Judge Reduces Term in Iraqi Teen Killing
By JOHN MILBURNAssociated Press Writer
August 16, 2005, 6:42 PM EDT
TOPEKA, Kan. -- A military commander has reduced the sentence of a soldier convicted of murder for killing a severely wounded Iraqi teenager, and he is scheduled to be released from prison next month.
For what his supporters have called a mercy killing, Staff Sgt. Johnny Horne Jr., 31, received a three-year sentence after pleading guilty to unpremeditated murder at his court-martial in December.
Maj. Gen. Peter Chiarelli, commander of the 1st Cavalry Division at Fort Hood, Texas, reduced that sentence to one year. The release date for Horne, who is based at Fort Riley, is now Sept. 14.
The general didn't indicate why he reduced the prison term, said Master Sgt. David Larsen, a spokesman for the division.
The decision was made in June. "He considered the record of trial, information provided by the defense and the staff judge advocate's advice on sentencing," Larsen said.
He declined to comment on claims from some veterans that Horne, of Wilson, N.C., was wrongly prosecuted.
In 2004, Horne's platoon was patrolling outside Baghdad when troops spotted civilians throwing explosives from a truck. After soldiers fired on the truck, Horne's group was ordered to investigate.
In the truck the group found dead bodies and two people who were injured, including a dying teen with severe abdominal wounds. Horne said he was ordered to shoot him. Another soldier shot the boy, but Horne said he was still breathing.
Horne then shot the boy in the head.
A criminal investigator later said that the soldiers had decided that "the best course of action was to put (the victim) out of his misery."
A lieutenant in Horne's platoon has denied giving the order and Horne was charged with premeditated murder, conspiracy and soliciting another soldier to commit murder.
A second Fort Riley soldier, Staff Sgt. Cardenas J. Alban of Inglewood, Calif., was sentenced to one year in prison for murder in the same incident.
A group of veterans from Madison, W.Va., are convinced Horne shouldn't have been charged or convicted and are fighting on Horne's behalf.
James Watson, a Vietnam veteran, said Horne's act was a "mercy killing," which soldiers throughout U.S. history have performed.
"Unless you have been there, you don't understand it," said Watson, who served with the 1st Cavalry in Vietnam. "I just hope we can get his name cleared."
August 16, 2005, 6:42 PM EDT
TOPEKA, Kan. -- A military commander has reduced the sentence of a soldier convicted of murder for killing a severely wounded Iraqi teenager, and he is scheduled to be released from prison next month.
For what his supporters have called a mercy killing, Staff Sgt. Johnny Horne Jr., 31, received a three-year sentence after pleading guilty to unpremeditated murder at his court-martial in December.
Maj. Gen. Peter Chiarelli, commander of the 1st Cavalry Division at Fort Hood, Texas, reduced that sentence to one year. The release date for Horne, who is based at Fort Riley, is now Sept. 14.
The general didn't indicate why he reduced the prison term, said Master Sgt. David Larsen, a spokesman for the division.
The decision was made in June. "He considered the record of trial, information provided by the defense and the staff judge advocate's advice on sentencing," Larsen said.
He declined to comment on claims from some veterans that Horne, of Wilson, N.C., was wrongly prosecuted.
In 2004, Horne's platoon was patrolling outside Baghdad when troops spotted civilians throwing explosives from a truck. After soldiers fired on the truck, Horne's group was ordered to investigate.
In the truck the group found dead bodies and two people who were injured, including a dying teen with severe abdominal wounds. Horne said he was ordered to shoot him. Another soldier shot the boy, but Horne said he was still breathing.
Horne then shot the boy in the head.
A criminal investigator later said that the soldiers had decided that "the best course of action was to put (the victim) out of his misery."
A lieutenant in Horne's platoon has denied giving the order and Horne was charged with premeditated murder, conspiracy and soliciting another soldier to commit murder.
A second Fort Riley soldier, Staff Sgt. Cardenas J. Alban of Inglewood, Calif., was sentenced to one year in prison for murder in the same incident.
A group of veterans from Madison, W.Va., are convinced Horne shouldn't have been charged or convicted and are fighting on Horne's behalf.
James Watson, a Vietnam veteran, said Horne's act was a "mercy killing," which soldiers throughout U.S. history have performed.
"Unless you have been there, you don't understand it," said Watson, who served with the 1st Cavalry in Vietnam. "I just hope we can get his name cleared."
Prisoner Deaths in U.S. Custody - By The Associated PressWednesday, March 16, 2005
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