused knew what she was doing," said Capt. Chris Graveline, the lead prosecutor. "She was laughing and joking. ... She is enjoying, she is participating, all for her own sick humor."
Capt. Jonathan Crisp, England's defense lawyer, countered that England's actions were at the behest of Pvt. Charles Graner Jr., with whom she was having a romantic relationship. Graner, then a corporal, has been labeled the abuse ringleader by prosecutors.
"She was a follower, she was an individual who was smitten with Graner," Crisp said. "She just did whatever he wanted her to do."
Graveline said any subservience England felt toward Graner was not a legal excuse.
"You have the same moral responsibility whether you're a leader or a follower,"
(Excerpt) Read more at sfgate.com ...
I STILL think she looks like ET...
I've always thought she looked like she might be FAE (Fetal Alcohol Effect) which a milder form of FAS. She has always looked mildly retarded, IMO.
Yeah, it took a couple of hours to convict her.
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