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Army 'Mercy Killer' of Iraqi Teen Gets No Jail Time

By Jeralyn, Section War In Iraq
Posted on Fri Apr 01, 2005 at 07:03:07 PM EST
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Army Officer Capt. Rogelio Maynulet was convicted at his courts martial trial this week of assault with intent to commit involuntary manslaughter in the shooting death of a wounded Iraqi teenager. His penalty: dismissal from the army, no jail time. The offense carried a possible penalty of ten years in prison.

American soldiers fired on a car, wounding the driver and a passenger. Captain Maynulet, 30, of Chicago, said he then shot and killed the driver to put him out of his misery.

"He was in a state I didn't think was dignified - I had to put him out of his misery," Captain Maynulet said in his defense, the military's newspaper, The Stars and Stripes, reported.

The teen was 16-year-old Qassim Hassan, who was working with relatives collecting rubbish. The Geneva Convention prohibits shooting wounded persons.

Two soldiers previously were convicted in the shooting death, receiving a one year and three year sentence respectively.

Is this just another exception from the Administration's respect for the culture of life?

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    Army 'Mercy Killer' of Iraqi Teen Gets No Jail Time | 33 comments (33 topical)
    Re: Army 'Mercy Killer' of Iraqi Teen Gets No Jail (none / 0) (#1)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Fri Apr 01, 2005 at 07:31:55 PM EST
    > convicted at his courts martial > trial this week of assault with > intent to commit involuntary > manslaughter What on earth does that mean? How can you intend to do something involuntarily? I thought that having intent and doing something involuntarily were opposites. If there's intent, doesn't that make it first degree murder?

    Re: Army 'Mercy Killer' of Iraqi Teen Gets No Jail (none / 0) (#2)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Fri Apr 01, 2005 at 07:41:11 PM EST
    Gotta love the culture of life, where it's okay to kill a teenaged Iraqi as a "mercy killing" but not allow a brain dead 41-year old to die in peace.

    Re: Army 'Mercy Killer' of Iraqi Teen Gets No Jail (none / 0) (#3)
    by wishful on Fri Apr 01, 2005 at 07:44:31 PM EST
    Why aren't all of our heads exploding?

    Re: Army 'Mercy Killer' of Iraqi Teen Gets No Jail (none / 0) (#4)
    by Richard Aubrey on Fri Apr 01, 2005 at 08:50:00 PM EST
    Let's see now. The nearest medical authority--a medic--said the guy had no chance. The quality of life was impaired on account of part of his head was blown away. Unfortunately, the captain was not in a position to starve the individual to death. When I notified next of kin several wars back, some of the parents wanted to know if it were quick. That they were bereaved was a given, but they didn't want to think of their son dying in agony. I was not, of course, in a position to say one way or another. In one part of her heart, that kid's mother may be blessing the captain, while cursing him in another.

    Re: Army 'Mercy Killer' of Iraqi Teen Gets No Jail (none / 0) (#5)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Fri Apr 01, 2005 at 09:04:40 PM EST
    How many mercy US or coalition troops have been subject to similar mercy killings? If it's a kindness, wouldn't we shower that kindness on our friends and allies? Til these questions are answered, I have little interest in the explanations for this action.

    Re: Army 'Mercy Killer' of Iraqi Teen Gets No Jail (none / 0) (#6)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Fri Apr 01, 2005 at 09:14:10 PM EST
    Iraq has doctors. If the boy had no chance of living, he could have been taken to a real doctor for palliative care. Or the medic who decided he had no chance (as if a medic is qualified to make such a decision!) could have at least made his last hours comfortable. But to shoot the boy like a dog is inhuman.

    Re: Army 'Mercy Killer' of Iraqi Teen Gets No Jail (none / 0) (#7)
    by scarshapedstar on Sat Apr 02, 2005 at 03:53:20 AM EST
    Wow, Richard, I'm sure that rationalization would win over a lot of hearts and minds. Tell you what, why don't you go over to Iraq and tell this kid's parents why our soldiers needed to shoot him like a horse with a broken leg. Don't get worried if they take out the household AK, I'm sure they'll be filled with joy and be in the mood for some celebratory gunfire.

    Re: Army 'Mercy Killer' of Iraqi Teen Gets No Jail (none / 0) (#8)
    by cp on Sat Apr 02, 2005 at 04:10:03 AM EST
    TL, you missed the basic reason this guy got nothing: he's an officer. officers take care of their own. had he been enlisted, they'd have fried him. don't you know anything about the military?

    Re: Army 'Mercy Killer' of Iraqi Teen Gets No Jail (none / 0) (#9)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Sat Apr 02, 2005 at 05:16:57 AM EST
    TL, I think you're mixing different instances of mercy killing. Captain Maynulet did not end the life of a 16 -year-old collecting rubbish. Scott-

    Re: Army 'Mercy Killer' of Iraqi Teen Gets No Jail (none / 0) (#10)
    by Richard Aubrey on Sat Apr 02, 2005 at 07:04:20 AM EST
    Scar. You miss the point, which is to be expected. I won't bother to explain it to you because you obviously understand it, but are simply not interested in it. This is a series of tragedies, in one case of which a man decided to end another's life in order to save him pain. It will be inconvenient for you to recall that likelihood that the victims of SH's secret police doubtless wept for death and were not allowed to escape. There is a point where death is preferable--see Terri Schiavo or at least the arguments of those supporting her husband--and the question then is what happens. Palliative care under a doctor? How long does it take to get a doctor who has sufficient opiates on hand? Keep in mind that opiates are contraindicated for a head or chest wound as they depress the autonomic nervous system, already compromised in the case of a head wound, and thus the breathing process, already compromised in the case of a chest wound. So anybody who gave that guy enough painkiller to relieve his pain would surely have killed him. That would have been after an hour of searching and transporting. No good answers, but the point here is not that mercy killing offends you, but that Bush is president. You have to understand that's clear to all. Your attempts to argue what look like facts are pathetic.

    Re: Army 'Mercy Killer' of Iraqi Teen Gets No Jail (none / 0) (#11)
    by wishful on Sat Apr 02, 2005 at 07:30:51 AM EST
    I think that RA actually believes his own delusions.

    Re: Army 'Mercy Killer' of Iraqi Teen Gets No Jail (none / 0) (#12)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Sat Apr 02, 2005 at 07:45:18 AM EST
    When people are wrong they come up with complicated rationalizations.

    Re: Army 'Mercy Killer' of Iraqi Teen Gets No Jail (none / 0) (#13)
    by Richard Aubrey on Sat Apr 02, 2005 at 07:45:36 AM EST
    Wishful. You think I am deluded that the sole issue for the lefties in this case is that Bush is president? Or are there other items with which you have a factual disagreement? Emphasis on factual. Keep in mind the inconvenient timing, which is to say the demise of Terri Schiavo, where you had to take the opposite position, and damn Bush into the bargain, or perhaps damning Bush was the object with Schiavo hauled along for the ride.

    Re: Army 'Mercy Killer' of Iraqi Teen Gets No Jail (none / 0) (#14)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Sat Apr 02, 2005 at 08:07:21 AM EST
    "No good answers, but the point here is not that mercy killing offends you, but that Bush is president. You have to understand that's clear to all. Your attempts to argue what look like facts are pathetic." You left out the right's endless quest for "due process." Where was that in this case?

    Re: Army 'Mercy Killer' of Iraqi Teen Gets No Jail (none / 0) (#15)
    by wishful on Sat Apr 02, 2005 at 08:23:03 AM EST
    RA, you claim that I am offended that Bush is president, and that I am not offended by mercy killings by a soldier who shoots a fatally wonded boy in the head to put him out of his misery. Then you ask me to explain items with which I have a factual disagreement, with the emphasis on factual. Neither of your statements that I paraphrased above are based on factual information. It is therefor impossible to have an intellectually honest discussion with you, since you are not being intellectually honest.

    Re: Army 'Mercy Killer' of Iraqi Teen Gets No Jail (none / 0) (#16)
    by Richard Aubrey on Sat Apr 02, 2005 at 11:23:16 AM EST
    April, as long as you bring in due process--don't, the left is deficient here--you might think of a practical application to this situation. Consider, the captain is authorized to determine, with some degree of certainty, who dies today (is the first platoon through the breach, etc.), from which it follows he's been delegated some authority. But seeking out competent tribunal in this case would only prolong the suffering, something that supporters of Michael Schiavo's position sought to avoid. So the proposition implicit in your position is that no flexibility be allowed, when the left is all for flexibility, especially when acting as defense attorneys for criminals. The question is what was justified in this individual case. Wishful, you wish to insist, without crossing your fingers, that, had one of the Clintons been president, you'd have been equally outraged? That you'd have even noticed? Okay. Let's take that as a given, even though I'm not likely to believe it. Explain what it is about this particular shooting that offends you, always keeping in mind that to make it anything more than wishful thinking ("wishful" thinking??? hmmm...), you need a better alternative.

    Re: Army 'Mercy Killer' of Iraqi Teen Gets No Jail (none / 0) (#17)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Sat Apr 02, 2005 at 12:53:54 PM EST
    Since neither Bush nor Clinton shot the boy in the head, my outrage at the action is not connected to who the president is. It's the right wing rationalization of the soldier's actions while they condemn people about their position on the Schiavo issue that makes the right wing seem so hypocritical.

    Re: Army 'Mercy Killer' of Iraqi Teen Gets No Jail (none / 0) (#18)
    by Richard Aubrey on Sat Apr 02, 2005 at 02:08:26 PM EST
    Michelle, I'm not sure I have a position on Schiavo. As usual, the arguments become more interesting than the original issue. I will say that my father has related, more than once, the story of his father, dying of Parkinson's and bladder cancer, who begged my father to shoot him. I'm not sure what filial duty is in that case. I wish I were. The reasons for sympathizing with the solier in Iraq have more to do, generically speaking, with my father's conundrum (which most of us have contemplated if not experienced) and less with right-wing rationalization. The left's concern for the kid--whose agony would have been prolonged and death only briefly delayed under any conceivable course of action they promote--seems far more a matter of a useful tool with which to hammer Bush. The left has no history of general concern for the unfortunate. The sufferings of the unfortunate in the world are either condoned, if the right folks--like Castro or Pol Pot--are doing it, or ignored. If you had a history of concern for the unfortunate oppressed by lefties abroad, you would have more credibiility. But you have three-quarters of a century to make up. That means after another three-quarters of a century, you'll break even. Long way to go.

    Re: Army 'Mercy Killer' of Iraqi Teen Gets No Jail (none / 0) (#19)
    by Che's Lounge on Sat Apr 02, 2005 at 03:00:56 PM EST
    RA, The left has no history of general concern for the unfortunate. As if you know anything about the "left". Where'd you get that BS? Reader's Digest?

    Re: Army 'Mercy Killer' of Iraqi Teen Gets No Jail (none / 0) (#20)
    by jondee on Sat Apr 02, 2005 at 03:58:57 PM EST
    R.A - What the hell are you,or,your a** talking about? The most famous/notorious leftist in the U.S in the last century, "Red Emma" Goldman, returned from Russia to the U.S in the twenties and toured the country condemning Stalin at every stop. And your spirtual progenitors have been calling anyone who worked for workers rights,justice for the poor, womens sufferage etc in the U.S "socialists and communists" for 150 years. Sorry if they never got around to helping YOUR oppressed - the wealthiest 1 or 2%,who benefit us all simply by existing,and should never have to pay taxes, and thier faithful long-suffering servants like you.

    Re: Army 'Mercy Killer' of Iraqi Teen Gets No Jail (none / 0) (#21)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Sat Apr 02, 2005 at 04:00:18 PM EST
    "Posted by Richard Aubrey: "This is a series of tragedies, in one case of which a man decided to end another's life in order to save him pain." Darn if that isn't a right given to soldiers. Oh, and sure, no morphine around in a combat theater. That soldier didn't have it handy in his pocket. Why waste morphine on a Slope? This explains why it is OK that soldiers went around in Fallujah after the bombing and shot wounded civilians who were terminal anyway, right? That was kindness. Doctors weren't allowed back into the city until after the streets were washed off. "It will be inconvenient for you to recall that likelihood that the victims of SH's secret police doubtless wept for death and were not allowed to escape." Oh, the same as all those detainees? Yeah, torturing the innocent is JUST like what Hussein used to do. That's why when Reagan/Bush I were selling him biological and chemical arms, and protecting him from UN sanctions for his crimes, the 'left' and liberal Dems like me were out in the streets expressing its general concern for the unfortunate. What a liar you are. Is it lack of IQ? No, it seems to be a refusal to acknowledge reality. Admit you are a racist, and you will feel better. This guy killed this Iraqi, and you JUST DON'T CARE. Your only concern for Hussein's victims is that it is your favorite stick for beating liberals over the head, regardless of the facts of our longstanding protest of YOUR pals' support of him while he was their boy.

    Re: Army 'Mercy Killer' of Iraqi Teen Gets No Jail (none / 0) (#22)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Sat Apr 02, 2005 at 06:37:05 PM EST
    RA is a troll. Request the four post limit, please.

    Re: Army 'Mercy Killer' of Iraqi Teen Gets No Jail (none / 0) (#23)
    by Johnny on Sun Apr 03, 2005 at 12:58:57 AM EST
    Funny, thousands of MD's within a phone call away when it comes to terry Schiavo, and the wing nuts (and quite a few of my lefties, too) claim that a mercy killing is immoral. One brown person has some brain damage, and they are all for shooting his a$$ and getting rewarded?

    Re: Army 'Mercy Killer' of Iraqi Teen Gets No Jail (none / 0) (#24)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Sun Apr 03, 2005 at 07:57:13 AM EST
    et al - Like it or not, RA makes some very solid points. But onward, or backwards. Are you aware that during the Civil War it was typical for the "Bloody Sergeant" to do triage and kill those who, in his opinon, were terminal. It was and is a matter of kindness that we extend to any dog hit by a car. Should the Captain have done it? No. He should have been aware of the firestorm that his actions would bring, if they came out. PIL - You keep mouthing off about soldiers shooting wounded civilians, yet in this case we have maxmum exposure, and in yours, none. Do you have one iota of proof? I don't think you do. Johnny - As one who believes in Living Wills, my position was that I did not believe the court did all that was possible to determine the truth, which, after all, is the purpose of a court. That and the fact that she didn't have part of her head blown away. And no medical facilities nearby by. Small differrences, eh? jondee - Goldman is so famous that almost no one has ever heard of her. I've never seen her mentioned in the MSM. Has there ever been a movie? Made for TV special? PBS? Ever wonder why? (I think you know.) cp - You must have had some bad experiences in the military. Sorry.

    Re: Army 'Mercy Killer' of Iraqi Teen Gets No Jail (none / 0) (#25)
    by Richard Aubrey on Sun Apr 03, 2005 at 08:25:46 AM EST
    Well, where to start? How about Red Emma? Good for her. Who? would be the ordinary question. The more important one is not her, who extracted her head, but what the left did after hearing from her. Would she have as hard a time on campus these days as, say, Ann Coulter? We have a modern analog, David Horowitz. It took the murder of a friend for him to extract his head, and is any of the left claiming his conversion as credit for the left? I didn't think so. I believe Duranty got the Pulitzer, which the NYT likes so much they won't give up. Not Red Emma. You lefties all got your autographed copies of "Harvest of Sorrow"? In Iraq. Paul says some things which are proven so bogus so many times that no amount of repetition will resurrect them. However, there is one observation which, when unbundled, shows him to be smarter than he seems. How much morphine in theater, huh? Huh? Since he's not stupid, he knows two things. One is that there is probably lots of morphine in theater. And he knows somebody giving the thing a superficial read would nod in agreement that something was amiss. He knows, further, that the important thing was how much morphine was available within, oh, maybe fifty meters. But he hopes most folks will skip that. Since he's not dumb, he knows what the point really is and that he talks about "in the theater" anyway, it's clearly an attempt to mislead. Deliberate. Get my drift? Let's presume the medic on hand had his usual basic load plus as much more as he could fiddle/carry. If he were to start hitting this guy with morphine, he would discover (already knew, almost certainly) that a morphine syrette isn't like an on/off switch. Some wounds take more. So after he's injected the guy three or four times, he starts worrying about having enough for his own guys if they get hit. And then the guy dies, because that's what happens when, 1, he was about to die, 2, you give a guy with a head wound a bunch of morphine. The difference is that it would have looked like an act of mercy, or a desperate attempt to save life, it would have prolonged the agony until the first one or two hits kicked in, and the guy would have died. The overhead surveillance would have shown something different, though. The bullet was instantaneous relief. Next time, I guess we let the guy roll around for as long as it takes. Okay by you?

    Re: Army 'Mercy Killer' of Iraqi Teen Gets No Jail (none / 0) (#26)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Sun Apr 03, 2005 at 09:22:05 AM EST
    "Next time, I guess we let the guy roll around for as long as it takes. Okay by you?" The key would be not shooting a trash-picker in the first place. But it's HILARIOUS that you think a bullet is kindness, but wasting your morphine on a Slope is just bad prescribing! THIS WAS NOT A FIREFIGHT The soldier was just doing FIRST AID, you see. Secondly, soldiers are supposed to be, and used to be, specifically taught that they are not allowed to kill the wounded. Do you Bush butt-munchers actually think that this issue has never occured before? The evidence that accumulates is that this invasion force was completely untrained for the duty. Given that it was an optional act by a coward traitor named Bush, that makes it all the more disgusting. • 40,000 troops -- no Kevlar • Vehicles armored during the assault -- 2% • Tank batallions, 5 requested -- 1 • Iraq Munitions Dumps protected -- 0 • High-explosives looted under Centcom -- 280 tons • Ammunition looted under Centcom -- 650,000 lbs. • Amt. of Cesium and Strontium released from T. -- unknown, but Centcom won't allow the UN to check • Acts of racism -- too many to count • Responsibility taken by ANYONE in command - Absolutely naked ZERO. "This explains why it is OK that soldiers went around in Fallujah after the bombing and shot wounded civilians who were terminal anyway, right?" This was intended to be a hypothetical -- although given the logic of RA above, it would be 'kindness.' The destruction of a city of 300,000, with 40% of the buildings reduced to rubble is an utter warcrime, and it WILL be punished. "Doctors weren't allowed back into the city until after the streets were washed off." This is attested in refugee testimony, just like Hussein's crimes. Centcom admits to using (and wingers brag about using) incendiary bombs on civilians, and testing weapons on civilians.

    Re: Army 'Mercy Killer' of Iraqi Teen Gets No Jail (none / 0) (#27)
    by Richard Aubrey on Sun Apr 03, 2005 at 09:30:13 AM EST
    Well, Paul, you're getting overheated. I will only respond to one thing, which is the destruction of the city in question: Nobody went on trial for the cities in Germany for cities destroyed in the fighting. If destroying under half the buildings in a city during house-to-house fighting is a crime, it's the first time anybody thought of it. And, that being the case, the question is why you thought of it now. No connection with the fact that Bush is Cinc, is there? But anyway, maybe we can wait on the trial until after we rebuild the thing. Or would that taint the jury pool. Oh, well, one more. Unaccountable acts of racism? Say what? How would you know? Got a list someplace? Who was keeping track? Get a clue, Paul. The accusation of "racism" as a solution being both upset and factless wore out. Nobody buys it any longer. It's been gone for years.

    Re: Army 'Mercy Killer' of Iraqi Teen Gets No Jail (none / 0) (#28)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Sun Apr 03, 2005 at 10:17:39 AM EST
    PIL - You keep running, but you can't hide. Let's see some proof about soldiers killing wounded civilians.

    Re: Army 'Mercy Killer' of Iraqi Teen Gets No Jail (none / 0) (#29)
    by Johnny on Sun Apr 03, 2005 at 11:19:11 AM EST
    Jim, Terry's brain was destroyed, but most people refuse to believe it. That Iraqi childs brain was destroyed, but most people don't care. Thats the difference. When Terry's autopsy report comes back and it shows that she was, indeed, a vegetable with no hope of cognizant function, who among us would walk up and put a bullet in her head, for "mercy"? As far as evidence of soldiers killing wounded civilians, I think this boy qualifies.

    Re: Army 'Mercy Killer' of Iraqi Teen Gets No Jail (none / 0) (#30)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Sun Apr 03, 2005 at 11:32:33 AM EST
    Johnny - PIL is referring to Fallujah. Every army ever in existence has had killings of civilians. We are one of the few who investigates and tries. As I have commented, I have no position on Terri Schiavo's medical condition. As who would kill her? In the emotionally packed atmosphere that existed around the solders? Only God knows.

    Re: Army 'Mercy Killer' of Iraqi Teen Gets No Jail (none / 0) (#31)
    by Richard Aubrey on Sun Apr 03, 2005 at 11:34:58 AM EST
    Johnny. Some of us were suggesting that, instead of a bullet, Terri Schiavo be given an OD of something like Demerol or morphine. It may be true that she was not capable of actually feeling distress at some level, but I'm not sure there is any way to tell. Safe than sorry would apply in that case, considering that death was the desired end, and why take the chance of adding to her troubles? If you could guarantee she was entirely without the neural capability to feel pain, it still seems worth a couple of doses of some drug. But, to address your question more directly, why was that not done? The Iraqi situation differs in that there is no guarantee there was sufficient morphine readily available--which would be an interesting question and might even have come up in the trial--and the distress the individual suffering was more obvious in the Iraq situation. As to killing wounded civilians, this might qualify, but the accusation was not meant to suggest hundreds of supposed mercy killings, but hundreds if not thousands of casual killings without regard to whether the person could recover, or even perhaps if not wounded at all. It's this, not a mercy killing, that needs to be proven, since it's this which is the accusation.

    Re: Army 'Mercy Killer' of Iraqi Teen Gets No Jail (none / 0) (#32)
    by soccerdad on Sun Apr 03, 2005 at 11:55:53 AM EST
    There has been and never will be an appropiate investigation into the long list of war crimes committed by the US in Fallujah. The winners are never tried, and if exposed will throw some meat to the wolves to satisfy them. The war crimes were not isolated instances of behavior but systematic, tactical, implementation of illegal activity condoned and order by central command if not higher. "Eventually the Iraqis will get tired of being killed" Donald Rumsfeld.

    Re: Army 'Mercy Killer' of Iraqi Teen Gets No Jail (none / 0) (#33)
    by Richard Aubrey on Sun Apr 03, 2005 at 12:30:37 PM EST
    Soc. It would help if the long list of war crimes contained examples of things that, 1, could be proven, 2, are not common activities in war and are condemned under various laws of war (looooooong stretches and screwing of the English language does not count, and 3, you were concerned when one of your lefty buds (Sandinistas or NVA, for example) did the same thing so we can be assured it isn't merely that Bush is president that brought these things to your attention, and, 4, aren't already addressed by the military. As an example of something that will fall off your list immediately, under the Geneva Convention, when somebody takes up a position among Protected Parties (usually civilians) and chooses to fight from there, the resulting damage is on his head, legally, and, obviously, morally. Thus, the terrs in Fallujah are responsible for the damage since they chose to hide in a city among civilians. So keep in mind that it is remotely possible that enemies of the US can also commit war crimes--not that you'd admit it of course--and so your long list might contain items which simply don't qualify. Your list can contain anything you want it to, but I suspect you have some interest in being taken seriously....

    Army 'Mercy Killer' of Iraqi Teen Gets No Jail Time | 33 comments (33 topical)