US soldier jailed for Iraq murder

[zulu9812]

from http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/4087599.stm

A US soldier has been jailed for three years in a plea bargain following the murder of a severely wounded 16-year-old Iraqi, the military says.

Staff Sgt Johnny Horne Jr had pleaded guilty to the unpremeditated murder of the civilian youth in Baghdad's Sadr City suburb on 18 August. He also pleaded guilty to soliciting another soldier to commit murder. His defence said the death of the injured Iraqi was a "mercy killing" in collusion with another soldier.

The seven-man panel reached a decision on Friday evening after four hours of deliberation. Horne was also reduced to the rank of private and given a dishonourable discharge.

The charges stem from an incident in Sadr City when coalition forces were locked in fierce fighting with supporters of Shia cleric Moqtada Sadr.

The court heard that members of Horne's unit fired on a rubbish truck they suspected of laying roadside bombs. However, inside the lorry was a crew of teenage boys hoping to make some extra money on a night shift.

The soldiers, including Horne, tried to rescue one of the injured youths, according to witness testimony. Several witnesses described the injured Iraqi as having severe abdominal wounds and burns. Some thought the casualty was beyond medical help.

Witnesses say Horne shot and killed one of the badly injured boys.

The US soldiers decided that "the best course of action was to put [the Iraqi] out of his misery", the criminal investigator told the court.

So, to recap:

1. The US military, in their every-precise wisdom open fire on a truck of boys

2. Rather than call a doctor, try to give their own medical first aid, or attempt any life-saving act whatsoever, these soldiers decided to take life and death into their own hands.

3. These boys might have been terminally injured, but that's no excuse to not try to save their lives anyway. I guess Iraqi lives are cheap to the Americans.

4. Good to see that he's jailed, though. The real fault is not really with him, but his army's approach to the occupation.

 

[nonconformist]

Hm, 3 years seems a bit short.

 

[AVN]

Hm, 3 years seems a bit short.

IMHO that's very short. He deserves life without parole.

 

[carlosMM]

He should get life, no parole. Murder in the first while on duty in a warzone - very very bad precedent.

 

[samildanach]

It is an odd story. It is the kind of thing I would do if I ran over a dog or a deer. Don't think I would mercy kill a teenage kid, that strikes me as being kind of different. Unless, of course, it was one of the teenagers on this forum. In which case, after I had "accidently" ran them over, I would feel obliged to put them out of their misery even if the extent of their injuries were only a sprained thumb . Then I would "accidently" run them over again .....just to be sure .

 

[Ramius75]

3 years is too short !!!

This guy should be jailed for life, and if the iraqis have their way, a life for a life. And i bet the iraqi teenager life is much more valuable than that damn soldier.

 

[eyrei]

In this soldiers defense, it is possible that he really considered it a mercy killing, and that is probably why the sentence is so light. While he made a mistake, he did not kill this kid out of malice, but out of pity. None of us are in a position to judge the situation exactly...

 

[Ramius75]

In this soldiers defense, it is possible that he really considered it a mercy killing, and that is probably why the sentence is so light. While he made a mistake, he did not kill this kid out of malice, but out of pity. None of us are in a position to judge the situation exactly...

Hmmm, will he still do it if its a US soldier hit by friendly fire ??

Wonder what is he sentence then ?? or should he be awarded a medal of mercy ?

 

[Speedo]

IMHO that's very short. He deserves life without parole.

Why bother? When his sentence is up he'll be given a dishonorable discharge, and the rest of his life is effectively ruined. He'd be living a lot easier in prison than he will be trying to live by flipping burgers at McDonalds (though I doubt even they would hire him).

Murder in the first while on duty in a warzone - very very bad precedent.

"Accusing someone of murder in this place is like handing out speeding tickets at the Indy 500."

Btw, 1st degree murder is premeditated. I'd love to see how you figure that he did that...

 

[allhailIndia]

I prefer to look at the brighter side of this...at least it hasn't been brushed aside and completely forgotten

Should be a decent precedent for other armies around the world to follow in cases of human rights abuses. Hope the Indian Army has taken note.

 

[Timko]

The court heard that members of Horne's unit fired on a rubbish truck they suspected of laying roadside bombs... Several witnesses described the injured Iraqi as having severe abdominal wounds and burns. Some thought the casualty was beyond medical help.

How did they get burns?

 

[zulu9812]

, 1st degree murder is premeditated. I'd love to see how you figure that he did that...

Staff Sgt Johnny Horne Jr had pleaded guilty to the unpremeditated murder of the civilian youth in Baghdad's Sadr City suburb on 18 August. He also pleaded guilty to soliciting another soldier to commit murder. His defence said the death of the injured Iraqi was a "mercy killing" in collusion with another soldier.

How did they get burns?

The court heard that members of Horne's unit fired on a rubbish truck they suspected of laying roadside bombs. However, inside the lorry was a crew of teenage boys hoping to make some extra money on a night shift.

Sheesh, I wish people would read the bloody thing

 

[nonconformist]

Why bother? When his sentence is up he'll be given a dishonorable discharge, and the rest of his life is effectively ruined. He'd be living a lot easier in prison than he will be trying to live by flipping burgers at McDonalds (though I doubt even they would hire him).

There's probably a nice place at Halliburton for him.

 

[GEChallenger]

The court heard that members of Horne's unit fired on a rubbish truck they suspected of laying roadside bombs. However, inside the lorry was a crew of teenage boys hoping to make some extra money on a night shift.

That doesn't quite explain how they got burns. Shooting at a vehicle usually doesn't start a fire.

And Speedo was responding to someone who called it murder in the first degree, which your article plainly states it was not. There was no need to correct him.

As for the rest of the story... and? A mistake was made. That happens in wartime. The soldier in question made a very bad decision. This also happens, and as eyeri said we can't judge his actions without more information. He has been punished for it, which we all agree was necessary. What more needs to be said?

 

[amadeus]

There's probably a nice place at Halliburton for him.

Insane CFC Halliburton conspiracy theory #57,341.

 

[-0blivion-]

That doesn't quite explain how they got burns. Shooting at a vehicle usually doesn't start a fire.

If you shoot the engine it is going to be getting pretty hot in there.

 

[GEChallenger]

If you shoot the engine it is going to be getting pretty hot in there.

How will a bullets heat up the engine, and how will this start a fire? Cars only blow up when shot in movies. This usually doesn't happen in real life.

 

[Speedo]

How will a bullets heat up the engine, and how will this start a fire? Cars only blow up when shot in movies. This usually doesn't happen in real life.

But in real life gasoline and oil both burn, and if you have hot engine or transmission oil spraying around...

 

[Elrohir]

I usually side with the soldiers, but if he really shot some boys like that, then he deserves life without parole.

 

[Norlamand]

from http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/4087599.stm

So, to recap:

1. The US military, in their every-precise wisdom open fire on a truck of boys

2. Rather than call a doctor, try to give their own medical first aid, or attempt any life-saving act whatsoever, these soldiers decided to take life and death into their own hands.

3. These boys might have been terminally injured, but that's no excuse to not try to save their lives anyway. I guess Iraqi lives are cheap to the Americans.

4. Good to see that he's jailed, though. The real fault is not really with him, but his army's approach to the occupation.

1) Any truck driving around Sadr City at night loaded with young men is asking to get shot at, especially if they are violating curfew or if they fail to halt when ordered to (which is exceedingly common there).

2) Exactly what doctor do you think would be willing to come into the Sadr City slum at night in a war zone? The truth is that if you are wounded in the slums of Baghdad at night you better hope your family can get you to a hospital because there is no ambulance that will come pick you up. Frankly the care given in Iraqi medical facilities to trauma patients ranges somewhere between euthenasia and benign neglect.

3) The best option was to ship those that looked likely to survive to Ibn Sina Hospital in the Green Zone. They would be stabilized and transfered to an Iraqi facility........then reference #2.

4) Wrong again. It is his fault. It is clearly not the policy of the Army to treat wounded enemies in that way. He chose to actively snuff out the mans life and should go to jail.