4 soldiers may face death penalty

[rodeodance]

Sunday, September 3, 2006 - Page updated at 12:00 AM

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/nationworld/2003241548_army03.html

4 soldiers may face death penalty

By The Associated Press and The Washington Post

WASHINGTON — An Army investigator has recommended four soldiers accused of murder in a raid in Iraq should face the death penalty, according to a report obtained Saturday.

Lt. Col. James Daniel Jr. concluded the slayings were premeditated and warranted the death sentence based on evidence he heard at an August hearing. The case will be forwarded to Army officials, who will decide whether the recommendation should be followed.

The soldiers, all from the Fort Campbell, Ky.-based 101st Airborne Division's 187th Infantry Regiment, are accused of killing three Iraqi men taken from a house May 9 on an island outside Samarra, about 60 miles north of Baghdad.

Military executions are rare. The last soldier to be put to death — for rape and attempted murder of a child while he was stationed in Germany — was hanged in 1961........

[winston61]

1. The real murderers are not on trial

And we all know who they are

[MikeNearMcChord]

2. Agreed, many higher ups need that trip to the gallows also

granted you may have some sickos in the enlisted rank, but it seems to me that most of these atrocities are acknowledged with a wink and a nod. Why not give the field grade officers and senior NCOs some pause.

[patrice]

3. Yes.

Each person is as free as s/he has managed to make her-himself, given their biological heritage and the conditions of their lives up to any given point. So some are less free, more bound by ignorance and hate, being less free they make bad decisions, and though they are still responsible for their choices, we are responsible also for how we make it either harder or easier to choose rightly. So to the extent that millions of people in this country helped to put these people in that place and time where they chose wrongly, we're all responsible, even we war protestors, because we pay taxes to support these situations.

That said, the way this particular situation came down, even with all of our support, the way it came down to the decision of one man, a person who had every material reason to be free and yet chose wrongly, gives that one person special culpability.

I am against capital punishment. I think it highly unlikely that these soldiers will receive it. This will be quite a show trial instead to asuage all of our consciences.

[Moderator]

4. Duplicate

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=102&topic_id=2490848&mesg_id=2490848