US Army hearing on death of 4 Iraqis ends

VILSECK — Defense lawyers for two U.S. soldiers told a military court Thursday that their clients did not participate in the killings of four Iraqis last year and had little, if any, knowledge of them.

But a U.S. Army prosecutor said Staff Sgt. Jess Cunningham and Sgt. Charles Quigley knew enough for the government to pursue the case.

"You don't have to pull the trigger to be a conspirator," Capt. Derrick Grace said.

The Article 32 hearing included testimony and statements from witnesses that the Iraqi men were shot in the head and dumped in a Baghdad canal in April 2007 as retribution for casualties suffered by soldiers with the 172nd Infantry Brigade in Iraq.

A decision on whether Cunningham and Quigley should face a full court-martial probably won't be made for at least a few weeks, Army Public Affairs Officer Lt. Col. Eric Bloom said.

Defense lawyers argue that testimony shows three other soldiers in the same brigade were responsible. The three face charges later but the military wouldn't offer further details on the matter.

"There's not a shred of evidence that either (Cunningham or Quigley) wanted these men to die ... desired these men to die. Not a shred!" James Culp, a civilian lawyer representing Cunningham, told the government's chief investigating officer in a loud voice, occasionally pounding his fist on the podium.

Culp said that while Cunningham may or may not have known about the event, that did not constitute the conspiracy to commit murder charges the U.S. government is considering.

Quigley's counsel, Capt. Samuel Gregory, said that while Quigley may or may not have had minor knowledge of plans prior to the incident, other soldiers with seemingly more knowledge received lesser Article 15 charges, punishments which included reductions in rank and pay, along with extra duty and base restrictions.

The hearing was held in Germany because the 172nd is part of V Corps, which is based in Germany.

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