BAGHDAD — A U.S. Army private on Tuesday described the ever-present fear of death gripping his unit, whose members stand accused of raping and murdering a 14-year-old girl and killing her family in Iraq's infamous "Triangle of Death."
"You're just walking a death walk," Pfc. Justin Cross said at a hearing to determine whether five soldiers must stand trial in the March 12 attack near Mahmoudiya.
But prosecutors argued that the arduous missions and frequent loss of life were no excuse for rape and murder.
"Murder, not war. Rape, not war. That's what we're here talking about today," prosecutor Capt. Alex Pickands said in his closing argument before the three-day hearing ended. "Cold food didn't kill that family. Personnel assignments didn't rape and murder that 14-year-old little girl."
Pickands said the suspects "gathered together over cards and booze and came up with a plan to rape and murder that little girl."
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The hearing officer must forward a recommendation to the brigade commander, Col. Todd Ebel, who must decide whether to order a trial.
Spc. James P. Barker, Sgt. Paul E. Cortez, Pfc. Jesse V. Spielman and Pfc. Bryan L. Howard are accused of raping and murdering the girl and killing her parents and 5-year-old sister. Another soldier, Sgt. Anthony W. Yribe, is accused of failing to report the attack.
Testimony during the Article 32 hearing, the military equivalent of a grand jury, has painted a picture of a unit demoralized by the deaths of comrades and exhausted after frequent attacks.
"It drives you nuts. You feel like every step you might get blown up," Cross said during the hearing. He said the unit was "full of despair."
"I couldn't sleep, mainly for fear we would be attacked," Cross said. He said the deaths of two soldiers at a checkpoint "pretty much crushed the platoon."
To cope with the stress, he said, soldiers turned to whiskey — a violation of U.S. regulations in Iraq — and painkillers.
Much of the testimony has centered on former Pfc. Steven D. Green, who was discharged because of a "personality disorder."
Green was arrested in June shortly after the command learned U.S. soldiers may have been involved in the attack. He has pleaded not guilty to rape and murder charges and is being held in the United States.
On Tuesday, Pfc. Justin Watt said he didn't believe Green "could have done this all by himself."
Under U.S. military law, premeditated murder carries the death penalty.
Eugene Fidell, a lawyer and president of the National Institute of Military Justice in Washington, said the defense may be raising combat stress in hopes of getting the charges modified.
