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Soldiers face death penalty
Times (UK)
October 19, 2006

EIGHT soldiers from the US Army 101st division will be court-martialled for murdering Iraqi civilians, and two of the accused face the death penalty for allegedly raping an Iraqi girl and killing her and her family.

Military authorities said last night that they would seek the death penalty against Sergeant Paul Cortez and Private First Class Jesse Spielman in connection with the rape and murder in March of 14-year-old Abeer Qassim al- Janabi in her family's home in Mahmoudiya, south of Baghdad. Four others face a separate court martial for the alleged murder of three men near Samarra, north of the Iraqi capital.

Specialist James Barker and Private First Class Bryan Howard are also accused in the rape and murders but will not face the death penalty, the military said. Former Private Steven Green, who was discharged for a personality disorder and arrested in North Carolina, will be tried in a federal court in Kentucky. He has pleaded not guilty to one count of rape and four counts of murder. All the accused are from the division's 502nd Infantry Regiment. (AP)

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