Word: greenes
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Dates: during 2000-2009
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With its dark wood benches, plush blue carpeting and rich ornamental details, the second-floor courtroom of the U.S. District Court in Paducah, Ky., is half a world away from Iraq's hardscrabble Triangle of Death. But in a trial that opened here on Monday, Steven Green, a former private first class from the 101st Airborne Division, stands accused of crimes committed there, one the worst atrocities believed to have been carried out by U.S. forces during...
Three soldiers from that murderous expedition have already been tried by court-martial for their roles in the crimes. All were found guilty and all were sentenced to jail terms of 90 years or longer. But because Green, whom the three other soldiers have described as both the plot's mastermind and trigger man, was discharged before the full extent of the crimes was discovered, he is being tried in a civilian court, where federal prosecutors are seeking the death penalty. He faces 17 counts of conspiracy, rape, murder, unlawful use of a weapon and obstruction of justice. (See TIME...
...opening statements, federal prosecutor Brian Skaret emphasized the barbarity of the slaughter, focusing almost exclusively on the events of March 12, and Green's alleged role in it. In the opposing opening statement, however, defense lawyer Patrick Bouldin called attention to what he called "the context of the tragedy." Although Green is pleading not guilty to all charges, Bouldin did not explicitly affirm his client's innocence during his remarks, emphasizing instead to the jury that the events of March 12 cannot be fully understood without appreciating the horrific conditions that Green's platoon labored under, the breakdown in leadership...
...getting a civilian jury to believe that the frequently dehumanizing extremes of life in a war zone can be mitigating factors for even the most heinous of crimes will be one of the defense team's greatest challenges. Green is the first former soldier to face trial - and the possible death penalty - in a civilian court for conduct during war. And, during the first day of trial, Green's lawyers clearly felt forced to assume a pedagogical role that would not be necessary with a military jury. They described not just the psychological toll that constant battle can take...
Over the past year, Green's lawyers have filed several motions challenging the Military Extraterritorial Jurisdiction Act (MEJA) of 2000 and 2004, a law designed to close the loophole that enabled military contractors or the spouses of servicemen and servicewomen to escape punishment for crimes committed abroad. Green's lawyers (as well as several military-law experts) have maintained that MEJA was never intended to cover cases like his, but, in August, U.S. District Judge Thomas Russell upheld its constitutionality. Green has offered to re-enlist in the Army and face a court-martial, but that request has also been...