http://www.cnn.com/2005/LAW/01/14/grane ... index.htmlU.S. reservist guilty of Abu Ghraib abuse
Friday, January 14, 2005 Posted: 6:29 PM EST (2329 GMT)
FORT HOOD, Texas (CNN) -- An Army reservist was convicted Friday by a military jury of abusing Iraqi prisoners at Abu Ghraib prison in a case that damaged America's reputation after the U.S. invasion of Iraq.
The 10-person jury found Spc. Charles Graner Jr. guilty of nine of 10 specifications, or counts, for his role in abusing detainees at Baghdad's Abu Ghraib prison.
The case was to go immediately into the sentencing phase. If convicted of all counts, Graner could receive up to 17 1/2 years in a military prison.
Graner was accused of leading the abuse at Abu Ghraib, which became an international scandal after photographs of naked prisoners in apparently painful or humiliating situations were leaked to the news media.
Graner was the first soldier to be tried on charges arising from the incidents.
The 36-year-old reservist faced 10 counts under five separate charges: Assault, conspiracy, maltreatment of detainees, committing indecent acts and dereliction of duty.
Graner was found guilty of all conspiracy, dereliction, maltreatment and indecent act counts.
He was found guilty of one assault specification, and not guilty of a second assault count.
Graner's court-martial jury, which will decide the reservist's punishment, is made up of combat veterans from Iraq and Afghanistan.
Prosecutors, defense spar in closing
Friday's verdict came after closing arguments were delivered earlier in the day by prosecutors and defense attorneys.
During closing, military prosecutors showed photographs and videos depicting the abuse of inmates.
"What we have here is plain abuse, no doubt about it," said Capt. Chris Graveline, one of the prosecutors. "There is no justification.
"Fortunately, he [Graner] does not have the final word on abuse at Abu Ghraib. You do. And it will speak volumes to the Army, volumes to the country, volumes to the world," the prosecutor said, adding that the "true word" is "guilty as charged."
But Graner's defense attorneys argued the images in the photographs were not as horrible as the prosecution made them out to be. Attorney Guy Womack said military intelligence officers instructed Graner and others to "rough up" inmates in order to extract information from them.
"It was done creatively -- mission accomplished," he said, adding that "the crime" is that someone leaked the photos to the media, "and now military intelligence says, 'We don't know anything about it.'" He said that claim of ignorance is "a lie."
Womack said orders to "soften up" detainees for questioning were "completely reasonable, perhaps not to someone sitting in Fort Hood on a very sunny day, but to someone going through what our soldiers were going through."
The prosecution, which was able to speak both before and after the defense closing statement, retorted, "It was creative -- it was creative abuse."
Parade of witnesses, photos
Much of the evidence seemed to support the prosecution's contention that Graner orchestrated the alleged abuse and humiliation -- and took photos.
Three fellow guards who have pleaded guilty in the scandal testified about Graner's alleged role.
One testified he forced a group of naked Iraqis to form a human pyramid. The image, one of several showing smiling U.S. troops next to imprisoned Iraqis, was shown around the world.
Womack, in his closing argument, said, "They were stacked in a cheerleader stack safely -- nothing wrong, no discomfort, no injury."
Another guard testified Graner was behind another infamous photo, in which Pfc. Lynndie England holds a leash attached to a detainee's neck.
The defense argued it was simply a method to extract a prisoner from a cell.
But the prosecution countered that the defense was trying to downplay the gravity of what happened.
"If this happened to one of our soldiers, there would be no question that this was abuse," the prosecutor said.
The defense argument that Graner was following orders was bolstered during the court-martial by testimony from Megan Ambuhl, one of the former guards who pleaded guilty. She is now a civilian, and acknowledged having had a brief romantic relationship with Graner.
She said higher-ups told people at her level "what to do with the detainees."
But prosecutors argued that Graner and others were accountable for their actions. And the attorneys gave the jury copies of e-mails containing photographs that Graner sent to family and friends in November 2003.
Defense sources confirmed a report Friday in The New York Times that described some of the photos.
The article said one showed "a bound and naked detainee howling with pain, his legs bleeding," and Graner's accompanying message said, "The guys give me hell for not getting any pictures while I was fighting this guy."
In another message, the article said, Graner responded to someone's e-mail about a "Take Your Children to Work Day" by writing, "How about send a bastard to hell day?" He attached "a photograph of a detainee's head bloodied beyond recognition," the article said.
Defense sources told CNN the photos were not presented in open court, but turned over to the jury.
