Assualt? Intent to commit murder? The crime was, he was charged with these.

[freethefly 6]

U.S. Military Dismisses Convicted Soldier
04/01/2005
Associated Press/AP Online
WIESBADEN, Germany - A U.S. Army captain convicted in the shooting death of a wounded Iraqi was dismissed Friday from the armed forces, but the military court did not impose a prison sentence.

Capt. Rogelio "Roger" Maynulet, 30, was convicted Thursday of assault with intent to commit voluntary manslaughter, which carries a 10-year maximum sentence. He argued the killing was "honorable" because he wanted to end the man's suffering.

Maynulet stood at attention as Lt. Col. Laurence Mixon, the head of the six-member panel hearing his case, announced the sentence. He then embraced his defense lawyers and his wife, who burst into tears.

Prosecutors had sought a three-year prison term for Maynulet in addition to dismissal from the armed forces, arguing that a strong penalty would send a signal to other U.S. soldiers that such behavior would not be tolerated.

"You commit a serious crime, you are out of the Army. This is not what we do here," prosecutor Maj. John Rothwell said before sentence was passed. "What kind of institution does the U.S. Army become if assault with the intent to commit voluntary manslaughter is an honorable act?"

In an emotional plea to the court for leniency, Maynulet's mother, Carmen, said she was "very, very proud" of her son.

"Please let my son come home," the Cuban immigrant said tearfully.

On May 21, 2004, Maynulet was leading his 1st Armored Division company on a mission near Kufa, south of Baghdad, when it was alerted that a car thought to be carrying a "high-level" target was headed its way.

No details of the mission have been released, but it has been widely reported the company was told radical cleric Muqtada al-Sadr, who led uprisings against U.S.-led forces in Iraq last year, was believed to be in the car.

The company chased the car and fired at it. A passenger who was slightly wounded fled and was later caught. The driver was pulled from the car with serious head injuries and pronounced untreatable by a medic.

Maynulet, praised by his peers during the trial as a dedicated soldier and promising officer, then shot the driver twice. The killing was filmed by a U.S. surveillance aircraft.

Maynulet's defense attorney, Capt. Will Helixon, called Maynulet an outstanding soldier who started many projects in Iraq and was responsible for the arrest of 1,000 insurgents. He said the conviction was penalty enough.

Maynulet was convicted of a lesser charge than the one he originally faced, assault with the intent to commit murder.

"...And once you're gone, you can't come back
When you're out of the blue and into the black."
Neil Young

[mr2mk1g 10]

The fact that the medic pronounced them untreatable means I have less of a problem with this than other similar incidents.

If it was a US soldier who was pronounced untreatable though I suspect their actions would have been different - even if that simply meant the over use of morphine as opposed to a couple of rounds.

[unformed 0]

what I find really disturbing is that in a time of war, we are questioning soldiers reasons on killing the enemy? WTF?

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What kind of institution does the U.S. Army become if assault with the intent to commit voluntary manslaughter is an honorable act?

Is not the purpose of an armed military to commit voluntary manslaughter?

This ad space for sale.

[mr2mk1g 10]

Not when they're in your care it's not. Once they surrender you're obliged to take look after them and provide medical care and certainly not start executing them.

Even if you've decided the geniva convention doesn't apply to them, it doesnt' make executing them the "right" thing to do.

Only mitigating factor in this scenario is that they were judged beyond hope and that there was no point in treating their wounds. If they were just sat there on the ground with a flesh wound the soldier who shot them should have been strung up.

[chuckbrown 0]

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Is not the purpose of an armed military to commit voluntary manslaughter?

Not against unarmed combatants.

I think the fact that he didn't get any jail time shows that the Army was struggling with this case. How do you deal with someone who's horribly injured with no hope of recovery and in terrible pain? I'm not excusing the guy, but then again I can't condemn him because I don't know what I'd do.

[sfzombie13 324]

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what I find really disturbing is that in a time of war, we are questioning soldiers reasons on killing the enemy? WTF?

Is not the purpose of an armed military to commit voluntary manslaughter?

as stated, that's not the business we're in. once he's unarmed, when he gets killed, it's manslaughter. i agree with the court here, a better solution would have been to have the medic inject him with morphine, and either let him bleed out, or hit him with a couple of more doses. shooting him to relieve his suffering is sending out a bad precedent to his soldiers, not to mention bad publicity. i'm glad he didn't get prison time, after all, he was just trying to help, he should have picked a better way to do it.

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Si hoc legere scis nimium eruditionis habes

[Nightingale 0]

Seems like the medic should've pumped the guy full of painkillers to ease his death.

While I do see the soldier's motives, shooting an injured person like we would an injured animal was probably not the right course of action when there are medical interventions available.

I understand why he did what he did and that he wanted to ease the man's suffering, but I disagree with the way he went about it.

[kelpdiver 2]

So what kind of discharge was it?

[sfzombie13 324]

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So what kind of discharge was it?

an m-16? maybe a 9mm?

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Si hoc legere scis nimium eruditionis habes

[kelpdiver 2]

honorable/not/other.

[Kennedy 0]

I would hope for an other than honorable, but it's probably a dishonorable.

witty subliminal message
Guard your honor, let your reputation fall where it will, and outlast the bastards.
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