I’m no lawyer and wasn’t at the court-martial but the Judge did not allow testimony as to the identity of the victim. They’re not even sure who was killed and it was contended by the defense that he was an insurgent.
He had been identified as Hashim Ibrahim Awad, 52, but the name was dropped after defense attorneys contended the identity was not conclusive.
Prosecutors said squad members tried to cover up the killing by planting a shovel and AK-47 by his body to make it look like he was an insurgent planting a bomb.
Several witnesses testified the plot was born out of frustration after suspected insurgents kept evading prosecution.
The Iraqi may not have been innocent, but maybe he was. In the fog of war I could easily be convinced to side with the Sgt, but this was not the fog of war. It was not the soldiers place to be his judge and jury. Frustration is not a rationalization to kill.
He was found guilty by a jury of his peers.