Family wanted death penalty
2007-08-05 16:13
Kerbala - The family of a teenage
Iraqi girl gang raped and murdered by US troops said on Sunday
they were disappointed that a soldier sentenced to 110 years in
jail for the crime did not receive the death penalty.
Jesse Spielman was found guilty of four counts of
murder, rape, conspiracy to commit rape, and housebreaking with
the intent to commit rape by a US military court in Kentucky
on Saturday over the March 2006 attack.
Abeer Qassim al-Janabiat, her parents and younger sister
were shot dead in Mahmudiya, south of Baghdad. The crime
outraged Iraqis and significantly increased tensions with US
forces in Iraq.
"We were expecting the death penalty against those criminals
and the place to carry out the sentence is where the incident
happened," Janabiat's cousin, Abu Ammar, told Reuters.
Her uncle, Hadi Abdullah, said the family wished the
sentence could be appealed so that the death penalty could be
imposed for all those responsible.
Spielman, who received a dishonourable discharge after being
found guilty, was one of five soldiers charged over the attack
on Janabiat and her family.
Three soldiers previously pleaded
guilty and were given sentences ranging from five to 100 years.
Ringleader facing death
The accused ringleader, former Steven Green, was
discharged from the army for a "personality disorder" and is
awaiting trial in a civilian court, where he could face a
possible death penalty.
The military court found Spielman participated in the
planning of the attack as soldiers drank whiskey and played
cards, and acted as a lookout.
He pleaded guilty to wrongful
touching of a corpse, arson, obstructing justice and violating
rules against drinking alcohol in a war zone.
Mahmudiya Mayor Muaid al-Aamiri welcomed the long jail
sentence, but acknowledged that many local people wanted an even
harsher penalty.
"Definitely it will deter whoever commits a crime and
violates human rights," Aamiri told Reuters.
"Some people are happy and others want the death penalty
because the crime is so ugly," he said.