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The first of five US soldiers charged with killing unarmed Afghan civilians last year was sentenced Wednesday to 24 years in prison, after pleading guilty to three counts of premeditated murder. The trial of Army Specialist Jeremy Morlock, 23, of Wasilla, Alaska, marked a turning point in the most serious prosecution of alleged US military atrocities during a decade of war in Afghanistan. Under questioning by the judge, Morlock recounted his role in the deaths of three unarmed Afghan villagers. Their murder, by grenade or by rifle fire, was staged to seem to look like combat casualties. "I knew what I was doing was wrong, sir," he said, adding that, contrary to his lawyers' suggestions, his judgment was not impaired by drugs. German magazine Der Spiegel this week published several photos related to the killings, with one showing Morlock crouched grinning over a bloodied corpse as he lifted the dead man's head by the hair for the camera. The existence of such photos, among dozens seized as evidence by investigators and ordered sealed from public view by the Army, have been compared to pictures of Iraqi prisoners taken by US military personnel at the Abu Ghraib prison in Baghdad, released in 2004. The judge presiding over the case, Lieutenant Colonel Kwasi Hawks, accepted Morlock's plea deal with prosecutors at the end of a daylong proceeding at Joint Base LewisMcChord near Tacoma, and handed Morlock a 24year prison term. The judge also ruled Morlock's incarceration would be reduced by nearly a year for time already served. He will be eligible for parole in about seven years. Morlock, who will be dishonorably discharged from the Army, stood facing the judge and showed no emotion as he was sentenced. Earlier, he read a statement apologizing to the victims' families and the "people of Afghanistan," adding, "I've spent a lot of time reflecting on how I lost my moral compass." Reuters |
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