US v. Steven Green (Mahmudiya) fr

Country of proceedings: United States
Context of crimes: Iraq
Date: 2006 - 2009
Keywords: War crimes (murder, rape/sexual violence)

Case No.: 5:06-cr-00019-TBR-ALL

Court Documents
Criminal Docket

30-06-2006 - Criminal Complaint
26-08-2008 - Memorandum opinion (jurisdiction)
23-03-2009 - Proposed Penalty Phase Instructions for Capital Counts
07-05-2009 - Jury Instructions
07-05-2009 - Verdict
21-05-2009 - Jury Instructions
21-05-2009 - Special Verdict
04-09-2009 - Sentence

Presentation of the case
In March 2006, five US soldiers carried out the gang rape and subsequent killing of a young Iraqi girl and her family at a location near the village of Al-Mahmudiyah, South of Baghdad, in Iraq.

Steven Green had been discharged from the army for a psychiatric disorder before the charges were brought. As he was not a member of the armed forces, he appeared before a civilian court, the US District Court for the Western District of Kentucky, Paducah Division. On 7 May 2009, the jury found him guilty of rape and murder. On 21 May 2009, Steven Green was spared the death penalty as the jury could not reach a unanimous agreement on the necessary penalty. As a result, Green received a life sentence without parole at formal sentencing on 4 September 2009.

Concerning the four other soldiers involved in the crimes, three pleaded guilty in court-martial proceedings: Spc. James P. Barker and Sgt. Paul E. Cortez were sentenced to 90 and 100 years respectively, while Pfc. Bryan L. Howard, who had prior knowledge of the plans, was sentenced to 27 months in jail. The fourth, Pfc. Jesse V. Spielman, was convicted by a military jury and sentenced to 110 years.

On 30 November 2009, Green filed an appeal with the US Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit, challenging the law used to convict him.

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