Military orders court-martial in Iraq rape-murder case

[ABSTRUSE]

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - A U.S. commander in Iraq has referred four U.S. soldiers to court-martial over the rape and murder of an Iraqi girl and the killing of her family in their home in Mahmudiya, a U.S. military official said on Wednesday.

"Major-General Thomas Turner has referred charges against four soldiers to trial by general court-martial," the official told Reuters.



That's it???

 

[Huckleman2000]

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - A U.S. commander in Iraq has referred four U.S. soldiers to court-martial over the rape and murder of an Iraqi girl and the killing of her family in their home in Mahmudiya, a U.S. military official said on Wednesday.

"Major-General Thomas Turner has referred charges against four soldiers to trial by general court-martial," the official told Reuters.



That's it???

Two of them will be capital cases (eligible for death sentences).
Court-martial is just the way trials are conducted in the military, not the actual punishment or sentence. Often, though, it seems as if they are spoken of as the same thing.

 

[Svenskaflicka]

So the culprits WILL get to go to trial and perhaps be punished in "normal" court, as well?

 

[Huckleman2000]

So the culprits WILL get to go to trial and perhaps be punished in "normal" court, as well?

Yes, although they will be tried in the US Military justice system and not the Iraqi justice system or the US courts.

I think it's a matter of where a crime is committed, and under what circumstances (e.g., during wartime).

 

[Pure]

no, they will only tried in US military court. if found guilty, sentenced there, and serving time within the US military system.

 

[Zeb_Carter]

So the culprits WILL get to go to trial and perhaps be punished in "normal" court, as well?

Not necessarily. The military has jurisdiction in all cases involving its personnel, except where a treaty exists with the host county that gives the host country jurisdiction.

The soldiers will be tried in a military court with a jury of peers, usually military officers selected at random from close by units. There is a judge and prosecuting and defense attorneys’'. Although they do not use the any set of laws of a particular state, they do use the UCMJ (Uniform Code of Military Justice) as the criminal code of the military.

 

[ABSTRUSE]

Can't wait to see the outcome.

 

[Huckleman2000]

Can't wait to see the outcome.

I think the military justice system is as fair as most other courts - there are many honorable professionals, including the lawyer defending Hamdi and many who recommended against the Bush Dept. of Justice findings disavowing the Geneva Conventions. True, the Hamdi guy was recently 'fired', but I don't doubt that Attorney Gen. Gonzales would fire Patrick Fitzgerald if he could (politically), so there's a political component in the Federal system as well. I don't believe the military courts care to be seen as coddling rapists, so there will be a vigorous prosecution.

 

[Boxlicker101]

Not necessarily. The military has jurisdiction in all cases involving its personnel, except where a treaty exists with the host county that gives the host country jurisdiction.

The soldiers will be tried in a military court with a jury of peers, usually military officers selected at random from close by units. There is a judge and prosecuting and defense attorneys’'. Although they do not use the any set of laws of a particular state, they do use the UCMJ (Uniform Code of Military Justice) as the criminal code of the military.

The jury isn't actually peers. They all have to outrank the defendants and are mostly officers, with maybe some NCO's.

If they are guilty and, from what I have read, they are, I hope they hang. If they don't, they will serve their time in a federal prison, such as Leavenworth.

 

[Zeb_Carter]

The jury isn't actually peers. They all have to outrank the defendants and are mostly officers, with maybe some NCO's.

If they are guilty and, from what I have read, they are, I hope they hang. If they don't, they will serve their time in a federal prison, such as Leavenworth.

The word peer in the UCMJ actual means other military personnel, no civilians, from any branch of the service who have been or currently are in a similar classification or position. Jurys are most often made up of officers, as they are concidered the most likely to be objective and have not prejudged the case they are hearing.

 

[jack_straw]

The jury isn't actually peers. They all have to outrank the defendants and are mostly officers, with maybe some NCO's.

If they are guilty and, from what I have read, they are, I hope they hang. If they don't, they will serve their time in a federal prison, such as Leavenworth.

If they are sentenced to prison, they will serve their time not in the federal prison at Leavenworth, but in what is called the Disciplinary Barracks at Ft. Leavenworth. BIG difference. When I was in college, I had a friend whose father was stationed at the fort, and I've been on the grounds there. I can tell you, the army prison makes the federal prison seem like a country club.