Punishing Private Spielman
New York. 110 years in prison. On paper, the sentence of Pfc Jesse Spielman (photo U.S. Army), a soldier convicted last week for his role in the rape and murder of a 14-year old Iraqi girl, looks like sentence to “death by incarceration”. But the soldier has the possibility of parole after 10 years behind bars. “We had concluded a pre-trial agreement with the military prosecutor, Daniel Christensen, Pfc Spielman’s civilian lawyer said in an interview with the.point.is. news agency from his office in Austin. We agreed to testify against Steven Green [the alleged ringleader]. In the military system, if you have not been convicted to life without parole, you are eligible for parole after 10 years”. Jesse Spielman is the fourth soldier to be convicted in the rape-killing of the Iraqi teenager and in the slaying of her family. Spc. James Barker and Sgt. Paul Cortez have pleaded guilty to rape and murder and were sentenced to 100 years and 90 years in prison. Another soldier, Pfc. Bryan Howard, has pleaded guilty and was sentenced in March to 27 months confinement, a rank reduction to private and a dishonorable discharge. The fifth man, former soldier Steven Green, is considered by investigators to be the alleged ringleader and faces possible death penalty when he goes to trial in a civilian court. Facing a string of allegations of war crimes in Iraq, the U.S. army has has gone after many of its soldiers lately. On July 19, Sgt. 1st Class Trey A. Corrales and Spc. Christopher “Phillip” Shore have been charged with premeditated murder in the June 23 killing of an unidentified man near Kirkuk in northern Iraq. In California, Camp Pendleton has been the scene of judicial proceedings against several marines. Last month, Cpl. Trent Thomas who faced a possible life sentence in connection with the abduction and slaying of an Iraqi civilian, was freed after spending 14 months in the brig. Thomas, 25, was demoted and discharged from the military but will receive no further prison time. Thomas and seven other servicemen were accused of kidnapping an Iraqi man, binding him and executing him on April 26, 2006, in the city of Hamdaniya. Four Marines and a Navy corpsman have pleaded guilty for their roles in the killing. Their sentences have ranged from one to eight years in prison. Cpl. Marshall Magincalda was sentenced to time served, his rank was reduced from corporal to private but he reported to duty at Camp Pendleton on Monday. One last man charged in the killing has to face court-martial. Three other members of the corps are suspected in the alleged killing of 24 men, women and Iraqi children in November 2005 in the town of Haditha. One of them, LCpl Justin Sharratt may be cleared. A hearing officer recommended last month that murder charges be dropped against him. Sharratt, 22, stands accused of killing three Iraqis wantonly. In an unsworn statement during his preliminary hearing, he said he was searching a house for insurgents when he was confronted by two men carrying AK-47s. Lt. Col. Paul Ware, the hearing officer, said he did not believe the Iraqis who said Sharratt and another Marine forced the brothers into a room and executed them. Lance Cpl Sharratt got financial help from the Military Combat Defense Fund. The fun based in Massachusetts is one of several conservative and veterans groups which have recently teamed up to solicit donations to hire lawyers for service members charged with violent crimes in Iraq or in Afghanistan. Pat Barnes, a former Marine, funded the Military Combat Defense Fund to help fellow Marines. “In December 2005, I met in Bethesda with two kids who had been blown up in Iraq, he said in an interview with the.point.is. news agency. Their corporal had died in their Humvee. When I learnt that eight other Marines were going to be charged for clearing the place, I decided I had to do something about this”. M. Barnes said his goal was to make sure that US soldiers accused of murder had “good representation”. “These kids come from blue-collar families, he said. They cannot afford civilian defense”. His group has raised $150,000 and already spent 85,000 on five cases. The average donation is $25. “When kids request assistance from us, the board makes decisions based upon their cases”, he said. In Austin, Daniel Christensen said no fund had helped pay for Jesse Spielman’s civilian defense. “The money we got did not even cover our expenses let alone our fees, said the former officer. But when we saw his case, we decided to do something”. Jean-Cosme Delaloye / New York A French and shorter version of this story was published in 24heures and Tribune de Genève on August 8 2007. CommentsYou must be logged in to post a comment. |
||
 |
 |
 |
