Lavena Johnson's parents on Dem. Now today: calling for Congressional

[babylonsister]

investigation...

http://www.democracynow.org/2008/7/23/suicide_or_murder_three_years_after

Suicide or Murder? Three Years After the Death of Pfc. LaVena Johnson in Iraq, Her Parents Continue Their Call for a Congressional Investigation

Three years ago, on July 19, 2005, Army Private First Class LaVena Johnson was found dead in Balad, Iraq. Her body was found in a tent belonging to the private military contractor KBR. She had abrasions all over her body, a broken nose, a black eye, burned hands, loose teeth, acid burns on her genitals, and a bullet hole in her head. The Army labeled Johnson’s death a suicide. But her parents never believed that story. They think she was raped and murdered and are now demanding a full congressional investigation into their daughter’s death.

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Army Private First Class Lavena Johnson would have turned 23 this month. But three years ago the African American teenager from Missouri was found dead in Balad, Iraq, just a few weeks short of her 20th birthday.

Her body was found in a tent belonging to the private military contractor Kellog, Brown and Root. She had abrasions all over her body, a broken nose, a black eye, burned hands, loose teeth, acid burns on her genitals, and a bullet hole in her head. The Army labeled Lavena Johnson"s death a suicide. They told her parents that she died of “self-inflicted non-combat injuries.”

But her parents never believed that story. They think she was raped and then murdered and that the army’s investigators ignored physical evidence that could have proved this. The Johnsons are now demanding a full congressional investigation into their daughter’s death.

We invited the military to come on the show but they declined. The Criminal Investigation Command told us that “facts are facts” and they stand by their investigation that concluded Lavena Johnson’s death was a suicide.

I’m joined now from St. Louis, Missouri by Dr. John Johnson and Linda Johnson, the parents of Iraq veteran Private Lavena Johnson.

We’re also joined by a former Reserve Colonel in the US Army. Ann Wright served in the US Army for 29 years and was also a US diplomat for 16 years. She resigned in March, 2003 in opposition to the war in Iraq. Ann Wright joins us on the telephone from Dallas, Texas.

Dr. John Johnson, father of Pfc. LaVena Johnson, who was killed in Iraq on July 19, 2005.

Linda Johnson, mother of Pfc. LaVena Johnson, who was killed in Iraq on July 19, 2005.

Ann Wright, spent twenty-six years in the US Army/Army Reserves and was a diplomat in the State Department for sixteen years before resigning in March 2003, protesting the then-impending invasion of Iraq.