U.S. Soldier Sentenced In Iraq Killings

GI Who Stood Guard As 4 Prisoners Were Shot Gets 7 Months; Expected To Testify Against Others

(AP)  A U.S. soldier pleaded guilty to conspiracy to murder and was sentenced to seven months in prison Thursday in the deaths of four Iraqis, saying he stood guard from a machine-gun turret while the bound and blindfolded prisoners were shot.

The relatively lenient sentence for Spc. Belmor Ramos was part of a deal that will see him testify against the others accused in the killings last year. The four Iraqi men were killed and dumped in a Baghdad canal in April 2007 - allegedly in retribution for casualties in Ramos' unit.

Ramos, 23, had faced a possible sentence of life in prison for conspiracy to commit murder.

Judge Lt. Col. Edward O'Brien said that, had it not been for the plea agreement, he would have sentenced Ramos to 40 years in prison. Ramos, of the 1st Battalion, 18th Infantry Regiment, will also have his rank reduced to private and be dishonorably discharged from the army.

His defense attorney, Capt. Patrick Bryan, who had asked for his client to be formally reprimanded and allowed to stay in the Army, had little to say about the sentence.

"It is what it is," he said, noting that the case would be automatically reviewed, a process akin to an appeal.

Three other soldiers in the unit - Sgt. John E. Hatley, Sgt. 1st Class Joseph P. Mayo, and Sgt. Michael P. Leahy Jr. - were charged Tuesday with premeditated murder, conspiracy to commit premeditated murder and obstruction of justice.

They face a hearing to determine if there is enough evidence for them to be sent before a court-martial, but no date has been set.

Ramos, of Clearfield, Utah, testified that he had agreed with the decision to kill the prisoners, and stood watch from the machine-gun turret of his Humvee while others carried out the killings. He said he heard the shots, but did not personally witness the deaths.

Ramos, along with Spc. Steven Ribordy, 25, waived his rights to the Article 32 hearing, the equivalent to a civilian preliminary hearing.

A date for Ribordy's court-martial has not been set.

In an earlier statement, the Army said the allegations related to "the deaths of several detainees who were captured as part of combat operations last year."

That statement, released in January, said that "preliminary findings indicate the deceased detainees were not persons detained in a detention facility," indicating the men were killed shortly after being captured.

In hearings in late August, soldiers who were on the patrol said the four Iraqis who were killed, probably Sunnis, were taken into custody following a shootout with insurgents, and taken to the unit's operating base near Baghdad.

Hatley and Leahy were also charged with one count each of premeditated murder and conspiracy to commit premeditated murder in a death near Baghdad in January 2007. Leahy was also charged with being an accessory after the fact, a statement this week from the military said.

The Army did not provide details on that death.

[tapsettle]

Another example of why america is so loathed. A lenient sentence in return for testifying ... why not a less harsh one? Why does the US do plea bargaining to carry out ''justice'', why not guarantee to INCREASE their sentence if they do not tell the truth, rather than reduce it if they do? You are such a joke america.

[honestabe8]

Elichez1: Come on and get me, loudmouth.

[elichez1]

All middle eastern people and Dumbocrats need wiped off the face of the planet.

NOBAMA 2008

[kuei12]

7 months!?!
WOW! I''m gonna start killing people if all you get is 7 months.

[pensacola98]

Right up toi the point of his own death, Saddaam Hussein encouraged his people to rebel and make use of their resources to commit acts of insurgency. The atrocities were expected. The execution style murders were occurring on both sides. Many soldiers, who came up missing were found dead months even years later with evidence of execution and body dumping performed against them.

There is no doubt that years in our future, many of these courtmarshalls will be reviewed and considered for reversed.

The limits of a human being to endure combat and maintain sanity have been the subject of debate for centuries. Those to advocate the savagry of war seem to forget that opponents who were not willing to resolve their conflicts and then fight with eachother, still have an unresolved conflict when the fight is over.

We train and expect our soldiers to fight and survive combat...which includes the atrocities committed against them and the insanities of combat situations which strickens a human conscience under the duress and trauma.

[tootall10142]

THERE ARE ONLY TWO GOOD REASONS FOR WAR.THE REASON IT STARTED AMD THE REASON IT STOPPED.I WAS A MED-VAC DOOR GUNNER IN NAM.19 MONTHS.LIFE EXPECTANCY OF A GUNNER IS 9 HOURS.I HAVE CLEARED SOME LZS IN MY DAY AND IM SURE NOT ALL OF THE PEOPLE IN THE AREA WERE HOSTILES BUT THEY WERE IN THE AREA.DID I SHOOT THEM ON PURPOSE? YES JUST AS FAST AS THAT .50 WOULD FIRE.I LANDED IN NAM WITH A CLEAR UNDERSTANDING OF WHY I WAS THERE.JUST FOR THE RECORD I WOULD NOT JOIN THE U.S. ARMED FORCES IN THIS DAY AND TIME.THE JOINT CHIEFS OF STAFF WANTS KILLERS AMD ALL THEY CAN GET.THE SECRATARY OF WAR WANTS UNIFORMED DIPLOMATS THAT HAVE TO TAKE OUT A RULE BOOK BEFORE THEY CAN DECIDE COMBAT RESPONSE TACTICS.WHAT FLUUKIN JOKE? PEACE OUT AND CALL YOUR MOTHER!

[atpay1]

This is a disgrace to justice and to humanity! Would if the Iraqis had shot our soldiers like we did them?? I''d be interested to know if these soldiers had a criminal background or a high school diploma or were they the bottom of the barrel? They''re obviously republicans!!

[jackobyte]

REPOSTED DUE TO UNDUE CENSORSHIP OF ABBREVIATION

Trouble is what goes around, comes around.
Or for all you bible thumpers: Yee reap what yee sow and yee hath sown a lot and continue to sow with gay abandon.
Now Iraq bad war Afghan good war Pakisthan pummel OK.

[jackobyte]

Trouble is what goes around, comes around.
Or for all you bible thumpers: Yee reap what yee sow and yee hath sown a lot and continue to sow with gay abandon.
Now Iraq bad war Afghan good war *** pummel OK.

[stn_sage]

This is just another example of WHY we ought to get out of Iraq and let them defend THEIR own country!

We''ve done enough over there, now it''s time to move on!

[shimano35]

Nothing is fair in war, for those of you who never fought it!!

[rudy654-2009]

Posted by timetrips1 at 01:40 PM

Would you say the same thing about the soldier who raped the 15 year old girl and then shot her and her family?

[waqahi]

A month and a half per Iraqi soul! This is neither Texas justice nor bible law.

[andrew_693]

I guess this is what they meant when they said they would copy some of the same things the SS practiced. My respects to those who were executed serving and defending their country from a foreign invader.

[timetrips1]

shoebox119 have you ever served in combat? Or for that matter ever served? You sound like the type who sits back an lets other fight for him and then condems them for doing it. Life is diffrent (and cheap) on the front line. Nothing excuses murder, we try to train our people better then that but life in prison for someone who was placed in that type of situation is not fair either. A dishonorable discharge is about the right punishment along with a year or two in prison seems reasonable to me.

[shoebox119]

Once again, America has revealed itself as a nation who considers its citizens far more "valued" as human beings. Seven months in prison for such a horrendous crime is beneath any truly civilized country. Had these four individuals been American soldiers, this animal would have received life in prison, no questions asked.

No wonder the world despises our once great nation so much.

[antoniof123]

This is a joke 7 months it is out of control.

[missingamerica]

If found guilty, they should hang the SFC.

The E-4s and E-5s likely still get the benefit of being "young, dumb, and full of...", but an E-7?

Hang him.