9 months for 2 murders! I thought the US was tough on crimes like this :dunno:
U.S. soldier who shot at Afghan farmers jailed for nine months after agreeing to testify against 'kill team' targeting civilians
A U.S. soldier has been sentenced to nine months in prison after pleading guilty to shooting at unarmed Afghan farmers and agreeing to testify against other soldiers.
Staff Sergeant Robert Stevens, 25, admitted opening fire on two men for no reason, saying he and other soldiers were acting on orders from a squad leader during a patrol in March.
Five of a group of 12 soldiers are accused of premeditated murder in the most serious prosecution of alleged atrocities by U.S. military personnel since the war began in 2001.
Court martial: Staff Sergeant Robert Stevens has been jailed for nine months after admitting shooting at unarmed Afghan farmers (file picture)
Several are alleged to have collected severed fingers and other human remains as war trophies in Afghanistan.
Stevens, an army medic, faced a maximum penalty of nearly 20 years in prison after admitting aggravated assault with a dangerous weapon, wrongfully throwing a grenade from his vehicle during a convoy, making false statements to military investigators and dereliction of duty at a court martial at Joint Base Lewis-McChord near Tacoma, Washington.
He said: 'I performed those actions and I did it.'
Stevens, of Portland, Oregon, had served in the U.S. Army for more than seven years, was the first of the group to be court martialled because he waived his rights to a preliminary proceeding.
As part of the deal, military prosecutors said they would grant him immunity from further charges in exchange for his testimony against the other 11 soldiers.
'It's the right think to do and I'm going to do it,' he said at the hearing.
Hearings: The court martials of 12 U.S. soldiers are taking place at Joint Base Lewis-McChord in Washington state
He pleaded not guilty to a fifth charge, conspiracy to commit assault, stemming from the shooting incident involving the two Afghan farmers.
Prosecuters had sought a prison term of at least 18 months.
Stevens will serve his nine months at a military brig on his home base. He will be demoted to E-1 private, the lowest rank in the Army, and forfeit his pay while in prison but will be allowed to stay in the military.
Five of the soldiers are charged with killing three civilians in Kandahar Province earlier this year, and the others face misconduct allegations ranging from drug use to beating up a fellow soldier after an investigation into the 5th Stryker Brigade unit's activities.
The highest ranked soldier charged in the killings, Staff Sergeant Calvin Gibbs, is accused of leading the alleged murder plot and putting together a 'kill team' to carry out unprovoked attacks.
He is also accused of collecting illicit weapons and leaving them near the bodies of civilians to make them appear to be combatants.
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...ing-unarmed-Afghan-farmers.html#ixzz16yuH4Sx9
