Region | Iraq
US Army officer gets 25 years for murder
An Army officer was sentenced to 25 years in prison by a military jury on Saturday for shooting and killing an Iraqi detainee during an interrogation.
- AP
- Published: 22:28 March 1, 2009
Fort Campbell, Kentucky : An Army officer was sentenced to 25 years in prison by a military jury on Saturday for shooting and killing an Iraqi detainee during an interrogation.
First Lieutenant Michael Behenna was convicted a day earlier of murder and assault, but acquitted of making a false statement. He had faced up to life in prison.
"We are disappointed at the jury's verdict and the sentence," Behenna's attorney Jack Zimmermann said.
Zimmermann said he has filed a motion for a mistrial, claiming prosecutors withheld evidence that could help Behenna's defence.
The judge has scheduled arguments on the motion for today, Zimmermann said.
Behenna testified he was trying to defend himself when he shot Ali Mansour Mohammad and that the detainee reached for the officer's gun in a secluded railroad culvert near Beiji, Iraq, in May.
Prosecutors said the detainee was defenceless against Behenna and the officer's threats and other actions showed he had planned to kill the man.
Zimmermann said Behenna wouldn't have brought along an Iraqi translator if he had planned to kill the detainee.
Behenna testified that he threatened Mohammad and pointed his gun at him to scare out information about a roadside bombing that killed two members of his platoon.
Behenna said he believed Mohammed was involved in the bombing and could provide names of the insurgents responsible.
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