IMPEACH BUSH

FT. CAMPBELL, KY. — An Army squad leader accused of ordering his soldiers to kill three unarmed Iraqi detainees in May was acquitted Friday of premeditated murder and murder conspiracy. A court-martial panel convicted him of three counts of negligent homicide as well as obstruction of justice and conspiracy to obstruct justice.

Staff Sgt. Raymond L. Girouard, 24, had faced a maximum sentence of life in prison without parole if convicted on the murder charges. His attorney said he now faced a maximum of 21 years in prison, with the opportunity to argue for a lower penalty at a sentencing hearing scheduled for Monday.

Girouard, who had maintained a military bearing during his four-day court-martial, smiled and hugged his lawyers and sister moments after the verdict was announced by an Army lieutenant colonel who served as president of the seven-member panel.

His lawyer, Anita Gorecki, said Girouard told her it was the first night he would return to his cell with hope for the future. "I have something to look forward to," she said he told her.

In the private family meeting room at the military courthouse, Girouard hugged and kissed his wife, Melanie Denise, and his 4-year old son, Hunter, according to his sister, Joy Oakes. Oakes helped lead a fundraising drive in the family's hometown of Sweetwater, Tenn., for legal fees.

"It's been a very good day," Oakes said after the verdict.

Girouard also was found guilty of violating a military regulation by not turning over a handgun his squad confiscated from a house 60 miles northwest of Baghdad, where the detainees were captured during an air assault mission May 9.

His convictions carry an added penalty of dishonorable discharge and forfeiture of pay and allowances.

The handgun charge carries a maximum penalty of two years. The three counts of negligent homicide carry a maximum sentence of three years each, and the obstruction of justice counts a maximum of five years each. There is no minimum sentence for any of the counts.

Girouard will receive credit for 368 days served — more than he actually has been confined because some of those days were in solitary confinement or under other restrictions.

Earlier Friday, an Army prosecutor told the jury that Girouard plotted the murders of the detainees, then persistently lied about virtually every detail.

"This man has lied and lied and lied and lied," Capt. William Fischbach said as Girouard sat stoically at the defense table a few feet away. "This guy is all about coverups."

Gorecki told the jury that Girouard never said anything to his men about killing the detainees, but made "a bad decision based on loyalty" when he helped them orchestrate a phony cover story.

For the first time, prosecutors offered a motive: Clagett was so eager to prove himself in his squad's first major combat operation that he overreacted to a vulgar comment blurted out by his first sergeant.

Cursing loudly, 1st Sgt. Eric Geressy angrily asked over the radio why the squad hadn't killed the detainees. Geressy testified that he believed the Iraqis had fired on the squad and thus should have been shot in combat. In fact, they were detained unarmed and without a fight.

Because the mission was Girouard's "opportunity to shine," Fischbach said, he believed he had let his first sergeant down.

"You guys are wussies. You should have killed them during the assault," Fischbach said, paraphrasing Geressy.

"This changed Sgt. Girouard," he went on. "He knew how the first sergeant felt…. That's why these three guys [detainees] were targeted."

Gorecki said that if Girouard had wanted to kill the detainees, he could have done so without fear of prosecution because — according to testimony by some soldiers — the rules of engagement were to kill every military-aged male on the island.

A military attorney for the brigade commander, Col. Michael Steele, has denied that Steele issued such an order.

Operation Iron Triangle was carried out by units of the 101st Airborne Division, operating in north-central Iraq as Task Force Band of Brothers — a reference to a World War II 101st Airborne unit featured in the book and movie "Band of Brothers."

Gorecki spent much of her closing arguments trying to refute testimony by five squad members that Girouard abruptly convened a squad meeting shortly after the detainees were captured, then discussed a plot to kill the Iraqis.

Pvt. William B. Hunsaker and Pvt. Corey R. Clagett admitted shooting the detainees but said they were following Girouard's orders. Both soldiers testified against Girouard under plea agreements in which they were sentenced to 18 years in prison.

Pvt. Justin Graber testified that he shot one detainee as he lay bleeding after Girouard told him to put the man out of his misery. Graber's plea agreement provides for a nine-month prison sentence.

Fischbach conceded that Hunsaker and Clagett — and possibly Graber — could be motivated to lie because of their plea deals. But he said two other squad members who were not charged had no motive to falsely implicate their squad leader.

Gorecki said the prosecution was based on "a bunch of convicted murderers." She gestured toward court exhibits containing color photographs of bloodied detainees: "Sgt. Girouard didn't do that. Their [prosecution] witnesses did that."

Fischbach, calling Girouard "smart and clever," said he sent the bulk of his squad to a helicopter landing zone a few hundred yards away to eliminate witnesses. Girouard had Hunsaker and Clagett guard the detainees so that they would be in a position to carry out the killings, he said.

Gorecki pointed out that one squad member described Girouard as white with shock when he first saw the detainee's bodies. "You can't fake suddenly having the blood drain out of you because you're scared," she said.

Fischbach countered: "Of course he's nervous, waiting to see if he can pull it off."

david.zucchino@latimes.com