Nightline 5/19: Prison Scandal ... First Stab at Justice

[Bozita]

 
Nightline Daily E-Mail
May 19, 2004


TONIGHT'S FOCUS: A military court martial in Baghdad this morning handed down the maximum sentence in the first case stemming from the Abu Ghraib prison scandal. But will this case mark the beginning of the end for this story? Or is the blow to American credibility and good will in Iraq and the region too great? Still unanswered: just how far up the chain of command does culpability go? And how does the Administration's interpretation of the Geneva Conventions' rules on interrogation relate to all of this?

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This morning in Baghdad, a military court martial handed down the maximum possible penalty to the first soldier to be sentenced in the Abu Ghraib prison scandal, even as the boundaries of that scandal are still being learned. Specialist Sivits riveted the courtroom with an emotional apology and admission of his guilt.

Sivits is but the first to be sentenced, and while he received the maximum today, including one year in prison, reduction in rank and a bad conduct discharge, his sentence could be reduced if he testifies against others from his unit in future cases. Three others from the 372nd Military Police Company were arraigned today.

Sivits' tearful apology was a stunning moment in today's case. But will that apology make a dent in the U.S.'s damaged reputation in the Middle East?

Nightline's Dave Marash will report on today's court martial and reaction to it in Iraq. He was one of the few reporters inside the court today. And since no cameras or audio recording devices were allowed, he is one of the few to have heard Sivits' apology. As one Middle Eastern journalist said today, this would have been a good day for the Arab world to have its own version of C-Span - so that more could have heard the proceedings and Sivits' apology.

Also tonight, Nightline's John Donvan look at exactly what is allowed in wartime interrogations, as set forth by the Geneva Conventions, our own rules of war, and a leaked memo about both. What might low-ranking soldiers like Sp. Sivits have been told about what they could and could not do?

Finally, Ted Koppel will then talk with the attorney for one of the soldiers arraigned today, Specialist Graner, whose image appears in so many of the infamous photographs. With a glimpse into his defense strategy, he will explain that his client believes that culpability does not end at the 'specialist' rank - and that this damaging story is not over yet.

We hope you'll join us.

Sara Just and the Nightline Staff
Nightline Offices
ABCNEWS Washington D.C.