FAYETTEVILLE, N.C. (Tribune News Service -- A former Army lieutenant convicted last year of murdering two Afghans in the war zone is seeking clemency from Brig. Gen. Richard D. Clarke, the 82nd Airborne Division commander.
The case of former Lt. Clint Lorance has been controversial.
His supporters say the Army wrongly prosecuted a soldier who was doing his best to protect his platoon in dangerous territory. Army prosecutors presented a case alleging that Lorance over the course of three days: illegally threatened to kill a civilian and his family, illegally ordered soldiers to shoot toward noncombatant civilians to scare them, and ordered soldiers to fire at three men who were riding a motorcycle.
Two of the men were killed, while the third ran away.
Lorance had been in command of a platoon in 4th Brigade of the 82nd Airborne Division just five days before the shooting, after its previous leader and three other soldiers were severely injured in combat.
A website has been set up for Lorance, and a petition on the Change.org website has been signed by nearly 30,000 people. His lawyer says at least 92 letters have sent to Clarke to support the clemency request.
Lorance was court-martialed at Fort Bragg in summer 2013 and now is serving a 20-year prison sentence on two counts of murder, a count of attempted murder, and other charges.
Under military law, it's up to Clarke as the 82nd Airborne commander to decide whether to uphold the conviction and sentence. If he doesn't uphold the case, he could dismiss some or all of the charges, change the punishment or order a new trial.
An Army spokeswoman said there is no estimate on how soon Clarke will decide. The Army is not commenting on the clemency request.
Lorance's lawyer submitted papers contending that the conviction should be thrown out.
"In plain language, this is not a case where a depraved soldier intended to kill indiscriminately. This is the case of a patriotic and loyal infantry officer who zealously sought to protect his paratroopers," wrote the lawyer, John N. Maher of Chicago, in a clemency petition dated Aug. 15. Maher is a civilian lawyer in this case, but also is a lieutenant colonel in the Army Reserve.
Maher's arguments include contentions that the evidence presented at the trial doesn't support the convictions. He says the judge gave incorrect instructions to the jury and that the lead defense lawyer at the court-martial did an inadequate job of presenting Lorance's case.
The fatal shooting happened while Lorance was leading a foot patrol in a grape field. Berms in the field limited the Americans' ability to see around them, Maher said.
One of the soldiers reported seeing three Afghan men heading toward them on a motorcycle. Lorance, who could not see the approaching men, ordered two soldiers to shoot.
The prosecutors said Lorance and his soldiers were required by their rules of engagement to hold their fire until they had evidence of a hostile act or hostile intent.
Maher wrote to Clarke that Lorance felt he had to decide quickly, within three to five seconds. Lorance ordered his soldiers to shoot "after one of his combat-experienced riflemen assessed the threat" and believed that the men were a danger, Maher said.
During the trial, there was evidence that enemy Taliban forces frequently used motorcycles. But there also was testimony that motorcycles were the most-common form of motorized transportation among the civilians.
After the shooting, soldiers searched the bodies but found no weapons, radios or cell phones, such as would often have been used by the Taliban to attack and coordinate their movements.
In an interview, Maher said that Army investigators were blocked by soldiers when they sought to visit the dead men's village to try to learn who the dead men were and to examine the bodies.
In a follow-up letter to Clarke, dated Nov. 15, Maher said his review of the record and evidence indicates that the prosecutors failed in their legal responsibility to share all the collected evidence with the defense lawyers. The unshared evidence could have been used to undermine the credibility of witnesses who testified against Lorance, Maher said.
In the clemency petition, Maher asks Clarke to dismiss the charges, set Lorance free and allow him to resign from the Army. "Alternatively, we request that you grant meaningful clemency which would allow Clint to continue education and veterans' benefits upon beginning his life anew," Maher wrote.
(c) 2014 The Fayetteville Observer. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC
No comments:
Post a Comment