http://www.courier-journal.com/article/20090507/NEWS01/90507027/1008/Pfc.+Steven+Green+guilty+on+all+countsAfter deliberating over the course of two days, a federal court jury today convicted former Army Pvt. Steven Green of capital murder for killing an Iraqi family in their home 20 miles south Baghdad in March 2006. The jury, which also convicted Green, 24, of aggravated sexual abuse, obstruction of justice and using a firearm during a crime of violence, will return on Monday to begin hearing evidence on whether Green should be executed for the crimes.
Green stared straight ahead as guilty verdicts were announced on all 16 charges, including 12 on which he could be sentenced to death. An office administrator in the federal public defender’s office patted Green on the shoulder, trying to console him, then she broke down into tears. Prosecutors and defense attorneys said they could not comment on the verdict because the case is still pending. Green’s brother, Doug Green, watched from the back of the courtroom as the verdicts were announced but said he was too shaken by them to comment.
Green was the first former soldier to face the death penalty in a civilian tr ial, according to legal authorities. He was tried in federal court because he had been discharged from the Army before his role was discovered in what has been called one of the worst atrocities committed by U.S. soldiers in Iraq. He was tried in Paducah because it was the closest court to Fort Campbell, from which Green’s Airborne Division unit was deployed.
Green was charged with 12 capital o ffenses – four counts of premeditated murder, four counts of felony murder – for killing the family members during the rape – and four counts of using a firearm in a crime resulting in death. Green was convicted of raping 14-year-old Abeer Al-Janabi and of killing her and her sister Hadeel, 6, and her parents, Fakhyrira and Kassem....
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/30628635An ex-soldier charged with raping and killing a 14-year-old Iraqi girl and slaying her family was found guilty by a federal jury on Thursday, making him eligible for the death penalty. Steven Dale Green, 23, of Midland, Texas, faced more than a dozen charges, including sexual assault and four counts of murder, stemming from the March 2006 attack in Iraq's so-called "Triangle of Death." After he shot the girl in the face several times, Green then used kerosene to set fire to her body, said Assistant U.S. Attorney Brian Skaret earlier in the trial.
"They left behind the carnage of all carnage," Skaret said of Green and other soldiers accused in the attack on March 12, 2006. The verdict followed more than 10 hours of jury deliberations after a trial that began April 27.
The defense had asked jurors to consider the extraordinary circumstances that had confronted the soldiers while serving in Iraq. Green, who pleaded not guilty, was tried in a civilian court because he was discharged from the Army before being charged.
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Other soldiers were prosecuted in military court, including two who pleaded guilty and acknowledged taking part in the rape. Prosecutors said a third who was convicted had gone to the family's home knowing what was planned. A fourth who stayed at the checkpoint pleaded guilty to being an accessory, they said....(more)
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Edited to add that this trial did not dispute the facts of the atrocious crime. It tried to place them in "context". That Green was so traumatized by what was happening in Iraq, this was a reasonable action. I am so glad they decided otherwise.
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