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Law

Closing arguments in England case

From Jim Polk
CNN

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Defense witness blames abuse on military intelligence.
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FORT BRAGG, North Carolina (CNN) -- Pfc. Lynndie England was celebrating her 21st birthday when she helped commit some of the worst acts of abuse at Abu Ghraib prison, military prosecutors said Tuesday.

The prosecution said England admitted that when seven suspected rioters were brought to a cell block for questioning November 8, she stepped on some of them, mocked them as they stood naked in a line against a wall, and posed for a picture after they were piled in a human pyramid.

Capt. Crystal Jennings, one of the prosecutors, told a military court, "She was having fun. There was no indication she was there for any military purpose."

Instead, Jennings said, England had gone to the cell block that night to spend time with her boyfriend, Charles Graner.

Jennings delivered the closing argument for prosecutors as England's preliminary hearing ended. The prosecution asked that England be ordered to face a full court-martial.

The presiding officer, Col. Denise Arn, said, "I anticipate submitting a report in a week or so."

However, Arn will submit only a recommendation. The final decision will be up to the commanding general at Fort Bragg, where England is now stationed.

Outside the court building, when asked if he expected Arn to recommend anything other than a full court-martial, England's defense lawyer, Richard Hernandez, said, "No."

Brief summation and little argument

England is one of seven members of the Maryland-based 372nd Military Police Company charged in the scandal. Pvt. Jeremy Sivits pleaded guilty in May, and Staff Sgt. Ivan "Chip" Frederick II has agreed to enter a guilty plea on October 20 in Baghdad.

England's hearing is the only one taking place in the United States. She was brought back from Baghdad because she is pregnant by Graner. Her baby is due in mid-October.

Because of her pregnancy any court-martial is considered unlikely until sometime next year.

England faces 19 proposed counts of abuse and sexual misconduct that could lead to as many as 38 years in prison.

Twenty-six witnesses testified in England's preliminary hearing, conducted over seven days in the first and last weeks of August.

Jennings gave only a brief summation at the end of the court proceedings, mainly quoting from written statements England gave to investigators when the scandal first surfaced in January.

Jennings said England admitted posing with one prisoner on a dog leash and, in another incident, stepping on the toes of three suspected rapists brought in for questioning.

The defense made no attempt to dispute most of what Jennings said.

160 witnesses sought, one testified

At the start of the day, England's lawyers lost their bid to require high-ranking generals to testify under oath about what went wrong at Abu Ghraib.

Arn ruled against calling the last top official left on the defense wish-list, Brig. Gen. Janis Karpinski, commander of the military police brigade running the prison.

Earlier, without any public announcement, the hearing officer had ruled against requiring testimony from Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, Vice President Dick Cheney, and four other generals, including Lt. Gen. Ricardo Sanchez, the top commander in Iraq at the time.

That became clear when defense lawyers asked Arn to reconsider a much shorter witness list on which the only high-level name was Karpinski's.

"I don't see the necessity of her testimony," Arn said. She told the defense it could introduce a sworn statement by Karpinski.

The defense had asked for as many as 160 additional witnesses in England's preliminary hearing. Arn approved only one -- a sergeant who testified Monday that military intelligence operatives appeared to be orchestrating one particular episode of abuse.


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