England Guilty.

[Steff]

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/9492624/

 

Army private convicted in Abu Ghraib case

England convicted of six out of seven counts in prison abuse scandal

 

Updated: 3:49 p.m. ET Sept. 26, 2005

FORT HOOD, Texas - Army Pfc. Lynndie England, whose smiling poses in photos of detainee abuse at Abu Ghraib made her the face of the scandal, was convicted Monday by a military jury on all but one of the seven counts she faced.

 

England, 22, was found guilty of one count of conspiracy, four counts of maltreating detainees and one count of committing an indecent act. She was acquitted on a second conspiracy count.

 

The jury of five male officers needed slightly more than two hours to reach its verdict. Her case now moves into the sentencing phase, which will determined by the same jury of five Army officers. She faces a maximum of 10 years in prison.

 

 

England's trial is the last for a group of nine Army reservists charged with mistreating prisoners at Abu Ghraib. Two others have been convicted at trial and the remaining six made plea deals. Several of those soldiers testified at England's trial.

 

Prosecutors in the case portrayed her in closing arguments Monday as an eager participant with a “sick” sense of humor, while defense attorneys described her as a weak-minded pawn trying to appease a sadistic boyfriend.

 

Jurors heard competing descriptions of the 22-year-old reservist from Fort Ashby, W.Va., during closing arguments.

 

“The accused knew what she was doing,” said Capt. Chris Graveline, the lead prosecutor. “She was laughing and joking. ... She is enjoying, she is participating, all for her own sick humor.”

 

Defense says England smitten with ringleader

Capt. Jonathan Crisp, England’s defense lawyer, countered that England’s actions were at the behest of Pvt. Charles Graner Jr., with whom she was having a romantic relationship. Graner, then a corporal, has been labeled the abuse ringleader by prosecutors.

 

“She was a follower, she was an individual who was smitten with Graner,” Crisp said. “She just did whatever he wanted her to do.”

 

Graveline said any subservience England felt toward Graner was not a legal excuse.

 

“You have the same moral responsibility whether you’re a leader or a follower,” he said.

 

England’s trial is the last for a group of nine Army reservists charged with mistreating prisoners at Abu Ghraib. Two others have been convicted, including Graner, and the remaining six made plea deals. Several of those soldiers testified during England’s trial.

 

Graphic photos show England with prisoners

Prosecutors used graphic photos of England to support their contention that she was a key member of the abuse conspiracy. They included one of England holding a naked detainee on a leash and pointing to other prisoners in humiliating poses.

 

They also pointed to her own statement to Army investigators in January 2004 in which she said the mistreatment was done to amuse the U.S. guards at Abu Ghraib.

 

The defense team argued that England suffered from depression and that she has an overly compliant personality, while Army psychiatrist called by prosecutors testified she interviewed England and found no evidence of depression or other personality disorders.

 

In May, England tried to plead guilty to all the same counts she faced at the trial in exchange for an undisclosed sentencing cap. But the deal was thrown out during the sentencing phase when testimony by Graner contradicted England’s guilty plea.

[Balta1701]

Ah conflicted emotions.

 

Man does she ever deserve prison.

 

Man do her superiors, who are using her as a scapegoat, ever deserve prison as well.