Free Republic

FORT HOOD -- An Army staff sergeant was acquitted of murder Thursday in the death of an unarmed Iraqi he said he shot to save a fellow soldier. A jury of four soldiers and two officers deliberated for less than three hours before finding Staff Sgt. Shane Werst not guilty of premeditated murder. He had faced a maximum of life in prison without parole. Before the jury announced the verdict, the judge found Werst innocent of obstruction of justice, so the jury's verdict on that charge was not revealed. Col. Theodore Dixon said he decided to rule on that charge....

Jury Seated in Soldier's Murder Trial Charged With Killing an Unarmed Suspected Iraqi Insurgent By ANGELA K. BROWN Associated Press Writer FORT HOOD, Texas May 24, 2005 — A six-man jury of four enlisted soldiers and two officers was seated Tuesday in the murder trial of an Army soldier charged with killing an unarmed suspected Iraqi insurgent. Three new jurors were chosen Tuesday, the day after two jurors were unexpectedly dismissed after opening statements. The jurors said they already formed opinions about some of the witnesses while serving on a previous jury. Staff Sgt. Shane Werst, 32, faces up to...

FORT HOOD0 -- An Army soldier backed out of a plea agreement Tuesday and pleaded innocent to murdering an Iraqi civilian while searching for insurgents who attacked a U.S. base north of Baghdad. Staff Sgt. Shane Werst, 32, also pleaded innocent to an obstruction of justice charge for allegedly lying to his superiors about how Naser Ismail died in Balad in January 2004. Neither Werst nor his attorneys would comment about the plea deal reached in March or why they rejected it at Tuesday's arraignment. His trial was set for May 23, the date that had been scheduled for sentencing....