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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...

By Josh White Washington Post Staff Writer Friday, July 21, 2006; Page A10 "Attorneys for Army soldiers accused of raping an Iraqi teenager and killing her and her family in March are planning to argue that the men were under extreme emotional distress because of the horrors of their combat assignment and will probably challenge the alleged confessions some of the soldiers gave to investigators in Iraq. David Sheldon, a civilian lawyer who is representing Spec. James P. Barker, said yesterday that B Company, 1st Battalion, 502nd Infantry Regiment was devastated by numerous combat casualties and repeated violent attacks in...

First off, the information in the Affidavit and the MSM regarding this incident in Muhmudiyah does not look good for Steven Green or his alleged conspirators. If he or they are guilty of this crime, then I pray that the Military comes down on them like a ton bricks. The description of what happened is beyond disgusting and evil. Having said that, I will continue to give the benefit of the doubt to Steven Green and the others, until they confess in a military court or are found guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. So in the interim, I will try...

Ex-Soldier Charged in Brutal Rape, Slayings By TIM WHITMIRE CHARLOTTE, North Carolina (July 3) - A former Army soldier was charged with the alcohol-fueled rape and killing of a young Iraqi woman and the murder of her family, a crime the attackers apparently tried to cover up by burning the victims' bodies. Steven D. Green, a 21-year-old former private first class discharged this spring for a "personality disorder," made an initial appearance on rape and murder charges in a federal courtroom Monday morning, three days after he was arrested by FBI agents in western North Carolina. Green was ordered held...