U.S. calls deaths of 26 prisoners homicides

[jefferson_dem]

Now...this shit's fucked up!!! --

WASHINGTON At least 26 prisoners have died in American custody in Iraq and Afghanistan since 2002 in what U.S. Army and Navy investigators have now concluded or suspect were acts of criminal homicide, according to military officials.
.
The number of confirmed or suspected unlawful killings of prisoners is much higher than any the army and the Pentagon have previously reported

A Pentagon report sent to Congress last week cited a figure of only six prisoner deaths caused by abuse, but that partial tally was limited to what the report's author, Vice Admiral Albert Church of the navy, called "closed, substantiated abuse cases" as of last September.
.
The new figure of at least 26 prisoner deaths in cases of confirmed or suspected criminal homicide was provided by the army and navy this week after repeated inquiries. In 15 cases reviewed by the army and navy, investigators have now closed their inquiries and have recommended that criminal charges be filed, army and navy officials said. Eleven cases are still under investigation but are listed by the army as confirmed or suspected homicides, the officials said.

<SNIP>

http://www.iht.com/articles/2005/03/15/news/abuse.html

[mike_c]

1. tip 'o the iceberg, I'm sure....

Twenty-six. Right.

[jefferson_dem]

2. Operative phrase = "at least"

Evil Bastards!

[rooboy]

6. There's apparently over TWO THOUSAND deaths.

I posted in another thread that Mark Levine, a radio host out of Washington, has a solid contact in the Pentagon who told him at least 6 months ago that the numbers are up around that mark.

[NNN0LHI]

3. Fraternity pranks n/t

[UpInArms]

4. 'I will always hate you people'

http://www.guardian.co.uk/Iraq/Story/0,2763,1223358,00.html

The first Mohammed Munim al-Izmerly's family knew of his death was when his battered corpse turned up at Baghdad's morgue. Attached to the zipped-up black US body bag was a laconic note.

The US military claimed in the note that Dr Izmerly, a distinguished chemistry professor arrested after US tanks encircled his villa, had died of "brainstem compression".

Dr Izmerly's sudden death after 10 months in American custody left his family stunned, not least because three weeks earlier they had visited him in the US prison at Baghdad airport. His 23-year-old daughter, Rana, recalled that he had seemed in "good health".

The family commissioned an independent Iraqi autopsy. Its conclusion was unambiguous: Dr Izmerly had died because of a "sudden hit to the back of his head", Faik Amin Baker, the director of Baghdad hospital's forensic department, certified.

The cause of death was blunt trauma. It was uncertain exactly how he died, but someone had hit him from behind, possibly with a bar or a pistol, Dr Baker confirmed yesterday.

...more...

I weep for my lost country :cry:

[saigon68]

12. THERE ARE A LOT OF CRAVEN KILLERS IN THE US MILITARY

They love to kill-- In fact they get a sexual rise out of killing Slopes Gooks and Rag Heads.

There are a lot of Psychopaths at Blackwater and Custer-Battles who also achieve arousal by "GREASING" a Native or 2.

</RANT>

[pie]

21. I know nothing about this

Still, there is a veracity about your posts that
is simply undeniable.
Good to find you here.

[Rose Siding]

5. Last week, they told Congress about only SIX deaths

and just one was from the horror of Abu Ghraib. This is on NYT front pg tomorrow, too.

http://nytimes.com/2005/03/16/politics/16abuse.html?hp&ex=1110949200&en=9d093028237bd5fa&ei=5094&partner=homepage

[kskiska]

7. NYT: U.S. Military Says 26 Inmate Deaths May Be Homicide

WASHINGTON, March 15 - At least 26 prisoners have died in American custody in Iraq and Afghanistan since 2002 in what Army and Navy investigators have concluded or suspect were acts of criminal homicide, according to military officials.

The number of confirmed or suspected cases is much higher than any accounting the military has previously reported. A Pentagon report sent to Congress last week cited only six prisoner deaths caused by abuse, but that partial tally was limited to what the author, Vice Adm. Albert T. Church III of the Navy, called "closed, substantiated abuse cases" as of last September.

The new figure of 26 was provided by the Army and Navy this week after repeated inquiries. In 18 cases reviewed by the Army and Navy, investigators have now closed their inquiries and have recommended them for prosecution or referred them to other agencies for action, Army and Navy officials said. Eight cases are still under investigation but are listed by the Army as confirmed or suspected criminal homicides, the officials said.

Only one of the deaths occurred at the Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq, officials said, showing how broadly the most violent abuses extended beyond those prison walls and contradicting early impressions that the wrongdoing was confined to a handful of members of the military police on the prison's night shift.

more…
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/03/16/politics/16abuse.html?hp&ex=1111035600&en=943ed6fbc944e7de&ei=5094&partner=homepage

[merwin]

8. isolated incidents huh?

[American in Asia]

9. shameful...unsurprising, but still shameful.

I detest that my country is committing these acts in my name.

It only adds to my rage that we have the temerity to issue human rights reports condemning other countries for similar acts, from some elevated place of moral superiority. :puke:

[moondust]

10. Whew! Good thing they won't have to face the ICC.

Or somebody might have to do the time for the crime. </sarcasm>

Here's an interesting comparison of similar crimes:

Missouri Executes Man Who Tossed Woman from Bridge

ST. LOUIS (Reuters) - A man who threw a woman to her death off a Mississippi River bridge after stealing her car was executed by the state of Missouri on Wednesday.

http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=domesticNews&storyID=7914212

U.S. Soldier Gets 45 Days for Iraqi Assaults

FORT HOOD, Texas (Reuters) - A U.S. Army lieutenant was sentenced on Tuesday to 45 days in jail and loss of $12,000 in pay for his part in assaults on Iraqi detainees that may have caused one to drown in the Tigris River.

Army 1st Lt. Jack Saville pleaded guilty to assault for having two Iraqis thrown at gunpoint into the Tigris in Samarra, Iraq, in January 2004 and was convicted of lesser assault in a separate incident at Balad, Iraq, in December 2003.

http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=domesticNews&storyID=7911557

[JNelson6563]

11. There is it

clearly demostrated. Thanks for posting even though it is horrible.

Julie

[saigon68]

13. I wonder if the Guy in MO was BLACK?

[moondust]

14. That would be my guess. n/t

[NNN0LHI]

16. His IQ was 57 when he was 7 years old and it was 65 when they killed him

http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/news/stories.nsf/stlouiscitycounty/story/D038739410EF993F86256FC1001BA29A?OpenDocument

<snip>Mitten said he was preparing a petition for clemency to Gov. Matt Blunt when he discovered Hall was diagnosed with an IQ of 57 when he was 7 years old. Mitten said a psychologist diagnosed him last week with an IQ of 65.

Don't know if he was black or not but he was definitely mentally retarded. Missouri really sent a message here to the rest of their population who may be mentally retarded. They had better "think" real hard before killing someone. That will really teach them. Hitler killed everyone with mental defects in Nazi Germany too. We are in some real good company here.

Don

[saigon68]

18. I agree Don, this story Reeks

[pie]

22. That hits hard

[Media_Lies_Daily]

23. The Nazis got their ideas from the study of eugenics in the US....

...and we did our share of sterilizations, lobotomies, and probably more than few executions, before the Nazis took the US playbook and ran with it.

[Judi Lynn]

15. Interesting comparison, isn't it?

The man in Missouri was believed to be retarded by a lot of people. The strange predicament was pointed out in your reuters article:

The courts rejected Hall's final appeals that he was ineligible for the death penalty because he was mentally retarded based on 30-year-old intelligence test scores. More recent tests showed he scored above the threshold, prosecutors said.

Isn't it a miracle that progress has brought a new way to evaluate retardation, revising so more people are eligible for execution, among the poor who can't afford standard legal representation. Sounds as if the Republicans have moved into controlling psychological judgement for legal purposes, too.

Missouri is really hot to execute: just like Florida and Texas.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The other act was pure murderous sadism. Nothing other. So glad he had a chance for a good long laugh as someone lost his life, an INNOCENT civilian, by the way. 19 years old, looking forward to his approaching wedding day.

[Robeson]

17. Surreal.

[aint_no_life_nowhere]

20. And there was also this deplorable incident - soldier not even charged

This one was even caught on video and shown throughout the world. A Marine shot an unarmed severely wounded prisoner in a Fallujah Mosque. The man was just sitting there, waiting to die from his wounds when the soldier shot him in the head, saying that he was "faking" his injury. US military authorities decided there weren't enough grounds to charge the soldier with anything. Incredible.

http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/5C41ABE7-A613-47D1-AB91-C5298491BBFA.htm

[MsMagnificent]

19. 'Justifiable Homicide" --how convenient

11 cases involving prisoner deaths at the hands of American troops are now listed as justifiable homicides that should not be prosecuted, Army officials said. Those cases included killings caused by soldiers in suppressing prisoner riots in Iraq,

One of the weakest excuses I have ever heard. Oh sure, this kind of thing happens ALL THE TIME in American prisons! NOT!


The evil that is being done in our name by our government is exponentially multiplying, and as you all have rightfully pointed out, this is just the tip of the iceberg.

How long are we going to take this?? OUR people are terrorizing others who they supposedly desire 'to win the hearts and minds of' and all we do is write? Where has that gotten us?

I'll tell you -- no where. We've not accomplished one single thing other than finger exercises on a keyboard, have we? Bush is still doing exactly what he wants and to hell with what the American people think and to hell with what the rest of the world thinks.

When is it too much? What will it take for us to finally rise up and HOWL in the streets?

This is all being done IN OUR NAME, PEOPLE!
This buck stops with US! We need to do something more than type and sign internet petitions!
If I knew HOW to do something, I would, but I don't. What will work? What are our options?
Would it be possible to designate a certain day and we all march upon our local Federal buildings? If that's not realistic, then what else can we do?

Peaceful protest and nonviolent resistance, the way of Gandhi and of Martin Luther King Jr, is the ONLY way... and we need numbers and coordination. So how do we make the most impact? How do we get the word out in our own communities?

We need to make a nationwide gestalt -- but I just don't know HOW.