U.S. Soldier Gets 100 Years For Iraq Rape, Killings: Yaaaaaay & WTFish?!

Posted on February 23, 2007
Filed Under Evil Terrorists, Iraq, WTFish?, America, Yaaaay! |

In case you forgot what happened, then here it is again:

Cortez said this week that former private Steven D. Green raped the girl in front of him; shot her father, mother and sister; and then shot her in the head. He also testified that the soldiers attempted to burn the girl’s body; burned their own clothes; and threw the murder weapon, an AK-47, into a canal in an attempt to dispose of the evidence.

This is the “yaaaaaay!” part:

A U.S. soldier was sentenced to 100 years in prison Thursday for the gang rape and murder of an Iraqi girl and the killing of her family last year.

And this is the WTFish??!!!”:

Sgt. Paul E. Cortez, 24, also was given a dishonorable discharge. He will be eligible for parole in 10 years under the terms of his plea agreement.

… The military judge hearing the case, Col. Stephen R. Henley, issued a sentence of life in prison without parole, the maximum for the charges. Under military law, the defendant is given the lesser sentence unless he violates terms of the plea agreement, which requires Cortez to testify against others charged in the case.

That is simply NUTS!! (30 seconds later) Okay, now that I’m calm and thinking clearer about it, I’m starting to realize that this might be quite reasonable if his testimony gets the others who participated in the crime locked up too. No wait… Grrrr!!!

I’m having conflicting emotions on this one. I’m thinking, excuse me, feeling that 10 years is pathetically way too short for this sicko. Bleh, whatever… Meanwhile, Mr. Psychologist had this to say:

Psychologist Charles Figley testified that Cortez and the other soldiers likely suffered stress brought on by fatigue and trauma.

“It eats you up,” Figley said. “It’s a horrible thing. This is not unique. We’ve seen this in other wars.”

…Prosecutors said the stress was no excuse for the actions of Cortez and the other soldiers from the 101st Airborne Division, based at Fort Campbell.

Thank you, prosecutors. Solution? Monitor the psychological state of soldiers in Iraq and elsewhere periodically so that horrific crimes like this don’t have to happen again.

Comments

7 Responses to “U.S. Soldier Gets 100 Years For Iraq Rape, Killings: Yaaaaaay & WTFish?!”

  1. Roman Kalik on February 23rd, 2007 11:49 am

    This is the dark side of any legal procedure. The part where you realize that unless you give a dirtbag something, you’ll end up not having a solid case against the entire group.

  2. The Raccoon on February 23rd, 2007 1:08 pm

    Horrific crimes like this have happened, are happening and will continue to happen as long as there’s war. C’est la vie - people tend to get pretty fucked up in wars.

    And I am pretty sure that the military shrinks are present if anyone wants to talk to them. From my experience, though (at least in IDF) they are a callous, heartless, tired and useless bunch. Which wouldn’t surprise me - when you’re dealing with tens of flipping soldiers and tens of soldiers pretending to flip on a daily basis, you get pretty distant from the whole thing.

  3. Syed Ahmed on February 23rd, 2007 1:50 pm

    These Americans are taking felons into thier Army, they might as well ship there prisoners here and let them run loose. Of course things like this are going to happen.

  4. Roman Kalik on February 24th, 2007 4:59 pm

    Um, I don’t think anyone with a criminal record can join the US army. It’s not a drafted army, so they can have high standards.

    Correct me if I’m wrong here, please.

  5. beninmwangi on February 25th, 2007 2:11 am

    ROman Kalik:

    You are reight, I have several very close freinds who are serving or have served in various branches of the US military. There is a very extensive background investigation that is done prior to joinging the military. IIt covers emotional, criminal, affiliations, and financial aspectrs of one’s life. If I remember correctly there are also periodic financial and credit investigations done throughout the soldier’s term served in the military. However, I don’t recall anyone telling me that there were also periodic emotional tests…

    Racoon:

    Very strong point, I have never been a military person or anything, but from what I have heard the closer and longer one is to the “ground level” or “the front line” the more possibilty for one to lose their mind. However, even still I don’t see how this day in age such heinous acts should be condoned. Drima is right-monitoring the emotional state of military personnel who are on the front line, I believe could go a long way in alleviating such crimes against humanity. Also, setting clear standards from “top-to-bottom” might help as well.

    Drima:

    I like how you have manuvered around those sensitive topics with the court references. Very insightful post!

  6. Hipster on March 5th, 2007 7:24 am

    Can someone actually get a 100 years in prison sentence?!!!

    & I agree, 10 years are not sufficient!!!

  7. darvocet online on March 28th, 2007 3:35 pm

    darvocet online

    The Sudanese Thinker » U.S. Gets 100 Years For Iraq Rape

Leave a Reply