U.S. Soldier
Pleads Guilty in 'Mercy' Killing of Iraqi
Staff sergeant is given a three-year prison
term. Others in his unit are accused in slayings.
December 11, 2004|Edmund Sanders | Times Staff Writer
BAGHDAD — A U.S. Army staff sergeant who shot
an unarmed, wounded Iraqi teenager to put the youth "out of his
misery" pleaded guilty to murder Friday and was sentenced to three years
in prison.
Staff Sgt. Johnny Horne Jr., 30, admitted
that he killed Qassim Hassan, 16, after his unit attacked a group of Iraqis on
Aug. 18 in the Baghdad slum of Sadr City. Horne said the teenager was so badly
wounded that he would have died anyway.
U.S. military prosecutors did not call any of
Hassan's relatives or Iraqis to testify Friday at the trial and sentencing
hearing. In interviews with The Times in October, family members, including
people who witnessed the shooting, said that Hassan's wounds were not serious
and that his life could have been saved with medical attention.
Horne pleaded guilty to one count of murder
and one count of conspiracy to commit murder. The plea agreement ensured that
his sentence would be no more than 10 years.
A seven-member military panel deliberated
about four hours before passing sentence. Horne was also reduced in rank to
private, ordered to forfeit pay and given a dishonorable discharge.
He is among five U.S. soldiers from the 1st
Battalion, 41st Infantry Regiment who are accused of killing four Iraqis during
10 days in August. The unit is based at Ft. Riley, Kan.
Two other members of the unit are accused of
executing two unarmed Iraqis inside their homes during a series of
house-to-house searches Aug. 28. The soldiers said the men threatened them with
weapons, but one soldier later acknowledged that the story was fabricated.
Two more soldiers from the 1-41st face murder
charges for killing fellow troops in Kansas.
The Aug. 18 killing occurred after Horne's
unit fired on a dump truck believed to be filled with insurgents planting
roadside bombs. In fact, the truck carried young men and teenagers who had been
hired to collect trash, witnesses and military investigators said.
"We just lit it up," testified Spc.
Joshua R. Sickels, a member of the company. "We let loose with
everything."
At least seven Iraqis were killed and eight
wounded. Military prosecutors alleged that Horne, of North Carolina, conspired
with Staff Sgt. Cardenas Alban of Carson, Calif., and platoon leader 2nd Lt.
Erick Anderson to kill the Iraqi. Alban and Anderson are also charged with
premeditated murder.
Horne agreed to cooperate in the murder cases
against his comrades.
In an unsworn statement made during his
sentencing hearing Friday, Horne said he felt terrible about the attack,
particularly after approaching the scene and seeing dead and wounded children.
"My gut instinct was either the wrong
vehicle got shot at or ... I don't know," he said Friday.
Horne said he came upon the badly burned body
of a male whose internal organs had been blown away. Despite massive injuries,
the victim was struggling to breathe, Horne said in his unsworn statement.
Horne said he turned for help to Alban and
Anderson, his superior officer.
"My god, he's just a kid," Alban
said, according to Horne's account of the conversation.
"What do you want to do?" Anderson
asked Horne.
"I don't want to leave him like
that," Horne said he replied.
"Do it," Anderson said.
Horne said the three men had a "mutual
understanding" that Horne would shoot the victim. Alban fired first,
unloading a burst of bullets from his rifle. Despite the volley of shots, Horne
said, Hassan was still breathing, so he fired another shot.
Soldiers on the scene argued about Horne's
actions, a debate that continues to divide the unit, soldiers said.
Some called the shooting a "mercy"
killing and noted that Horne rushed to rescue the victims in the burning truck.
"He pulled a small child out of a truck
believed to be full of explosives," said Spc. Travis Vogt, a member of the
unit.
Others testified that they watched the
shooting in horror.
"I was in disbelief," said Spc.
William Davis, a member of the unit. "I couldn't believe it was
happening."
Davis said Horne first asked him to shoot the
Iraqi, but Davis refused. Horne denied that claim.
Spc. Shonta Williams said he was surprised
that the victims were not rushed to hospitals or evacuated by helicopters.
A few days after the shooting, a soldier in
Horne's unit slipped an anonymous note under the commander's door, saying
"serious crimes" had been committed.
During Friday's hearing, Horne played an
emotional taped appeal by his elderly parents and 6-year-old daughter urging
the panel to be lenient.
As Horne's trial continued, another soldier
from the unit defended himself in a courtroom about 100 yards away.
Staff Sgt. Michael P. Williams, 25, is
charged with the premeditated murder of three Iraqis, including a man who was
seen running from the dump truck Aug. 18. Williams opened fire on the man,
despite the fact that another soldier claimed the man was waving a white flag
and shouting, "Baby! Baby!"
"He was trying to inform us that we were
shooting a truck full of children," Pfc. Gary Romriell testified. "He
was unarmed. I didn't take him as hostile."
Other soldiers said in the chaos after the
attack on the truck, Williams could not be sure whether the man was a threat.