Will Bush allow this?

Question

Army recommends "death "in Iraq slayings By ALICIA A. CALDWELL, Associated Press Writer

An Army investigator has recommended that four soldiers accused of murder in a raid in Iraq should face the death penalty if convicted, according to a report obtained Saturday by The Associated Press.

Lt. Col. James P. Daniel Jr. concluded that the slayings were premeditated and warranted the death sentence based on evidence he heard at an August hearing. The case will now be forwarded to Army officials, who will decide whether Daniel's 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 a marshy island outside Samarra, about 60 miles north of Baghdad. If convicted all will be shot in the heart.

Staff Sgt. Raymond L. Girouard, Spc. William B. Hunsaker, Pfc. Corey R. Clagett and Spc. Juston R. Graber will be given the death penalty.

Answer 1

Eat a dick Erudite. These Soldiers have not been convicted--they stand _accused_ of murder. I know you're chomping at the bit to see American Soldiers killed, whether in Iraq or by lethal injection, but you're going to have to wait for an actual court martial to decide whether they're even guilty. +2 again asshole.

Answer 2

Once again... erudite altering the article to fit his own agenda...... which of course will be reported.....

If you want the real article, here it is... nothing about shooting in the heart... nothing that the "will" be given the death penalty




By ALICIA A. CALDWELL, Associated Press Writer Sun Sep 3, 2:23 AM ET

An Army investigator has recommended that four soldiers accused of murder in a raid in
Iraq should face the death penalty if convicted, according to a report obtained Saturday by The Associated Press.
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Lt. Col. James P. Daniel Jr. concluded that the slayings were premeditated and warranted the death sentence based on evidence he heard at an August hearing. The case will now be forwarded to Army officials, who will decide whether Daniel's 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 a marshy island outside Samarra, about 60 miles north of Baghdad.

Staff Sgt. Raymond L. Girouard, Spc. William B. Hunsaker, Pfc. Corey R. Clagett and Spc. Juston R. Graber have claimed they were ordered to "kill all military age males" during the raid on the island. According to statements from some of the soldiers, they were told the target was an al-Qaida training camp.

Hunsaker told investigators that he and Clagett were attacked by the three men, who were being handcuffed, and shot them in self-defense. Clagett said he was hit in the face, and Hunsaker claimed he was stabbed during the attack.

Prosecutors argue the soldiers conspired to kill the men and then altered the scene to fit their story. They contend Girouard stabbed Hunsaker as part of the killing plot.

Clagett, Girouard and Hunsaker also are accused of threatening to kill another soldier who witnessed the slayings. Girouard, the most senior soldier charged, faces several additional charges, including sexual harassment and carrying a personal weapon on duty.

Paul Bergrin, Clagett's civilian attorney, said he was surprised that Daniel recommended the case be taken to trial at all.

"I'm extremely disappointed and disheartened," Bergrin said Saturday. "They are being used as pawns in the war on terror. They followed the rules of engagement. They were confronted with violence by a known al-Qaida training camp member."

Other lawyers in the case, several of whom are deployed to Iraq, did not immediately respond to e-mail requests for comment.

The soldiers are expected to be tried at Fort Campbell. They have been jailed in Kuwait since their arrests this year.

The U.S. military has not executed a soldier since the 1960 hanging of a soldier convicted rape and attempted murder.

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If they did murder, then by all means should the be tried in a Courts Martial and punnished accordingly..... But they deserve their day in court like anyone else. Hell... uber-libs will scream if some child molestor is deemed guilty before a trial, but when it is a soldier, they give no benefit of the doubt. It is extremely demented and sad that the libs act like this.

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Report erudite for his continual lies and violations of the rules on here.

Answer 3

If you had any concept of how the military justice system works, you'd know that the President of the United States has absolutely no say in the punishment phase of the Military Justice system.

Just as in the civilian court system, just because the soldiers have been accused does not mean that they have been convicted, or that they are guilty. And once a verdict is reached, it goes to an appeals process automatically. And just because the prosecutor recommends the death sentence, that doesn't mean that is what the court-martial will decide.

But if the death sentence is handed down BY THE COURTS, then the men will be executed. End of story.

Answer 4

Well, once again, you have done some judicious editing of a real story. Here's the paragraph you edited in the real article:

"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 a marshy island outside Samarra, about 60 miles north of Baghdad."

Your edited article:

"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 a marshy island outside Samarra, about 60 miles north of Baghdad. If convicted all will be shot in the heart."

Notice, in the real article, there is nothing about anyone getting shot in the heart. Do you know why? Because the military doesn't use firing squads for executions anymore. The only authorized form of execution in the military is lethal injection.

Answer 5

these boys did something terrible. but you're right, the president knew what he was risking when he went to war. soldiers snap sometimes, and they should not receive the death penalty for being wasted by the country they tried to serve.

i am truly sad about this whole thing. i don't know how a civilized nation can send in an army and then stand shocked as it does the job it was designed for.

Answer 6

Obviously it depends on the circumstances...did the men pose a threat, make a false move, what was the mental state of the soldiers etc. If they went in there clear minded and murdered them for no reason, they need to be punished as any American would.

Answer 7

I think the soldiers were wrong, but this is war, what do you expect to happen. I think that they should be punished but not by death. Two wrongs do not make a right.

Answer 8

Let us hope not. Bush should feel some responsibility, as he is the one who instigated this war of aggression. If he hadn't put us here, this would never have happened.

Bush admits Iraq was not involved (as previously believed) with the 9/11 attacks. That being so - if anyone needs a trial, it should be the one responsible for starting this war - all the blood is on his hands.

Answer 9

I say we pull out our guys... nuke the **** out of Iraq and any other country that wants to go there, and then when the fallout is gone, move in and pump the oil for ourselves... so much cheaper gas... better for the economy. If these soliders that fight for our country have to die because they killed a few men that had the potential to harm them or another solider, then that's a damn shame. I say let them go, give them another rifle and get them back in the warzone and let them kill some more!!!!

Answer 10

If any soldier goes into a house and premeditates a slaying in a raid on a house, this is not defending our country, it is wrong.