Posted on 02/22/2007 8:06:21 PM PST by ReignOfError
FORT CAMPBELL, Kentucky (AP) -- A U.S. soldier was sentenced to 100 years in prison Thursday for the gang rape and murder of an Iraqi girl and the killing of her family last year.
Sgt. Paul E. Cortez, 24, also was given a dishonorable discharge. He will be eligible for parole in 10 years under the terms of his plea agreement.
Cortez, of Barstow, California, pleaded guilty this week to four counts of felony murder, rape and conspiracy to rape in a case considered among the worst atrocities by U.S. military personnel in Iraq.
(Excerpt) Read more at cnn.com ...
Sentenced to 100 years and maybe out in 10? Do I have that right?
If the guy really did this I think he should have been executed. What's up with the sentence of 100 years?
I read it the same as you...we surely can't be reading it right...or it isn't written correctly.
That will be hard under the circumstances. People like that play right into enemy hands and undo hard won goodwill.
But he'd better never get so much as a parking ticket for the rest of his life.
I gave these guys every benefit of the doubt. I said at the time, if indeed thay are guilty, they should be shot. That is still my view.
People like this are the enemy. He would have been perfectly suited working for Saddam.
They imply all kinds of atrocities lying around all over the place. CNN and the rest of the MSM are not worthy of this nation, and certainly not worthy of the blood shed to keep their favored position intact.
I hate the liberal, dem major media.
This scumbag should be executed by firing squad. Period.
And this guy doesn't get the rope why?
If he'd committed the crime in Vermont, he would have gotten 8 hours of community service and a pint of Ben & Jerry's.
Eligibe for a parole review in 10 years. I doubt he will be given parole. He has brought discredit to the US Army and himself. He deserves to rot
He has undone the work of a lot of good people. Send him to Sadammnnn
Probably. Congress has given courts-martial more leeway in parole decisions than they've given civilian courts. Keeping in mind that parole eligibility isn't parole; unless his conviction is overturned, Cortez is unlikely to leave until he's so old and decrepit that the Feds would rather have someone else pick up his medical expenses.
I agree.
He'll be one of the lifers in Leavenworth.
Interesting bunch according to an old friend of mine.
JAG usually wants convictions badly for this kind of thing. It is a way to pacify the natives.
If he is guilty, it's too light. If he isn't and was railroaded, this is a travesty. It makes me wonder about the evidence if the prosecution thinks 10 years is a good deal.
Execution would be fair punishment.
You hope he'll be out in 10 for rape and murder and making our military and country appear as barbarians?
This man is not my hero
I know a fellow who was a guard there
The majority party happens to be the anti-war party.
Also, a presidential election in less than 2 years that will drastically change the course of world history.
However, i really hate rapists... i would have shot him if i was there. None can justify such a crime even if he's a Neanderthal dude.. He has to face that consequence and hope for a changed character for the remainings years he has to live.
God is too good to be unkind...
Agreed
Is this the incident that some say was the motive for the 2 soldiers being kidnapped and killed?
Nice to each other. No one on FR raped an Iraqi girl and murdered her family. I'm sure some folks will think that Cortez was railroaded, but no one on FR did that, either. So here, in this context, be nice.
All I'm saying.
But I always give a soldier in combat one more chance.
He'll have a decade behind bars to think about it and he'll still be a young man when he gets out.
We should be thankful he didn't receive a death sentence. The Left would say that George W. Bush murdered him...let alone bringing the death penalty issue front and center.
Right is right,wrong is wrong. See you in a hundred years a-hole !!!
Same as my friend.
Sgt. Paul E. Cortez, 24, also was given a dishonorable discharge. He will be eligible for parole in 10 years under the terms of his plea agreement.
Cortez, of Barstow, California, pleaded guilty this week to four counts of felony murder, rape and conspiracy to rape in a case considered among the worst atrocities by U.S. military personnel in Iraq.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Bein' nice.
"If" this is true,,,Hang his @$$ with sadum's Rope...
No matter who he is...
Justice was served. Nuff said.
Exactly.
He pleaded guilty and agreed to testify against the other defendants. That doesn't come for free. The minimum consideration would be taking the needle off the table.
Well thats your opinion.
I say he was convicted fairly and worthy of scorn. Many men have snapped in battle, but it doesnt excuse thier actions. He shames his fellow soldiers with his actions
Why 100 / 10?
>"under the terms of his plea agreement."
He pleaded to it, and got this deal.
I figgered L0L
"If he committed the crime as a civilian in Detroit, he would be out on the streets in 6 years."
There was once a Bill who did this, and he was elected President; twice.
Is he a Marine or regular army?
100 down to 10? If that was the promise then I would say anything they asked me to, too. I think this is all a charade.
He was Army
From what I was told from the groups involved with defending our troops, this guy was guilty as sin.
Hmmmmm.,
"Sentenced to 100 years and maybe out in 10? Do I have that right?
You have it right and, like you, I couldn't believe what I was reading.
Expect this multiple murderer/rapist to get out in ten years time.
Four cold-blooded murders with the victims begging not to kill them, a rape and an attempted rape is NOT a single crime.
He can spend the rest of his life in prison suffering eternal pains.
Agreed here.
I can't say Im glad he could potentially be out in ten, but I'd rather trust the review system than an arbitrary number on paper. There is no such thing as "good-time," or early release for good behavior, in the federal prisons any more.
I'm not a lawyer, and I don't know if his parole applications will be heard by the DoD or the DoJ -- that is to say, whether he will be dishonorably discharged now or after he's done his time -- but in either case, I trust the judgment of that system more than my own until I have reason to believe otherwise.
My knee doesn't jerk in the direction of trusting the government, but it doesn't jerk against trusting it, either. I'm more inclined to trust the folks who've seen all the evidence, heard from both sides and had a few days to think it over than I am to throw a lot of weight behind my own snap judgment based on a 250-word wire story.
That's right. In ten years the girl will come back to life and everything will be okay again, so he can get out. At least, that's my understanding of the rationale behind this sentence.
The word "atrocity" used to mean something major, like wiping out an entire village. What he did is not an atrocity, it is a crime.
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