U.S. Army medic Sgt. Michael Leahy Jr. was convicted on February 20, 2009, in the execution-style killings of four Iraqi prisoners. A nine-member jury at Leahy's court-martial in Vilsek, Germany, found the 28-year-old guilty of murder and conspiracy to commit murder for his involvement in the detainees deaths in 2007. Leahy faces up to life in prison and a dishonorable discharge from the Army.Chron.com: US soldier guilty of murder...
A Conscious Choice?
Sgt. Michael Leahy's defense attorneys argued their client was "dazed from a lack of sleep and numb from being in a war zone" and thus could not be held accountable for his actions, because he could not reason properly. Prosecutors argued that Leahy made a "conscious choice" to kill the Iraqi prisoners, adding that Leahy and the other accused soldiers chose to be "judge, jury and executioner all at once."Chron.com: US soldier guilty of murder...
References
Fast Facts
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Born
ca. 1981
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Hometown
Lockport, Illinois
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Fact:
Found guilty of murder and conspiracy to commit murder in the deaths of four Iraqi prisoners
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Fact:
Bodies of the detainees were found in a canal in Baghdad, Iraq, after they were shot
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Fact:
Prisoners were murdered execution-style in the spring of 2007
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Fact:
Master Sgt. John Hatley, Sgt. 1st Class Joseph Mayo and Sgt. Charles Quigley are also accused in the killingsChron.com: US soldier guilty of murder...
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Fact:
Leahy and the two other soldiers were members of the 1st Battalion, 18th Infantry Regiment, 2nd Brigade of the 1st Infantry Division in Iraq
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Fact:
Leahy reportedly confessed to the shooting of one prisoner during a January 2008 interrogationChron.com: US soldier guilty of murder...
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Fact:
Interrogation was videotaped and played for the nine-member jury during his trial
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Fact:
Leahy was expected to be sentenced at a later date; could receive life in prison
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Fact:
Leahy was acquitted in 2007 on a separate, unrelated murder chargeChron.com: US soldier guilty of murder...
