Death Penalty Urged For U.S. Soldiers

Army Investigator Recommends Death For Troops Involved In Deadly Iraq Raid

(AP)  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.

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 Qaeda 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 Qaeda 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.

[zdc1boi]

Disagree. I believe accused were following orders during wartime. There is always a coverup for commanders. The grunt in the field is always the one accused. I am a vet. I know.
zdc1boi

[fallngempire]

Agreed. The soldiers take the fall, not the commanders. Notice how the story does not mention the names of the three men that they killed, or list anything about their background. Simply, "accused of killing three men".

[barbarad7]

THIS IS A WAR!!!!!!! People DIE in WAR!!! This only tells OUR soldiers and PROTECTORS that if the enemy doesn't kill you, we will. This is ludicrous!! Daniel is a lunkhead.

[lynnlesch]

Better bring the boys home,the men were trying to do thier job, now this is the thank you they get !! they can use human shields, are's goes to trail for murder during a war ???

[nfrobinson-2009]

Gotta wait for more information. We may learn many things which could sway our feelings one way or another. It looks bad no matter what happens. They're still innocent until proven guilty. Hopefully two competent attorneys will do battle before military judges seeking truth and not political correctness or expediency.

[jacqui69]

They were following ORDERS!!!! That's what they agree to do when they signed up to protect our country! War is WAR!!

[juliehg-2009]

The execs ALWAYS cover their behinds. It's the people in the weeds (both military and civilian) who are usually discredited and take the fall. In my opinion, we shouldn't be over there in the first place. Then again, I'm a "child of the 60's and watched VietNam on the nightly news while the family ate dinner. I also think we've "stayed the course" so a certain politician can save face and keep his tail from between his legs. It is disheartening to realize more money has been spent on this war than the Katrina disaster. Think what could have been accomplished for the victims in Louisiana and Mississippi.

[sailor42-2009]

What! Even considering executing these men is outrageous. No! No! No! This is WAR! Remember Brando, "The horror. The horror." We created these soldiers. They were not trained to be models for recruiting posters, they were trained to kill. How did Daniels get to be a Lt.Col. by turning his back on his soldiers? May I suggest to the Lt. Col., if some deskbound idiots okay the executions, that he just saw their heads off and videotape it so he can be sure he is down to the scumbag enemy's level. Remember 911 LTC? Remember my shipmates son, a decorated officer, who was shot and killed in Iraq because a small calibre bullet pierced his cheap government issue body armor. If we are going to be lied to so as to justify a war, let's at least put the safety of our boys and girls first. With all due respect Mr. Daniels if I were your CO you would now be a PFC cleaning your M-16 in a Humvee on the way to Basra.

[ladybluecpd]

Time to stick up for our soldiers. What are the facts?
Facts and the truth do not matter to the press.
What about good things soldiers do? Aww tht does not sell papers..or get good ratings..
Doesn't matter, they are guilty , tried by the press and will be executed by the press.
What happened to their rights? Isn't it "Presumed innocent until proven guilty " But then again soldiers don't have any rights. after all they only put their lives on the line to protect our lives and our freedoms.. ... Similiar to police officers' ...they put their lives on the line to protect our lives ...and like the soldiers are always guilty until proven innocent...
Such gratitude for protecting society.

I am writing my senator and congressman and the President, this is ridiculous. Leave OUR SOLDIERS ALONE

[drzeesnurse]

Citizens and Soldiers beware!! Before you swear to obey all commands, think twice. Because if you happen to follow orders,the next one with a date with the Grim Reaper, just may be you!! That is if the idiots who deem it necessary to bring to trial, the very soldiers that face death every hour of every day to protect their bootlicking bureaucratic behinds, happen to shoot and kill the ENEMY. These "officers" need to get real and stop wasting our tax dollars and causing our soldiers undue stress. I wonder if LTC Daniel were to be sent to Iraq and placed in these soldiers situation, if he would shoot and kill the enemy, or if he would walk up to them, shake their hand, and apologize for the atrocities inflicted upon them and their countrymen by the wicked U.S. military personnel. I really doubt that he would do either, because he would probably faint before he could be deployed, thus a possible medical exemption. I say, leave our soldiers alone and let them do the job they were sent to do. They are the true heroes of our nation.

[drgoodwin12]

After serving my tenure in the Navy I am familar with some of the laws of the military.First any member of the armed services has the right to refuse an order,if they beleive it is morally wrong or if the order is against the establish laws of the military.An order given to kill all individuals in a particular area is against the rules of the military.This is a lame excuse for these soldiers and if there is indeed an eyewitness to the event,he/she should be able to corrobarate such a command.Second the military laws demand the death penalty for a soldier who has murdered an civilian without probable cause.Let's wait until the trial is finished and find out first who is telling the truth.The soldier who turned them in or the four on trial.If indeed they commited this crime the death penalty is appropriate.I was given orders of the same nature these men claimed to have been given and refused (34 years ago). I was never charged with failure to disobey a direct command or any charges. I was honorably discharged after my term of service.I did not wish to re-enlist.

[bluemoon639]

It's funny how these four soldiers are accused of murdering people. It makes me laugh to think that the death penalty is being considered for punishment to men that are constantly risking their lives to protect our freedom and rights. If these men deserve the death penalty, then all of other soldiers who have also killed men in a time of war should also be considered as murderes and should also receive the death penalty. It doesn't make any sence to sentence four individual people when the rest of the US Soldiers are following orders and doing exactly what these four men did in the first place.

[airforcemom4]

I AM OUTRAGED TO THINK THAT THEY WOULD EVEN CONSIDER GIVING THESE MEN THE DEATH PENALTY. SHAME ON THEM. IT IS OKAY FOR AL QAEDA TO MURDER OUR PEOPLE, BUT THE SECOND THAT OUR MEN AND WOMEN KILL ONE OF THEM ITS LIKE ITS THE WORST THING A PERSON COULD EVER DO. THESE MEN AND WOMEN ARE PUTTING THEIR LIVES ON THE LINE TO PROTECT EVERYONES FREEDOM. SHAME SHAME SHAME ON THOSE WHO ARE PUNISHING THESE SOLIDERS

[winterhawk56]

I am Retired from Special Operations in the Navy and am outraged to think we would consider prosecution of these Soldiers much less the death penalty! To think what these terrorist have commited on US people and soldiers is outragous! Now we are protecting what for a few headlines! It will soon get to the point where no one will go to these conflicts or war because we have too *** many liberals pushing this kind of justice! Its a shame!

[aware5]

I am retired from the US Army. Soliders are not trained to kill. Soliders are trained to defend. Although we are fighting an unconventional war against an unconventional enemy, this does not excuse criminal acts. We can not establish law and order by unlawful acts. We are better than our enemy. If we are not held accountable for our unlawful acts, we are no better than our enemy. These are four men out of thousands. Our men and women put their lives on the line everyday. We should not let a few bad apples get away with tarnishing the good name of the honorable men and women of the United States forces. What we need is good leadership and defined missions.

[frenchfries7]

And we cannot get people to sign up and join our military? Imagine that. How old are these guys? They sign their lives away, are given promises, sent to a completely a different culture, trained to kill, expect to function in 120 degree plus temperatures, can't tell the enemy from another; I could go on and on. Taking orders or not, where was their superior officer? And how old are the guys supervising?
Are there any suggestions how we can help in their defense? I am outraged and will also write my congressman.