U.S. Soldier Acquitted of Murder in Iraq (Convicted of Planting Evidence)

Source: Associated Press

U.S. soldier acquitted of murder in Iraq
By KATARINA KRATOVAC, Associated Press Writer

BAGHDAD - A military panel Friday acquitted U.S. Army Spc. Jorge G. Sandoval on charges he killed two unarmed Iraqis, but it convicted him of planting evidence on one of the men in attempt to cover up the shooting.

Sandoval, 22, of Laredo, Texas, had faced five charges in the April and May deaths of two unidentified men. He was found not guilty of the two murder charges, but the panel decided he had placed a detonation wire on one of the bodies to make it look as if the man was an insurgent.

Read more: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070928/ap_on_re_mi_ea/iraq_soldier_trial

Start another thread on that topic.

Okay, I'm sure this makes perfect sense to fans of military justice, but if you legitimately killed an enemy in the ordinary course of combat, why would you need to plant evidence on the body? And if you didn't, and you wanted your victim to look like an insurgent, then it stands to normal reason that the killing was illegitimate, unjustified and . . . well, murder.

I wonder what sort of a verdict Mr. Sandoval might have received from an Iraqi tribunal instead of from his military pals?

Source: NYT/AP

BAGHDAD (AP) -- A military panel Friday acquitted U.S. Army Spc. Jorge G. Sandoval on charges he killed two unarmed Iraqis, but it convicted him of planting evidence on one of the men in attempt to cover up the shooting.

Sandoval, 22, of Laredo, Texas, had faced five charges in the April and May deaths of two unidentified men. He was found not guilty of the two murder charges, but the panel decided he had placed a detonation wire on one of the bodies to make it look as if the man was an insurgent. Lawyers for Sandoval, who will be sentenced Saturday, said he should face no more than six months in prison for misplacement of public property, while prosecutors argued he should receive a five-year sentence for obstructing justice....

During the two-day court-martial, Sandoval's colleagues testified they were following orders when they shot the men during two separate incidents on April 27 and May 11. Spc. Alexander Flores, who was in the same squad as Sandoval on the day of the April killing, testified they were acting on the orders of their platoon leader who said the suspect was ''our guy'' and ordered them to ''move in,'' which they interpreted as ''take the target out.''

After the killing, Flores said Staff Sgt. Michael Hensley of Candler, N.C., told him to place a spool of detonation wire on the body and in the man's pocket. But prosecutors cited an interview with Sandoval immediately after his arrest in which he said he planted the wire. Outside court, Flores stood by his testimony....

Read more: http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/world/AP-Iraq-Soldier-Trial.html

that the soldures are so scarred about the rules of engagement, and not being backed up by their superiors, that they feel compeled to manufacture evidence.

Source: Associated Press


Read more: http://www.guardian.co.uk/worldlatest/story/0,,-6958440,00.html

Iraqis will hate Americans even more because of the way the US shields its war criminals from getting what they deserve.