Ex Abu Ghraib guard avoids trial with guilty plea
01/02/2005 - 19:41:02A former Abu Ghraib guard today pleaded guilty to three charges in the Iraqi prison abuse scandal – the day before his trial as part of a plea deal with prosecutors.
Sergeant Javal Davis, 27, pleaded guilty to dereliction of duty, battery and making a false official statement to US Army investigators after explicit photographs from the prison were made public last spring.
Under the terms of the deal, Davis, from Roselle, New Jersey, was allowed to plead not guilty to two other charges: conspiracy and maltreating detainees.
Defence lawyer Paul Bergrinsaid said Davis was working on a deal with military prosecutors that would cap his possible sentence at 18 months.
The three charges to which Davis pleaded guilty carry a maximum punishment of 6.5 years in prison. Davis had faced up to 8.5 years if he had gone to trial tomorrow as scheduled.
Captain Chuck Neill, a prosecution spokesman, acknowledged that a deal was made, but would not comment on its terms.
A jury of officers and enlisted soldiers will be selected in Fort Hood, Texas tomorrow for sentencing.
Neill said the jury’s sentence recommendation would be compared to the deal offered to Davis, and that the lesser sentence would be served.
Colonel James Pohl, the judge, questioned Davis extensively before accepting the guilty pleas.
Davis admitted that he stepped on the hands and feet of seven detainees brought into his section of Abu Ghraib for punishment after a November 2003 disturbance in a prison tent camp nearby. He said he also fell with full weight on top of them.
Davis said he was upset because a female soldier had been hit in the face with a brick during the tent camp incident, and that he took out his anger on the prisoners.
“It hurt me on the inside and I just lost it,” said Davis, who stands about 6ft 1in and weighs nearly 220lb. “I wasn’t trying to hurt them. I was just trying to scare them, but I did it.”
He told Pohl he knew his actions were not justified, and that he knew what he was doing was wrong.
Davis, who did not appear in any of the notorious Abu Ghraib photos, also said he saw others abusing detainees, but he did not come forward.
“I was derelict in not reporting it,” he said.
Davis told the judge he saw what he believed to be military and civilian intelligence personnel physically mistreating detainees and, among other things, using unmuzzled dogs to terrify prisoners prior to questioning.
Four other soldiers have already pleaded guilty in the Abu Ghraib case.
Charles Graner was sentenced to 10 years in prison and his rank was reduced from specialist to private in January. Two others Sabrina Harman and Lynndie England still face trial.
Click to stay connected with
more stories like this:
more stories like this:
