A second US soldier's plea of guilty to the gang rape of a 14-year-old Iraqi girl and the killing of her and her family has been accepted by a judge. Sgt Paul Cortez admitted four murders, rape and conspiracy to rape. His plea means he will avoid the death penalty.
Personal opinion is that as long as the United States retain the death penalty, there'd be no better time or place to use it than when soldiers conspire to rape and multiple-murder innocents. Aren't soldiers supposed to be held to a higher standard of behaviour?
The case is one of several in which US troops are accused of killing Iraqis.
According to the plea agreement, Cortez admitted conspiring with three other soldiers, Private First Class Jesse Spielman, Specialist Barker and Steven Green, a now discharged soldier, to rape Abeer Qassim al-Janabi. He said: "During the time me and Barker were raping Abeer, I heard five or six gunshots that came from the bedroom.
"After Barker was done, Green came out of the bedroom and said that he had killed them all, that all of them were dead." Cortez added: "Green then placed himself between Abeer's legs to rape her. When Green was finished, he stood up and shot Abeer in the head two or three times."
The entire crime took about five minutes and the girl knew her parents and sister had been shot while she was being raped, the hearing heard.
I note that the article doesn't mention the religions of the perpetrators, however "Paul" is a typical Judeo-Christian name. |