Posted on 05/06/2009 4:31:37 AM PDT by BBell
WASHINGTON -- Don Ayala heard the explosion and saw the flames shoot into the sky above the narrow Afghan village street.
Seconds later an Afghan man was running toward him, still trying to extinguish the fire on his arm. Soldiers in pursuit were yelling, "Stop that man!" and "Shoot him!"
Ayala, a private security contractor, drew his weapon but didn't fire, later saying he feared hitting one of the soldiers or a member of the team of social scientists he was hired to protect. He managed to tackle the man with his free hand.
The man resisted Ayala and two U.S. soldiers who sought to subdue him, but one soldier finally got a pair of "flex-cuffs" on him. After he was secured, one of the unit's interpreters, an Afghan man nicknamed "Jack Bauer, " ran up and began punching and kicking him, ultimately dragging him to a nearby creek.
Ayala intervened, and pulled the prisoner from the water. He tried to calm the interpreter and asked what had happened.
"They burned Paula, " the interpreter said.
That's when Ayala, his attorneys say, realized the huge fireball he had seen was his friend and colleague Paula Loyd, 36, an unarmed social scientist assigned to help soldiers relate to the local Afghan population, being engulfed in flames.
Ayala took out his gun and shot his handcuffed prisoner once in the head, killing him instantly.
In a deposition Ayala said he knew that Loyd, the woman he was assigned to protect, was "suffering and that she would never be the same, even if she lived." He said he was overcome with the "horror" of what had been "done to her."
Sentencing on Friday
Ayala, who moved to New Orleans about five or six years ago, has pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter. His attorneys
(Excerpt) Read more at nola.com ...
And give him a medal
Battlefield justice. Let the man go.
Paula Loyd,36 from San Antonio TX. Months later died from this fire bombing of her body. Yes, do give him a Big Medal. He is a hero in my book.
I’d go with 5-10 hours of community service.
And a light slapping of both wrists.
Nawwww. I vote for a medal
I vote we slap his wrist... WITH the metal.
haha (giving you 5)
...with credit for time spent cleaning his weapon.
I’d vote for a medal and replacement of ammo used to make the world a slightly better place.
Thanks Bogey, I love happy endings.
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