Trials

This is not the "Torture Gazette" but I'd be remiss if I ignored this one. Charles Graner, famous subject of the 60 Minutes Abu Ghraib pictures, has entered a "not guilty" plea, and at least one inmate from Abu Ghraib will testify for the defense.

FORT HOOD, Tex., Jan. 7 -- Three Iraqi detainees who were allegedly abused at the Abu Ghraib prison by American soldiers will be among the 35 witnesses called to testify in the military trial of Spec . Charles A. Graner Jr., the Army Reservist and alleged ringleader of the abuse who is due to be court-martialed here next week.

A jury of 10 military officers and enlisted men was empaneled here in one hour Friday morning, after being quizzed about their ability to be impartial. Opening statements are scheduled for Monday.

Only one officer questioned -- and ultimately dismissed -- said he could not be impartial, noting that he was affected by the media images of the abuse. Sensational photographs of the Army specialist giving a thumbs-up behind naked Iraqi detainees piled in a pyramid rocked the international community and embarrassed the Bush administration last year, setting off months of investigations and charges.

The all-male panel will hear from the three prisoners by videotape; one of them will be a defense witness. The jurors will also hear testimony from Graner's alleged co-conspirators, some of whom have already pleaded guilty to charges arising from the abuse. Graner faces up to 17 1/2 years in prison and is the first of several reservists to stand for a full-fledged court-martial. His attorney, Guy Womack, said Friday that he has not decided whether to put Graner on the stand but that the soldier was an "outstanding candidate" to do so.

<...>

Looking calm and upbeat, Graner pleaded not guilty Friday to charges of conspiracy, assault and humiliating the prisoners by forcing them to pose in sexual positions at the prison near Baghdad. "No matter what happens, we're good to go," Graner told reporters after the hearing. "There's been ups and downs, but the ups have so outweighed the downs. Whatever happens is going to happen. I feel it's going to be on the positive side."

Womack reiterated the defense Friday, saying that Graner was following "lawful" orders when he abused the prisoners. The lawyer added that even if the orders were unlawful, Graner would not be culpable if he believed them to be lawful.

Womack said that officers who gave the orders would not be called to testify because "they are invoking their right to remain silent."

"We have to hold the order givers to a higher standard," he said.

Ivan Frederick, like Graner a Prison Guard in civilian life, entered a guilty plea at the start of his court martial last year.

More at the link.

As long as we're on the topic of military justice, here's the verdict on the case of one Soldier charged with murder:

FORT HOOD, Texas — An Army sergeant charged in the alleged drowning death of an Iraqi civilian was acquitted Friday night of involuntary manslaughter but convicted of assault by a military panel.

Army Sgt. 1st Class Tracy Perkins was charged in connection with a January 2004 incident near Samarra, Iraq, when two Iraqi curfew violators were forced into the Tigris River at gunpoint by U.S. soldiers.

Prosecutors say one of the Iraqis drowned, which the defense denied.

The six-man jury of Army officers and enlisted members, who deliberated 17 hours over two days, considered lesser charges against Perkins. They convicted him of assault consummated by battery in Zaidoun Fadel Hassoun's purported death.

Perkins, with 14 years of military service, was found guilty of aggravated assault in connection with Marwan Fadel Hassoun, who survived.

The military panel will hold a sentencing hearing today.

Defense attorney Capt. Joshua Norris said the panel should not convict Perkins because there was "no body, no evidence, no death."

Thus ends the first murder case brought about by blogs.