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Lynndie England to Plead Guilty

By Jeralyn, Section War In Iraq
Posted on Fri Apr 29, 2005 at 08:07:22 PM EST
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Pfc. Lynndie England has reached a plea bargain. Reportedly, she will receive no more than 30 months in jail. Had she been convicted on all 17 counts at trial, she could have received 38 years. Her boyfriend and the chief Abu Ghraib prisoner abuser, Charles Graner, got ten years. And here's a bit of news:

Mr. Graner has since married another of the accused, Megan Ambuhl, who pleaded guilty in exchange for dismissal from the military. Mr. Graner has given statements to investigators in the hope of reducing his sentence and is scheduled to testify on behalf of Private England at her sentencing hearing, Captain Crisp said.

From our Lynndie England archives:

We're not laughing.

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    Lynndie England to Plead Guilty | 9 comments (9 topical)
    Re: Lynndie England to Plead Guilty (none / 0) (#1)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 12:58:35 PM EST
    It is beyond Blaghdaddy how a small-town girl from America could wind up doing all of that...there is something very wrong with a society that produces this kind of person. Beyond that, Blaghdaddy is speechless at the sheer inhumanity displayed by a "mother-to-be." Blaghdaddy has a "mother" word for them alright, and it don't end in "to-be...."

    Re: Lynndie England to Plead Guilty (none / 0) (#2)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 12:58:35 PM EST
    Its rather strange that the nation was so shocked by what she did because it happens everyday in prisons throughout the US. Some prisoners in a Supermax are put on a "leash" just like the one Lindie has and are kept naked as well if they have mental problems. Perhaps someone needs to take some pictures as that seems to be the only thing that will wake people up.

    Re: Lynndie England to Plead Guilty (none / 0) (#3)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 12:58:35 PM EST
    Yes, pictures wake people up (at least for a while). Even before the Abu Ghraib photos everyone knew (from plenty of different sources) the Americans were torturing prisoners in Iraq. Still, it was a sort of abstract knowledge. The photos suddenly made the whole thing very real.

    Re: Lynndie England to Plead Guilty (none / 0) (#4)
    by Che's Lounge on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 12:58:35 PM EST
    So much for the concept of chain of command.

    Re: Lynndie England to Plead Guilty (none / 0) (#5)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 12:58:35 PM EST
    Whitewash. One would have to be pretty thick not to see the obvious conflict of interest in a defendant getting a reduced sentence for testifying that she wasn't a part of a conspiracy. In any case in which a military institution itself is under scrutiny, the military courts simply can't be trusted.

    Re: Lynndie England to Plead Guilty (none / 0) (#6)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 12:58:35 PM EST
    They never had it so good. Here is the problem with war. It takes on a life of its own. Even if we start from the premise that the purpose of the invasion was to "free" the Iraqi's from a dictator (and try to forget about the "he tried to kill my daddy" "he's behind 911" and the "wmd" stories) the course of a conflict cannot be well controlled or charted. Some thought we would be welcomed as liberators. Mr. Chalabi certainly did well through our efforts on his behalf. But soldiers carrying weapons, being attacked randomly and civilian populations being uprooted, having their homes flattened, their children, friends wounded or killed, these elements can turn your welcome parades into the nightmare of Fallujah or Abu Ghraib. Dogs of war. Don't set them free without the most compelling reasons. The American people will be footing the bill now for a decade or two. Grief-stricken, enraged Iraqis will be watching for opportunities to kill Americans now for a generation or two. And many American families and many more Iraqi families are burying their famiy members and trying to make sense of this. Lynddie England? Who cares what happens to this cute little dog of war? She's at the end of the chain of command who put this disaster in motion.

    Re: Lynndie England to Plead Guilty (none / 0) (#7)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 12:58:35 PM EST
    Would that her own accomodations would be as plush as that offered her charges in Iraq...she and Limbaugh could have a nice little party...

    Re: Lynndie England to Plead Guilty (none / 0) (#8)
    by Quaker in a Basement on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 12:58:36 PM EST
    She goes through all that and her babydaddy marries somebody else? See, the system works!

    Re: Lynndie England to Plead Guilty (none / 0) (#9)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 12:59:14 PM EST
    lynndie england is a poor girl with lots of misdirected energy and a need for acceptance, it is plain to see. that she enlisted is indication that she wanted to better herself...that she ended up in her current situation, probably due to the stressful and boring circumstances she found herself in (no longer next in line at the chicken-processing plant), is only further proof of the US's naive, ill-concieved and grossly inadequate preparation for war. In the aftermath of 9/11l, Bush spoke in absolute terms -- you were with us or against us... the old rules no longer held true... introducing the concept of "old europe" (from which he came) with its associations of chivalry, restraint,"civilization", rule of law, geneva conventions, etc., he set the stage -- broadly. His speeches were almost a dare. what is a spunky hillbilly to do, in a foreign land, wanting to be accepted...be a hero... be "one of the boys"... impress her new, powerful boyfriend? why is this such a hard leap for people to make? sure she made really bad decisions. if you were her, 21 from the hills, newly planted in a bluster-filled war in Iraq, would you not do the same? I might -- and I know better.

    Lynndie England to Plead Guilty | 9 comments (9 topical)