Soldier Convicted Of Killing Unarmed Iraqi

Sniper Gets 10 Years; Had Planted Weapon On Body And Made False Statement In Death Of Civilian

(CBS/AP)  A U.S. Army sniper convicted of killing an unarmed Iraqi civilian and planting evidence on his body was sentenced Sunday to 10 years in prison.

Sgt. Evan Vela faced a possible life sentence. Vela was also sentenced to forfeiture of all pay and allowances, and will receive a dishonorable discharge. His case is automatically referred to a military appeals court.

Earlier Sunday, jurors deliberated for three hours before finding Vela guilty of murder without premeditation in the May 11 killing of an Iraqi man south of Baghdad. He had previously been charged with premeditated murder, but that charge was changed during his court-martial in Baghdad.

Vela was also found guilty of making a false official statement and of conduct prejudicial to good order and discipline.

Vela showed no emotion this morning as the verdict was read. Two of his lawyers leaned over and gave him a light hug over the shoulders, before leading him out of the courtroom on a U.S. military base in Baghdad.

Defense lawyers had claimed the killing of Genei Nasir al-Janabi was an accident, brought on by extreme exhaustion and sleep deprivation Vela and his fellow snipers experienced. But military prosecutors called it a simple case of murder.

"It's a simple case," said Capt. Jason Nef, one of two military prosecutors. "The reason is because Vela confessed on the stand that he lied. He confessed he killed an unarmed Iraqi."

Vela, who is from St. Anthony, Idaho, wept on the witness stand Saturday as he described shooting al-Janabi after he stumbled upon the snipers' hiding place near Iskandariyah, 30 miles south of Baghdad.

"I don't remember pulling the trigger. I don't remember the sound of the shot," Vela said in a near whisper, softly thumbing the hem of his camouflage jacket and looking straight ahead. "It took me a few seconds to realize that the shot came from my pistol."

[In other news from Iraq, dozens of civilians have been reported killed or wounded in a series of attacks aimed at U.S.-allied fighters, while a Republican Senator visiting Baghdad said he was against efforts to bring American troops home this year, warning it would leave Iraq vulnerable to Iran.]

He testified that after he shot al-Janabi, he tried to shoot him again because "he was convulsing on the ground and I thought he might be suffering."

"I just didn't want him to suffer. It was something I've never seen and I got a bit scared," Vela said. The second shot missed the man.

James Culp, Vela's attorney, had unsuccessfully argued that Vela was too sleep deprived to know what he was doing.

"This was an accident waiting to happen," Culp told the jury of seven men and one woman in his closing argument Sunday. "What happened on May 11 is clear: These men were extremely, extremely sleep deprived and nobody was thinking clearly."

Vela and his sniper team had hiked through rough terrain and slept less than five hours in the 72-hours leading up to the killing, the defense said.

Culp also called two medical experts who testified that Vela was suffering from acute sleep deprivation and exhaustion. They said he later lied about the events in part because he suffers from post traumatic stress syndrome.

On Friday, Vela's commanding officer testified that he ordered Vela to kill al-Janabi, saying that was the only way to ensure the safety of his men in hostile territory.

Sgt. Michael A. Hensley, who was a staff sergeant at the time of the killing but was later demoted, testified that he and the other members of the sniper team had all fallen asleep, then awoke to find al-Janabi squatting about three feet from them.

Hensley said he ordered the man to lie on the ground and was searching him when he saw "military-aged men" who he thought were carrying weapons about 100 yards away.

He said al-Janabi began yelling, and he decided that killing the man was the only way to keep the sniper hide-out from being discovered by what he believed was a group of approaching insurgents.

Hensley, of Candler, N.C., and Spc. Jorge G. Sandoval Jr., of Laredo, Texas have faced similar charges in al-Janabi's killing as well as two other slayings. They were acquitted of murder but convicted of planting evidence on the dead Iraqis.

Sandoval was sentenced to five months in prison, his rank was reduced to private and his pay was withheld. Hensley was sentenced to 135 days confinement, reduced in rank to sergeant and received a letter of reprimand.

The soldiers were assigned to the 1st Battalion, 501st Infantry Regiment, 4th Brigade (Airborne), 25th Infantry Division, based at Fort Richardson, Alaska.

Vela testified at Hensley's court-martial in late September, under a deal that bars his account of events from being used against him at his own court-martial.

[inventagod]

PNAC traitors
Demolition of WTC7
Cheney running NORAD on 9/11
Lies to invade Iraq
Ashcroft Color Warning System during election run-up
Rumsfeld and torture
Wolfowitz
Halliburton
Rendition flights
Bu$h
Gates
Death of Gitmo ''dupes''

Just counting Republicon blessings.
OK, off to work to pay more taxes...

DSR57 wrote:

"I really like to see some of these Judges, Senators and congressmen Go make snap decisions like our soldiers do, the best part about it is they send 18 to 20 year old kids to make these decisions for them when they feel they don''''t have enough sense to drink back in the states but they are old enough to kill."

While I''d like to see all the politicians who supported this "war" over there in Iraq instead of cowering back home in the safety of their homes, Vela made a decision to kill an unarmed Iraqi civilian.

He then tried to cover up for his cowardly act by planting false evidence and lying to investigators.

Snap decision or not - he had plenty of time to think before trying to hide his crime.

Maybe if he''d told the truth from the start, he wouldn''t be facing time in jail.

Unfortunately, every time an American soldier kills an innocent Iraqi civilian, he risks creating more enemies - and he''s putting the lives of more Americans at risk.

[dsr57]

I really like to see some of these Judges, Senators and congressmen Go make snap decisions like our soldiers do, the best part about it is they send 18 to 20 year old kids to make these decisions for them when they feel they don''t have enough sense to drink back in the states but they are old enough to kill.

[brianbwb-2009]

"4000 kids are dead for trying to bring democracy to such a ********."

You see there is the mistake, what we are doing there has nothing whatsoever to do with democracy, if it did, we would accept whoever they elected, instead of trying to force them to accept our puppet.

[brianbwb-2009]

"I can''''t even imagine what these guys are going through over there. I''''ll never know. What I do know is that I''''m glad there are volunteers willing to protect the rest of us while we sleep in our comfortable beds."
Posted by otdky07

The trouble with that is that they are not protecting us, they are enforcing an illegal oil grab by Bush and his cronies, and that has nothing whatsoever to do with protecting us.

jeff776 wrote:

"Not one person on that team should be convicted of a crime."

An innocent person murdered, a "cover up" was then planned executed, and then more lies were told.

And you think he should not have been found guilty.

Wow - you sure are f&*king stupid.

[brianbwb-2009]

"Not one person on that team should be convicted of a crime." Posted by jeff776

Why not? They clearly violated the rules of engagement, and then tried to lie about it. On top of that, his CO, the idiot who gave the order, ratted out his soldier under an immunity deal to protect his own behind, but apparently you don''t see anything wrong with that...

Not only should they get the maximum sentence, but Bush and his enablers on both sides of the aisle should join them. the soldiers are not even supposed to be there, as their being sent into harm''s way was based on the lies of the C in C.

[jeff776]

Not one person on that team should be convicted of a crime.

[antizion]

They should have hung them and here is why. They planted an AK-47 on the body. Why did they have an AK-47?

Because they routinely pose as other Arabs and shoot at them with an AK-47 alongside the sniper to confuse them.

That is premeditated murder and the action of a terrorist. Anyone being shot at has the right to shoot back. This is ethnic cleansing (genocide) on behalf of Israel which has hijacked the US government, pure and simple.

They ought to hang the people that faked evidence and lied to start that war as well. Perlman, Wolfowitz, Zackheim, Rove, Libby, etc. Notice they are all Jews with duel citizenship to Israel? *** is going on in DC?

[otdky07]

I can''t even imagine what these guys are going through over there. I''ll never know. What I do know is that I''m glad there are volunteers willing to protect the rest of us while we sleep in our comfortable beds.

[excoachken]

If the had joined Blackwater instead of the Army, he''d have been paid 10 X as much and received the Medal Of Freedom from the Cowardly Cowboy already.

[ontheleft]

10 years for murder plus deliberately falsifying evidence in a crime scene? I guess we have some ''liberal judges'' in the military.

[lowell43]

In fairness to future Army and Marine infantry, the military leadership need to go over the rules of engangement of combat covering every possible event they would face in combat before they are deployed to Iraq and Bin Ladens residence.

Imediately implement the same for our men and women in uniform who are already deployed there as time would permit.

I''m a veteran of the Viet Nam era war.

[ddaymichael]

So he gets 10 years in Leavenworth to placate some Iraqi polititions who want to look tough even though they''d be dead in a a few hours if we left, and 4000 kids are dead for trying to bring democracy to such a ********.

Meanwhile, the Bush/Cheney gang, the low-life greedy parisites who started this debacle just keep on getting richer.

How did America come to this?

[blackwater9]

it has been said many times, until your in that situation, and i have. make no judgements about a mans actions. he takes a life to save lives and loses his own in the liberal society of america.

[oldpilot954]

I this incident, it doesn''t really matter whether we should be there or not. The bottom line is that a very, very tired, somewhat scared young man decided to sacrifice the life of a civilian he thought was compromising the safety of his crew. At the time it was a snap decision based on aparently wrong assumptions. In my opinion the team''s failure to have him immobilized caused the problem. Then they really fouled up when they falsified evidence that he was armed. However, in wartime, I find 10 years a pretty stiff sentence for a combat-survival related decision.

[breceivemail]

Down with USA.

[cdfoxtrot]

That''ll be a slap on the wrist, two "Hail Mary''s" and an "Our Father". Justice done.

[eddynewhope]

When the war is a lie and waged for profit, every death is a murder. Bush, Cheney, Rice, Rumsfeld, Adington, Wolfowitz, etc. are guilty of murdering 4000 American soldiers, and upwards of 500,000 Iraqis. The chickens who sit in the White House counting their oil and war profits should be prosecuted for treason, war crimes, and 500,000 counts of murder.

[j-whitman]

qazi63 --- Speaking of Revelations,,, Evangilists are coming out with a new movie -- The Samurai Jesus