| Guilty? |
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83% |
[ 5 ] |
| No |
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16% |
[ 1 ] |
| Other (Please Explain) |
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0% |
[ 0 ] |
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| Total Votes : 6 |
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Jeff Miller
Fleet Admiral
Joined: 22 Nov 2001
Posts: 23947
Location: Mental Ward for the Mentaly Unstable 6th floor, Saint John's 1615 Delaware Longview Washington 98632
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 Thu May 05, 2005 10:57 am Military judge rejects Pfc. England's guilty plea |
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| Quote: | Military judge rejects Pfc. England's guilty plea in Abu Ghraib prisoner abuse case
By Associated Press
May 04, 2005 - 12:50:09 pm PDT
FORT HOOD, Texas (AP) -- A military judge on Wednesday threw out Pfc. Lynndie England's guilty plea to prisoner abuse at Abu Ghraib, saying he was not convinced that she knew her actions were wrong at the time.
Col. James Pohl entered a plea of not guilty for England to a charge of conspiring with Pvt. Charles Graner Jr. to maltreat detainees at the Baghdad-area prison.
 Army Pfc. Lynndie England holds her infant son Carter Allan England inside the judicial complex before the start of day three of her court martial at Ft. Hood, Texas, Wednesday, May, 4, 2005. Pvt. Charles Graner is reported to be the father of the baby.
The mistrial for the 22-year-old reservist, who appeared in some of the most notorious photographs from the 2003 abuse scandal, kicks the case back to the military equivalent of a grand jury proceeding.
The action came after Graner, the reputed ringleader of the abuse, testified as a defense witness at England's sentencing hearing that pictures he took of England holding a naked prisoner on a leash at Abu Ghraib were meant to be used as a legitimate training aid for other guards.
Other photos showed England standing next to nude prisoners stacked in a pyramid and pointing at a prisoner's genitals.
When England pleaded guilty Monday, she told the judge she knew that the pictures were being taken purely for the amusement of the guards.
Pohl said the two statements could not be reconciled.
"You can't have a one-person conspiracy," the judge said before he declared the mistrial and dismissed the sentencing jury.
Under military law, the judge could formally accept her guilty plea only if he was convinced that she knew at the time that what she was doing was illegal.
By rejecting the plea to the conspiracy charge, Pohl canceled the entire plea agreement.
During defense questioning, Graner said he looped the leash around the prisoner's shoulders as a way to coax him out of a cell, and that it slipped up around his neck. He said he asked England to hold the strap while he took photos that he could show to other guards later to teach them this prisoner-handling technique.
At that point Pohl halted Graner's testimony and admonished the defense for admitting evidence that ran counter to England's plea on the conspiracy charge and one count of maltreating detainees.
The judge did not discuss the other five counts to which England had pleaded guilty.
Graner, who is said to be the father of England's infant son, was found guilty in January and is serving a 10-year prison term for his role in the scandal.
In a handwritten note given to reporters Tuesday, Graner had said he wanted England to fight the charges.
"Knowing what happened in Iraq, it was very upsetting to see Lynn plead guilty to her charges," he wrote. "I would hope that by doing so she will have a better chance at a good sentence."
Graner maintains that he and the other Abu Ghraib guards were following orders from higher-ranking interrogators when they abused the detainees. |
I personally hope they throw the book at her and everyone involved in it. I don't care what her reasons were no one derseves that done to them. It makes us look as bad as they do when we resort to things like that.
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Theresa
Lux Mihi Deus
Joined: 17 Jun 2001
Posts: 27256
Location: United States of America
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| Thu May 05, 2005 11:00 am |
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Yeah, the "following orders" line just doesn't work. They know they are free to disobey any unlawful order.
-------signature-------
Some of us fall by the wayside
And some of us soar to the stars
And some of us sail through our troubles
And some have to live with our scars
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webtaz99
Commodore
Joined: 13 Nov 2003
Posts: 1229
Location: The Other Side
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| Thu May 05, 2005 12:26 pm |
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IIRC, they are also allowed to require an order to written and signed, and to log that they "obeyed under protest".
-------signature-------
"History is made at night! Character is who you are in the dark." (Lord John Whorfin)
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madlilnerd
Duchess of Dancemat
Joined: 03 Aug 2004
Posts: 5885
Location: Slough, England
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| Thu May 05, 2005 12:43 pm |
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How stupid is that?! If you were going to abuse someone, would you get in the way of the camera?!! She is a complete idiot and a very nasty person. I think her child should be taken away from her seeing as she did such horrible things to adults, what's stopping her from doing it to her own child? What a nasty piece of work. 
If I was told to abuse a prisoner, I just wouldn't do it. You can disobey minor orders.
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Leo Wyatt
Sweetest Angel
Joined: 25 Feb 2004
Posts: 19045
Location: Investigating A Crime Scene. What did Quark do this time?
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| Thu May 05, 2005 1:00 pm |
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Yeah she did make Americans look bad.
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Founder
Dominion Leader
Joined: 21 Jun 2004
Posts: 12755
Location: Gamma Quadrant
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| Thu May 05, 2005 6:35 pm |
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| Quote: | | FORT HOOD, Texas (AP) -- A military judge on Wednesday threw out Pfc. Lynndie England's guilty plea to prisoner abuse at Abu Ghraib, saying he was not convinced that she knew her actions were wrong at the time. |
What!? How can you not know that what she did was wrong? It was sickening what she did. Shes even smiling and laughing in the pictures. Shes a sick person and has now tarnished the image of American soldiers.
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Hitchhiker
Rear Admiral
Joined: 11 Aug 2004
Posts: 3514
Location: Ontario, Canada
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| Thu May 05, 2005 6:41 pm |
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| Founder wrote: | | Quote: | | FORT HOOD, Texas (AP) -- A military judge on Wednesday threw out Pfc. Lynndie England's guilty plea to prisoner abuse at Abu Ghraib, saying he was not convinced that she knew her actions were wrong at the time. |
What!? How can you not know that what she did was wrong? It was sickening what she did. Shes even smiling and laughing in the pictures. Shes a sick person and has now tarnished the image of American soldiers. |
What the judge means is that he doesn't think her guilty plea is sincere--that she is not convinced her actions were wrong. This guilty plea, understand, is actually part of a complicated maneuver whereby she will get less jail time because she pled guilty.
The judge's refusal of the plea indicates he does not believe it is sincere, and that the charges against her need to be reconsidered (thus it has become a mistrial). So now the military has to review the cases again before it goes to trial.
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Founder
Dominion Leader
Joined: 21 Jun 2004
Posts: 12755
Location: Gamma Quadrant
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| Thu May 05, 2005 6:55 pm |
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| Hitchhiker wrote: | | Founder wrote: | | Quote: | | FORT HOOD, Texas (AP) -- A military judge on Wednesday threw out Pfc. Lynndie England's guilty plea to prisoner abuse at Abu Ghraib, saying he was not convinced that she knew her actions were wrong at the time. |
What!? How can you not know that what she did was wrong? It was sickening what she did. Shes even smiling and laughing in the pictures. Shes a sick person and has now tarnished the image of American soldiers. |
What the judge means is that he doesn't think her guilty plea is sincere--that she is not convinced her actions were wrong. This guilty plea, understand, is actually part of a complicated maneuver whereby she will get less jail time because she pled guilty.
The judge's refusal of the plea indicates he does not believe it is sincere, and that the charges against her need to be reconsidered (thus it has become a mistrial). So now the military has to review the cases again before it goes to trial. |
Oh ok, that makes sense. Thanks for clarifying that. 
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