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LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Facing life in federal prison with no chance at parole while carrying a conviction of raping and killing a 14-year-old Iraqi girl, a former U.S. soldier hanged himself in his cell in Arizona. Steven Dale Green, 28, of Midland, Texas, did not leave a note explaining the reason for taking his own life over the weekend. He died five years after a federal jury spared him a death sentence in the attack on the teenage girl and the shotgun slaying of her mother, father and younger sister near Mahmoudiya, Iraq, in 2006.

One of four U.S. soldiers accused of raping an Iraqi girl last spring and killing her and her family pleaded guilty Wednesday and will testify against the others. Spc. James P. Barker agreed to the plea deal to avoid the death penalty, said his civilian attorney, David Sheldon. The killings March 12 in Mahmoudiya, a village about 20 miles south of Baghdad, were among the worst in a series of alleged attacks on civilians and other abuses by military personnel in Iraq. Sgt. Paul E. Cortez and Pfc. Jesse V. Spielman, both members of the 101st Airborne Division with Barker,...

FORT CAMPBELL, Kentucky (AP) -- A U.S. soldier was sentenced to 100 years in prison Thursday for the gang rape and murder of an Iraqi girl and the killing of her family last year. Sgt. Paul E. Cortez, 24, also was given a dishonorable discharge. He will be eligible for parole in 10 years under the terms of his plea agreement. Cortez, of Barstow, California, pleaded guilty this week to four counts of felony murder, rape and conspiracy to rape in a case considered among the worst atrocities by U.S. military personnel in Iraq.

BAGHDAD, Iraq – Iraqi security forces detained an aide to the leader of al-Qaeda in Iraq in a raid early Thursday at a gas station south of Baghdad, state-run television and a security official said. The official, speaking on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the media, said the aide to Abu Hamza al-Muhajir, also known as Abu Ayyub al-Masri, was one of two men arrested in the dawn raid. The two suspects ran a gas station in Mahmoudiya, about 20 miles south of Baghdad, on behalf of al-Qaeda in Iraq, the official said, adding...

BAGHDAD, Iraq - A U.S. Army investigator has recommended that four American soldiers accused of raping a a 14-year-old girl and of killing her and her family face a court-martial, a lawyer in the case confirmed on Monday. Col. Dwight Warren, the investigator in the case, said in a report issued Sunday that "reasonable grounds exist to believe that each of the accused committed the offense for which he is charged." The report was given to lawyers in the case and obtained by The Associated Press from David Sheldon, the lawyer of one of the defendants. The four soldiers of...

The cities of Haditha, Hamdania and Mahmoudiya in Iraq have lately become household names in the United States that are synonymous with courts-martial of our personnel for alleged crimes against Iraqi civilians arising from the war. These crimes include the very serious offenses of kidnapping, murder and rape. These events have generated great public interest in military justice not seen since the Vietnam War and the court-martial of Lieutenant Calley for the unlawful killing of civilians at My Lai. This is the first time in many years that the military's system of criminal justice has raised any public interest or...

War presents challenges in courtroom By Debbie Stevenson Killeen Daily Herald The Killeen attorney knew he had his work cut out for him from the moment he was sent to the airport to board a flight for Kuwait. The next stop for Dan Christensen would be Baghdad, Iraq, the heart of a war zone that has become the center for increasingly violent attacks in the more than 3-year-old war. Christensen's mission was to make it to the Iraqi capital in time for an Article 32 hearing, the military's equivalent of a grand jury. The military had denied a request for...

Shepperd: Stress no excuse for crime By Don Shepperd CNN Thursday, August 10, 2006; Posted: 4:56 p.m. EDT (20:56 GMT) CNN Military Analyst Maj. Gen. Don Shepperd (CNN) -- The news of four soldiers accused of murders and rape in Mahmoudiya, Iraq, brings up issues that are often linked, but should not be -- "stress" and "crime." News articles explain that the soldiers involved used whiskey and painkillers to cope with duty in Iraq.Make no mistake, combat, especially the kind we see in Iraq and southern Lebanon --walking patrols along bomb-laden streets, waiting for the sniper's bullet, the ambush...

Private tells of ‘death walk’ morale in rape-murder trial Wednesday, August 09, 2006 Ryan Lenz ASSOCIATED PRESS BAGHDAD, Iraq — A U.S. Army private yesterday described the ever-present fear of death gripping his unit, some of whose members stand accused of raping and murdering a 14-year-old girl and killing her family. "You’re just walking a death walk," Pfc. Justin Cross told a hearing to determine whether five fellow soldiers must stand trial in the March 12 attack near Mahmoudiya. But prosecutors argued that the threats of war, arduous missions and frequent loss of life were no excuse for rape and...

Attorney representing soldier in Iraq returns By Debbie Stevenson Killeen Daily Herald A Killeen attorney sent into the war zone to represent a soldier accused of having a role in the rape and slaying of a 14-year-old Iraqi girl was on his way back to Central Texas on Wednesday. Dan Christensen with the Carlson Law Firm was sent Friday to Baghdad to represent Spc. Jesse V. Spielman of Chambersburg, Pa., one of five 101st Airborne Division soldiers from Bravo Company, 1st Battalion, 502nd Infantry Regiment, accused in the girl's slaying and the killing of her family on March 12. Christensen...

BAGHDAD (AFP) - A US military hearing to determine whether to court martial a group of soldiers for the rape and murder of a teenage Iraqi girl and the slaughter of her family was set to wrap up proceedings. Specialist James Barker, Sergeant Paul Cortez and Privates Bryan Howard and Jesse Spielman have been accused of taking varying roles in a massacre in a town south of Baghdad on March 12. Private Steven Green, described by the defence as the ring-leader, has been charged with rape and murder and will stand trial in a civilian court in the US state...

BAGHDAD, Iraq — Frequent deadly attacks by insurgents sapped morale and raised combat stress in a U.S. Army unit that included soldiers accused of raping and murdering a 14-year-old Iraqi girl, a private testified at a military hearing Tuesday. Pfc. Justin Cross recounted the "mentally draining" living conditions of the unit in the third day of the hearing to determine if five U.S. soldiers will be court-martialed in the March 12 assault near Mahmoudiya. The girl's parents and sister were also slain. "It drives you nuts. You feel like every step you might get blown up. You just hit a...

BAGHDAD, Iraq - American soldiers took turns raping a 14-year-old Iraqi girl, and one of them put a bullet through her head after killing her parents and 5-year-old sister, an Army investigator testified Monday. The attack followed a session of whiskey drinking and card-playing during which five soldiers plotted the March 12 assault, criminal investigator Benjamin Bierce said. He cited details from a sworn statement by Spc. James P. Barker in which the soldier told how he and his comrades practiced hitting golf balls before heading to the Iraqi teen's home 250 yards from their post at a traffic checkpoint....

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - A U.S. military court heard graphic testimony on Monday on how U.S. soldiers took turns to hold down and rape a 14-year-old Iraqi girl and murdered her and her family. At the hearing into whether four U.S. soldiers should be court-martialled, a special agent described what took place in Mahmudiya based on an interview he conducted with Specialist James Barker, one of the accused. The case, the fifth involving serious crimes being investigated by the U.S. military in Iraq, has outraged Iraqis and led Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki to call for a review of foreign troops' immunity...

AN IRAQI Army medic told a US military hearing yesterday that he was sick for weeks after finding the charred body of an Iraqi girl who was allegedly raped and murdered by five US soldiers. The medic testified on the opening day of a hearing to decide whether the five soldiers should be court martialled for the murder of Abeer al-Janabi, 14, her five-year-old sister and their parents on March 12 in the town of Mahmoudiya, south of Baghdad. The medic, whose identity is secret, told the hearing at a US army base in Baghdad that he was the first...

Iraqi testimony opens hearing for five US soldiers in Mahmoudiya rape-slaying case (AP) 6 August 2006 BAGHDAD, Iraq - Unidentified Iraqi witnesses testified behind closed door Sunday at a US military court to determine if five American soldiers should be court-martialed in the alleged rape-slaying of a 14-year-old Iraqi girl.Three of the girl’s relatives also were killed in the town of Mahmoudiya on March 12, which is among the worst incidents in a series of cases alleging US troops killed or abused Iraqi civilians. The hearing began Sunday with testimony by unidentified Iraqi witnesses. The media and public were barred...

Hearing continues in Iraq rape-slaying By RYAN LENZ, Associated Press Writer 10 minutes ago U.S. soldiers accused of raping and murdering a 14-year-old Iraqi girl drank alcohol and hit golf balls before the attack, an investigator said Monday at a U.S. military hearing to determine whether they should stand trial. Criminal investigator Benjamin Bierce said he interviewed one of the accused, Spc. James P. Barker, on June 30, and recorded graphic and brutal details of the alleged assault on March 12. Bierce was testifying on the second day of the hearing to determine whether five U.S. soldiers must stand...

Investigator: Drinking preceded killings By RYAN LENZ, Associated Press Writer U.S. soldiers accused of raping and murdering a 14-year-old Iraqi girl drank alcohol and hit golf balls before the attack, an investigator said Monday at a U.S. military hearing to determine whether they should stand trial. Criminal investigator Benjamin Bierce said he interviewed one of the accused, Spc. James P. Barker, on June 30, and recorded graphic and brutal details of the alleged assault on March 12. Bierce was testifying on the second day of the hearing to determine whether five U.S. soldiers must stand trial in the rape-slaying...

BAGHDAD, Iraq - An Iraqi army medic on Sunday told a U.S. military hearing of the horrific scene that confronted him in a tiny home south of Baghdad where he found the naked and burned body of a 14-year-old girl allegedly raped and murdered by American soldiers. The medic testified on the opening day of a hearing to determine whether five U.S. soldiers must stand trial in the March 12 rape-slaying of Abeer Qassim al-Janabi and the killing of her parents and sister in the town of Mahmoudiya. It is among the worst in a series of cases of alleged...

CAMP LEJEUNE, N.C. -- As the leadership of the 2nd Marine Expeditionary Force changed hands, the departing and incoming commanders said they believe an investigation into accusations that U.S. Marines deliberately shot civilians in Haditha, Iraq, will ultimately strengthen the corps. Lt. Gen. Keith Stalder took command of the Camp Lejeune-based group on Wednesday from Lt. Gen. James Amos, who is headed to the Pentagon to become deputy commandant in charge of combat development. "We don't know the facts on Haditha, let alone what the facts mean at this point," said Stalder. "We do owe it to the American people...