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RandalFlagg
Stranger
Registered: 06/15/02
Posts: 15,608
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Military Jury Convicts Sergeant of Murder
#4081999 - 04/22/05 01:14 AM (17 years, 9 months ago) |
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This asshole better get the death penalty.
http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/ap/20050421/ap_on_re_us/101st_attacked
Military Jury Convicts Sergeant of Murder
By ESTES THOMPSON, Associated Press Writer
FORT BRAGG, N.C. - An Army sergeant was convicted Thursday by a military jury of premeditated murder and attempted murder in a grenade and rifle attack that killed two of his comrades and wounded 14 others in Kuwait during the opening days of the Iraq war.
Hasan Akbar, 34, now faces a possible death penalty, which the 15-member jury will consider at a hearing that begins Monday.
Prosecutors say Akbar told investigators he launched the attack because he was concerned U.S. troops would kill fellow Muslims in Iraq. They said he coolly carried out the attack to achieve "maximum carnage" on his comrades in the 101st Airborne Division.
The verdict came after 2 1/2 hours of deliberations following seven days of testimony in a court-martial ? the first time since the Vietnam era that an American has been prosecuted on charges of murdering a fellow soldier during wartime.
Akbar stood at attention as the verdict was read by the colonel who headed the jury panel, chewing his lip but giving no other outward sign of emotion. Defense attorneys acknowledged that Akbar carried out the attack, but argued he was too mentally ill to have premeditated it and was fueled by emotion.
Killed in the middle-of-the-night attack were Army Capt. Christopher Seifert, 27, who was shot in the back, and Air Force Maj. Gregory Stone, 40, who suffered 83 shrapnel wounds. The 101st was preparing to move into Iraq in support of the U.S. invasion when the attack occurred in March 2003.
"Sgt. Akbar executed that attack with a cool mind," prosecutor Capt. Robert McGovern said during closing arguments, cocking Akbar's unloaded M-4 rifle and pulling the trigger twice for emphasis. "He sought maximum carnage."
The prosecutor said Akbar planned carefully and stole grenades that would achieve maximum destruction in the brigade command section of Camp Pennsylvania in Kuwait.
Defense attorney Maj. Dan Brookhart countered that Akbar was concerned the invasion of Iraq would result in the deaths of Muslims and that U.S. soldiers would rape Iraqi women.
He said the prosecution's depiction of Akbar as a cold-blooded killer ignored that the defendant was sufficiently mentally ill ? though not insane ? to be confused and fearful about the impending invasion of Iraq.
The defense lawyer scoffed at an Army psychiatrist's testimony that Akbar suffered merely from "the blues" ? not any serious mental problems.
"It doesn't make any sense. This guy doesn't have the blues," he said. "He is mentally ill."
Brookhart said Akbar's actions after the initial attack showed he wasn't intent on achieving maximum destruction. He said Akbar stopped his attack with a nearly full clip still in his M-4 rifle and three more grenades. He also noted the defendant didn't try to flee during the chaos following the attack.
Akbar, who turned 34 Thursday, was charged with two counts of first-degree murder and three counts of attempted first-degree murder. Jurors ? nine officers and six non-commissioned officers ? had the ability to consider lesser charges, but chose not to.
During Thursday's arguments, relatives of the victims cried when prosecutors showed pictures of the bodies on a large TV screen. When a prosecutor pointed at Akbar, nearly yelling that he was responsible, Akbar sipped from a coffee mug.
If sentenced to death, Akbar would become the sixth soldier on military death row at Fort Leavenworth, Kan. He also could be sentenced to a life sentence.
The case was moved from Fort Campbell, Ky., home of the 101st, to Fort Bragg because the division still was in Iraq and Bragg is home of the 101st's higher command.
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looner2
ABBA fan

Registered: 06/21/04
Posts: 3,849
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Re: Military Jury Convicts Sergeant of Murder [Re: RandalFlagg]
#4082267 - 04/22/05 02:26 AM (17 years, 9 months ago) |
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Hang him.
-------------------- I am in love with Acidic_Sloth
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lonestar2004
Live to party,work to affordit.


Registered: 10/04/04
Posts: 8,978
Loc: South Texas
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Re: Military Jury Convicts Sergeant of Murder [Re: looner2]
#4082656 - 04/22/05 04:11 AM (17 years, 9 months ago) |
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i hope he gets to see the 72 virgins soon.
-------------------- America's debt problem is a "sign of leadership failure"
We have "reckless fiscal policies"
America has a debt problem and a failure of leadership. Americans deserve better
Barack Obama
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zahudulallah
Sexual Heretic

Registered: 10/21/04
Posts: 10,579
Loc: Tokyo, Japan
Last seen: 17 years, 8 months
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Re: Military Jury Convicts Sergeant of Murder [Re: lonestar2004]
#4082824 - 04/22/05 05:16 AM (17 years, 9 months ago) |
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Me too
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Saladin
Follower of theTruth

Registered: 07/01/04
Posts: 68
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Re: Military Jury Convicts Sergeant of Murder [Re: looner2]
#4082853 - 04/22/05 05:25 AM (17 years, 9 months ago) |
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All he did was protect his fellow Muslims from an American crusade. You want to murder him for that?
-------------------- Allahu Akbar
Free Hasan Akbar!
Viva La France!
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zahudulallah
Sexual Heretic

Registered: 10/21/04
Posts: 10,579
Loc: Tokyo, Japan
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Re: Military Jury Convicts Sergeant of Murder [Re: Saladin]
#4082905 - 04/22/05 05:40 AM (17 years, 9 months ago) |
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Muslims suck. I don't know what the fuck I was thinking for the past three years. You guys are fucking nuts
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Silversoul
Rhizome


Registered: 01/02/05
Posts: 23,576
Loc: The Barricades
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Re: Military Jury Convicts Sergeant of Murder [Re: zahudulallah]
#4083538 - 04/22/05 08:51 AM (17 years, 9 months ago) |
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Quote:
zahudulallah said: Muslims suck. I don't know what the fuck I was thinking for the past three years. You guys are fucking nuts
Goddamn, you've been through more phases than Madonna.
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Psychoactive1984
PositiveCynicist

Registered: 02/06/05
Posts: 3,546
Loc: California, Monterey Coun...
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Re: Military Jury Convicts Sergeant of Murder [Re: Silversoul]
#4083567 - 04/22/05 08:59 AM (17 years, 9 months ago) |
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zahudulallah... can you at least explain why Muslims suck?
-------------------- "Their is one overriding question that concerns us all: How can we get out of the fatal groove we are in, the one that is leading towards the brink?" Albert Szent-Gyorgyi
"We may not be capable of eradicating the corruption of reason, but we must nevertheless counter it at every instance and with every means." Dan Agin
"Politics is the best religion and politicians are the worst followers." -It's ok to trip as long as you don't fall. -Substance over Style.
-Common sense is uncommon.
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Psychoactive1984
PositiveCynicist

Registered: 02/06/05
Posts: 3,546
Loc: California, Monterey Coun...
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Re: Military Jury Convicts Sergeant of Murder [Re: RandalFlagg]
#4083582 - 04/22/05 09:06 AM (17 years, 9 months ago) |
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I hope he gets imprisoned; well, go ahead and give him death for the deaths that he knowingly attributed to.
Regardless of the circumstances presented, death was going to occur as a result of the situation. I guess it's the idealogy that we're tauting that is more deserving then the ones that we're fighting against...
Paid killers... are paid killers, and they aren't necessarily fighting for, nor endorsing what they are fighting for, for many it's a way of sustanance.
What if you heard the same story from the ranks of an Iraqi RandalFlagg would you share the same sentiments, or would it be a "good" thing? From what I gather from many of your threads and comments, you're really against Iraq as a whole; including their dominant beliefs, and culture, and fail to realize that a countries idealogy isn't representative of its people.
-------------------- "Their is one overriding question that concerns us all: How can we get out of the fatal groove we are in, the one that is leading towards the brink?" Albert Szent-Gyorgyi
"We may not be capable of eradicating the corruption of reason, but we must nevertheless counter it at every instance and with every means." Dan Agin
"Politics is the best religion and politicians are the worst followers." -It's ok to trip as long as you don't fall. -Substance over Style.
-Common sense is uncommon.
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zahudulallah
Sexual Heretic

Registered: 10/21/04
Posts: 10,579
Loc: Tokyo, Japan
Last seen: 17 years, 8 months
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Re: Military Jury Convicts Sergeant of Murder [Re: Psychoactive1984]
#4083683 - 04/22/05 10:08 AM (17 years, 9 months ago) |
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They have an abundance of dogma. Of all world religions, Islam is the unruly teenager
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Learyfan
It's the psychedelic movement!


Registered: 04/21/01
Posts: 33,509
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Re: Military Jury Convicts Sergeant of Murder [Re: zahudulallah]
#4084016 - 04/22/05 02:43 PM (17 years, 9 months ago) |
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Quote:
zahudulallah said: They have an abundance of dogma. Of all world religions, Islam is the unruly teenager
You serious? You're not Muslim anymore?
-------------------- -------------------------------- Mp3 of the month: Dennis & The Times - Flight Patterns
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Baby_Hitler
Errorist



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Re: Military Jury Convicts Sergeant of Murder [Re: RandalFlagg]
#4084098 - 04/22/05 04:11 PM (17 years, 9 months ago) |
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Hey, It's war
-------------------- (•_•) <) )~ ANTIFA / \ \(•_•) ( (> SUPER / \ (•_•) <) )> SOLDIERS / \
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RandalFlagg
Stranger
Registered: 06/15/02
Posts: 15,608
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Re: Military Jury Convicts Sergeant of Murder [Re: Psychoactive1984]
#4084793 - 04/22/05 08:46 PM (17 years, 9 months ago) |
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Quote:
Psychoactive1984 said: From what I gather from many of your threads and comments, you're really against Iraq as a whole; including their dominant beliefs, and culture, and fail to realize that a countries idealogy isn't representative of its people.
Huh? When did I say I was against Iraq? I want that country to be stable and to prosper.
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SWEDEN
Miracle of Science

Registered: 10/25/04
Posts: 2,577
Loc: PNW
Last seen: 5 years, 8 months
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Re: Military Jury Convicts Sergeant of Murder [Re: RandalFlagg]
#4084896 - 04/22/05 09:13 PM (17 years, 9 months ago) |
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He is against the terrorists and the insurgents, most of which are not Iraqis but fellow muslims. From what I gather.
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Edited by SWEDEN (04/22/05 09:13 PM)
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Psychoactive1984
PositiveCynicist

Registered: 02/06/05
Posts: 3,546
Loc: California, Monterey Coun...
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Re: Military Jury Convicts Sergeant of Murder [Re: zahudulallah]
#4085129 - 04/22/05 10:40 PM (17 years, 9 months ago) |
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Quote:
zahudulallah said: They have an abundance of dogma. Of all world religions, Islam is the unruly teenager
Christianity is far more prominant, and more of it's actions reflect that of an unruly teenager by virtue of the size of its denominations....
If you choose to involve theology and tie it to it's believers behavior, we can additionally talk about common misconceptions of Christians and some of their outright fallacions behavior.
http://www.cnn.com/2005/US/04/20/mary.underpass.ap/index.html
I saw god in a puddle next to the side of the street yesterday as well .
-------------------- "Their is one overriding question that concerns us all: How can we get out of the fatal groove we are in, the one that is leading towards the brink?" Albert Szent-Gyorgyi
"We may not be capable of eradicating the corruption of reason, but we must nevertheless counter it at every instance and with every means." Dan Agin
"Politics is the best religion and politicians are the worst followers." -It's ok to trip as long as you don't fall. -Substance over Style.
-Common sense is uncommon.
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RandalFlagg
Stranger
Registered: 06/15/02
Posts: 15,608
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Re: Military Jury Convicts Sergeant of Murder [Re: Psychoactive1984]
#4110231 - 04/29/05 05:30 PM (17 years, 9 months ago) |
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Update on this story.
http://www.cnn.com/2005/LAW/04/28/akbar.trial.ap/index.html
U.S. soldier sentenced to death
Akbar apologized for killing comrades in 101st Airborne
Thursday, April 28, 2005 Posted: 10:32 PM EDT (0232 GMT) FORT BRAGG, North Carolina (AP) -- A military jury sentenced a soldier to death Thursday for a grenade and rifle attack on his own comrades during the opening days of the Iraq invasion, a barrage that killed two officers and that prosecutors said was driven by religious extremism.
Sgt. Hasan Akbar, who gave a brief, barely audible apology hours earlier, stood at attention between his lawyers as the verdict was delivered. He showed no emotion.
He could have been sentenced to life in prison with or without parole for the early morning March 2003 attack, which also wounded 14 fellow members of the Army's 101st Airborne Division at Camp Pennsylvania in Kuwait.
The 15-person military jury, which last week took just two and a half hours to convict Akbar of premeditated murder and attempted premeditated murder, deliberated for about seven hours in the sentencing phase. After jurors reached a verdict, they voted on whether to reconsider the decision after one juror asked that they do so.
The sentence will be reviewed by a commanding officer and automatically appealed. If Akbar is executed, it would be by lethal injection.
"I want to apologize for the attack that occurred. I felt that my life was in jeopardy, and I had no other options. I also want to ask you for forgiveness," Akbar told the jury before it deliberated in the sentencing phase.
Akbar, 34, spoke for less than a minute, delivering an unsworn statement that could not be cross-examined. He spoke in such a low voice that even prosecutors sitting nearby had trouble hearing, with one lawyer even cupping his ear.
While the defense contends Akbar was too mentally ill to plan the attack, they have never disputed that he threw grenades into troop tents in the early morning darkness and then fired on soldiers in the ensuing chaos. Army Capt. Chris Seifert, 27, and Air Force Maj. Gregory Stone, 40, were killed.
Prosecutors say Akbar launched the attack at his camp -- days before the soldiers were to move into Iraq -- because he was concerned about U.S. troops killing fellow Muslims in the Iraq war.
"He is a hate-filled, ideologically driven murderer," chief prosecutor Lt. Col. Michael Mulligan said. He added that Akbar wrote in his diary in 1997, "My life will not be complete unless America is destroyed."
Akbar is the first American since the Vietnam era to be prosecuted on charges of murdering a fellow soldier during wartime.
Defense attorney Maj. David Coombs told jurors that a sentence of life without parole would allow Akbar to be treated for mental illness and possibly rehabilitated.
"Death is an absolute punishment, a punishment of last resort," Coombs said.
A defense psychiatrist testified that although Akbar was legally sane and understood the consequences of his attack, he suffered from forms of paranoia and schizophrenia.
Akbar's father, John Akbar, has said his son complained in vain to his superiors about religious and racial harassment before the attack. The defense never introduced any witnesses to testify about any such harassment.
John Akbar was not in the courtroom for the verdict. He emerged from a meeting with his son in tears and declined to comment.
If given a death sentence, Hasan Akbar would join five others on the military's death row at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas. The last U.S. military execution was in 1961.
Have fun with Allah, asshole.
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