Four Army police officers faced criminal charges last year for kicking and punching seven Iraqi prisoners at Camp Bucca, assaults that resulted in broken bones. Instead of sending them to trial, however, commanders booted them from the service.
Army Spec. Juba Martino-Poole avoided trial on a manslaughter charge for fatally shooting an Iraqi prisoner, also in 2003. His punishment was the same: Turn in the uniform. Another specialist accused of raping a fellow soldier in Iraq last year was discharged without being prosecuted.
Such outcomes are routine for soldiers accused of human-rights crimes - even some who have admitted guilt, The Denver Post has found.
Four Army police officers faced criminal charges last year for kicking and punching seven Iraqi prisoners at Camp Bucca, assaults that resulted in broken bones. Instead of sending them to trial, however, commanders booted them from the service.
By more than a 2-to-1 ratio, military officials have handed down administrative discipline rather than pursue criminal punishments for service members accused of prisoner abuse or sexual-assault crimes in war zones, according to records obtained through the Freedom of Information Act and a Pentagon source.
http://www.denverpost.com/Stories/0,1413,36~6439~2350815,00.html
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