England pleads guilty to Abu Ghraib abuse
Pfc Lynndie England, who appeared in some of the most graphic photographs depicting physical mistreatment and sexual humiliation of Iraqi detainees at Abu Ghraib prison, pleaded guilty today to charges arising from her role in the abuse scandal.
The 22-year-old US Army reservist entered her pleas to two counts of conspiracy to maltreat prisoners, four counts of maltreating prisoners and one count of committing an indecent act.
In exchange, prosecutors at Fort Hood, Texas, agreed to drop another count of committing an indecent act and one count of dereliction of duty.
If the plea agreement is accepted by the judge, Col James Pohl, a jury of officers and enlisted soldiers will decide her punishment following a sentencing hearing expected to last several days.
The plea agreement, which came the day before England was scheduled to go to trial, lowers her maximum possible sentence from 16-and-a-half years in prison to 11 years.
England is one of seven members of the 372nd Military Police Company charged with humiliating and assaulting prisoners at Abu Ghraib in Iraq. She became a central figure in the scandal after photos of her surfaced.
One image showed her smiling and posing with nude prisoners stacked in a pyramid while giving a thumbs-up.
Another showed her holding a hooded, naked Iraqi prisoner on a leash, and one showed her smiling and pointing at a naked detainee’s genitals while smoking a cigarette.
