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May 04, 2005
Judge Halts England Sentencing; Private Graner Not Playing Ball
Pohl abruptly stopped England's sentencing hearing after Graner testified for the defense that three pictures he took of England holding a naked prisoner on a leash were meant to be used as a legitimate training aid for other guards....
On Monday, when England pleaded guilty, she told the judge she knew at the time that the pictures were taken purely for the amusement of the guards at the Baghdad prison.
Before the judge stopped the proceeding, Graner had not been asked if England knew the photos were to be used as training aids.
"If you don't want to plead guilty, don't," Pohl admonished the defendant while Graner sat on the witness stand. "But you can't plead guilty and say you're not guilty. ... You can't have it both ways."
...
Graner maintains that he and the other Abu Ghraib guards were following orders from higher-ranking interrogators when they abused the detainees.
Remember that yesterday Lynndie England first testified said she assumed what she was doing was okay, at which point the lawyers for both the prosecution and the defense jointly requested a one-hour recess.
After the recess, the presumably-better-coached England duly testified that, no, unlike what she had just said, she knew what she had done was wrong -- a requirement for her guilty plea, and the subsequent plea bargain. She also absolved all superiors, and the speculation has been that this is what the real bargaining was about -- a lighter sentence in return for a ""No Sir" to the question "Do you believe any of this conduct was in any way encouraged by a chain of command."
P.S. Maybe this is the reason for the concern her lawyers have with Lynndie England's "learning disabilities." She's slow to learn what she is supposed to say on the stand to clear the chain of command.
Posted by zeynep at May 4, 2005 01:12 PM
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