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ARMY Opens New Abuse Probe
Army opens new abuse probe
Soldier says Iraq inmates targeted
By Lolita C. Baldor, Associated Press | September 24, 2005
WASHINGTON -- The Army has opened an investigation into a Fort Bragg soldier's allegations that he witnessed and heard about widespread prisoner abuse, including torture and a beating with a baseball bat, while serving at a base in Iraq.
The announcement was made yesterday as Human Rights Watch prepared to release a report on three 82d Airborne Division soldiers' accounts of prisoners being beaten, forced to hold 5-gallon jugs of water in their outstretched arms, and denied sleep, food, and water.
The abuse, one of the sergeants said, was like a game and a way for soldiers to work out their frustrations. The soldiers said there was a great deal of confusion about what types of treatment were allowed under the Geneva Conventions, and senior officers provided little guidance.
Human Rights Watch compiled the report from interviews with a captain and two sergeants who were stationed at a military base called Mercury, near Fallujah. The captain said his complaints were ignored for 17 months and that he was denied a pass to leave his base after planning to meet with Senate staff members, the report said.
Army officials said they began their investigation as soon as the matter came to their attention. Army spokesman Paul Boyce said the soldier, whose name was not released, told superiors about the allegations and was referred to the Army's Criminal Investigation Command. The probe began at least two weeks ago, he said.
The Human Rights Watch report detailed severe, routine beatings of detainees by the 82d Airborne Division.
© Copyright 2005 Globe Newspaper Company.
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Psychologist: England suffered depression
U.S. Army Pfc. Lynndie R. England walks out of the courthouse following a day of proceedings in her court-martial, Thursday, Sept. 22, 2005, in Fort Hood, Texas. Two former guards at Abu Ghraib testified Thursday that Pfc. England was impressionable and under the sway of her soldier boyfriend, who prosecutors have labeled the ringleader of detainee abuse. U.S. Army Pfc. Lynndie R. England walks out of the courthouse following a day of proceedings in her court-martial, Thursday, Sept. 22, 2005, in Fort Hood, Texas. Two former guards at Abu Ghraib testified Thursday that Pfc. England was impressionable and under the sway of her soldier boyfriend, who prosecutors have labeled the ringleader of detainee abuse. (AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez)
By T.A. Badger, Associated Press Writer | September 24, 2005
FORT HOOD, Texas --A psychologist testified that Pfc. Lynndie England suffered from depression and has an overly compliant personality, making her a heedless participant in abuse of inmates at Abu Ghraib prison.
Xavier Amador, a clinical psychologist from New York, said England's soldier boyfriend, Charles Graner, was her "social accomplice" whom she relied upon without reservation to guide her behavior.
"It was a knee-jerk reflex," Amador testified Friday during England's military trial. "It was very much like a little kid looking to an adult for what to do and what not to do."
Prosecutors maintain England was a willing participant in the 2003 abuse at Abu Ghraib. They tried to paint Amador as a professional defense witness who tailored his testimony to benefit her.
Maj. Jennifer Lange, an Army psychiatrist called by prosecutors to rebut Amador's testimony, interviewed England and concluded that she was neither clinically depressed nor suffered from other personality disorders.
England, 22, is charged with seven counts of conspiracy and abuse that carry a maximum sentence of 11 years. Her case will be decided by a jury of five Army officers. An earlier plea deal fell through when testimony by Graner contradicted England's guilty plea.
Closing arguments before a jury of five Army officers are scheduled Monday, with deliberations to follow.
England became the most recognizable of the Abu Ghraib soldiers charged in the prison scandal after photos showing her with a naked detainee on a leash and pointing to detainees in other demeaning poses became public.
In earlier testimony Friday, a West Virginia school psychologist, Thomas Denne, said he realized he had failed England, whom he had worked with as a special-education student since her early childhood.
Denne said he concluded he and others focused too much on getting the mild-mannered girl through school and not enough on providing her with real-life skills.
"She would seek some form of authority in order to follow," Denne said. "She almost automatically, reflexively complies."
Graner, who England has said fathered her son while they were deployed, is described by prosecutors as the ringleader of detainee abuse at Abu Ghraib. Graner was sentenced to 10 years in prison for his role.
© Copyright 2005 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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Soldier says Iraq inmates targeted
By Lolita C. Baldor, Associated Press | September 24, 2005
WASHINGTON -- The Army has opened an investigation into a Fort Bragg soldier's allegations that he witnessed and heard about widespread prisoner abuse, including torture and a beating with a baseball bat, while serving at a base in Iraq.
The announcement was made yesterday as Human Rights Watch prepared to release a report on three 82d Airborne Division soldiers' accounts of prisoners being beaten, forced to hold 5-gallon jugs of water in their outstretched arms, and denied sleep, food, and water.
The abuse, one of the sergeants said, was like a game and a way for soldiers to work out their frustrations. The soldiers said there was a great deal of confusion about what types of treatment were allowed under the Geneva Conventions, and senior officers provided little guidance.
Human Rights Watch compiled the report from interviews with a captain and two sergeants who were stationed at a military base called Mercury, near Fallujah. The captain said his complaints were ignored for 17 months and that he was denied a pass to leave his base after planning to meet with Senate staff members, the report said.
Army officials said they began their investigation as soon as the matter came to their attention. Army spokesman Paul Boyce said the soldier, whose name was not released, told superiors about the allegations and was referred to the Army's Criminal Investigation Command. The probe began at least two weeks ago, he said.
The Human Rights Watch report detailed severe, routine beatings of detainees by the 82d Airborne Division.
© Copyright 2005 Globe Newspaper Company.
----------------------------------
Psychologist: England suffered depression
U.S. Army Pfc. Lynndie R. England walks out of the courthouse following a day of proceedings in her court-martial, Thursday, Sept. 22, 2005, in Fort Hood, Texas. Two former guards at Abu Ghraib testified Thursday that Pfc. England was impressionable and under the sway of her soldier boyfriend, who prosecutors have labeled the ringleader of detainee abuse. U.S. Army Pfc. Lynndie R. England walks out of the courthouse following a day of proceedings in her court-martial, Thursday, Sept. 22, 2005, in Fort Hood, Texas. Two former guards at Abu Ghraib testified Thursday that Pfc. England was impressionable and under the sway of her soldier boyfriend, who prosecutors have labeled the ringleader of detainee abuse. (AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez)
By T.A. Badger, Associated Press Writer | September 24, 2005
FORT HOOD, Texas --A psychologist testified that Pfc. Lynndie England suffered from depression and has an overly compliant personality, making her a heedless participant in abuse of inmates at Abu Ghraib prison.
Xavier Amador, a clinical psychologist from New York, said England's soldier boyfriend, Charles Graner, was her "social accomplice" whom she relied upon without reservation to guide her behavior.
"It was a knee-jerk reflex," Amador testified Friday during England's military trial. "It was very much like a little kid looking to an adult for what to do and what not to do."
Prosecutors maintain England was a willing participant in the 2003 abuse at Abu Ghraib. They tried to paint Amador as a professional defense witness who tailored his testimony to benefit her.
Maj. Jennifer Lange, an Army psychiatrist called by prosecutors to rebut Amador's testimony, interviewed England and concluded that she was neither clinically depressed nor suffered from other personality disorders.
England, 22, is charged with seven counts of conspiracy and abuse that carry a maximum sentence of 11 years. Her case will be decided by a jury of five Army officers. An earlier plea deal fell through when testimony by Graner contradicted England's guilty plea.
Closing arguments before a jury of five Army officers are scheduled Monday, with deliberations to follow.
England became the most recognizable of the Abu Ghraib soldiers charged in the prison scandal after photos showing her with a naked detainee on a leash and pointing to detainees in other demeaning poses became public.
In earlier testimony Friday, a West Virginia school psychologist, Thomas Denne, said he realized he had failed England, whom he had worked with as a special-education student since her early childhood.
Denne said he concluded he and others focused too much on getting the mild-mannered girl through school and not enough on providing her with real-life skills.
"She would seek some form of authority in order to follow," Denne said. "She almost automatically, reflexively complies."
Graner, who England has said fathered her son while they were deployed, is described by prosecutors as the ringleader of detainee abuse at Abu Ghraib. Graner was sentenced to 10 years in prison for his role.
© Copyright 2005 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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