Posted on 04/29/2005 8:11:04 AM PDT by Cornpone
A US soldier said to have hated America has been sentenced to death for the murder and attempted murder of comrades during the invasion of Iraq. Sgt Hasan Akbar used grenades and a rifle to kill two officers and wound 14 other personnel at a camp in Kuwait in the opening days of the war.
Prosecutors said the murders were ideologically driven hate crimes.
Defence lawyers do not dispute the attack but argue Akbar was too mentally ill to have planned the attack.
The death penalty was announced a week after he was convicted by a military jury at Fort Bragg, North Carolina.
It was the first time since the Vietnam War that an American had been prosecuted for murdering a fellow soldier in wartime.
'Maximum carnage'
Last week, a 15-member jury took just two and a half hours to convict Akbar, but sentencing on Thursday came after a further seven hours of deliberations.
He is a hate-filled, ideologically driven murderer
Lt Col Michael Mulligan Chief prosecutor
The attack occurred in the middle of the night as the 101st Airborne was preparing to move into Iraq in March 2003.
Capt Christopher Seifert, 27, and Maj Gregory Stone, 40, were killed.
Prosecutors say Akbar told investigators he had launched the attack because he was concerned that US troops would kill fellow Muslims in Iraq.
He attacked "with a cool mind" to achieve "maximum carnage", they said, pointing to a 1997 diary entry in which Akbar wrote: "My life will not be complete unless America is destroyed."
"He is a hate-filled, ideologically driven murderer," said the chief prosecutor, Lt Col Michael Mulligan.
'Paranoia'
Akbar, 34, delivered an apology before members of the jury began considering the sentence. The widow of Capt Seifert described his killer as a 'nonentity'
"I felt that my life was in jeopardy and I had no other options," he was quoted as saying in a low voice, by The Associated Press.
A defence psychiatrist had testified that although Akbar was legally sane and understood the consequences of his attack, he suffered from forms of paranoia and schizophrenia.
John Akbar, the soldier's father, also argued that his son, a black man, had been subjected to racial harassment.
The sentence is subject to an automatic appeal. If Akbar is eventually executed, it will be by lethal injection.
Tammie Eslinger, the woman Maj Stone had planned to marry, said the killer had robbed her of her "love, family, dreams and future".
Hopefully he will be hung from the gallows!
Let's hope it's swift justice and won't take years for him to get what he deserves.
Preferably with a long rope and a sandbag full of lead shot tied to each foot.
Lethal injection accoring to another poster on another thread.
What a dumb idiot. Why do these america haters live in america? Why don't they just go back to their crummy homelands and leave us the hell alone?
AKBAR FUBAR!
Is he sitting on death row now, making his peace with his Maker? I wonder.....not for long, I hope.
Is he going to be added to the lefties list of war dead?
Darn. I wanted to volunteer to pull the lever!
another satan worshiper will get his due!
Lethal injectin is now used. I thought gallows or a firing squad would be more appropriate, but he gets to fall asleep and never wake up instead.
On the good side, fewer appeals to higher courts available. And the Military is so much more efficient in reviewing their appeals. I read somewhere else that after the Military appeals, he gets 1 or 2 appeals at the Federal level, then he's facing the hot shot. It could take a little as 3 years (*when you campare it to State and Federal appeals which can take 7 to 15 years).
To quote Nelson Muntz: "Ha Ha!"
Looks like your life is complete no matter what, Hasan! Say hi to Mohammed for me - you'll find him in the 9th ring of Malebolge on your way to Cocytus in the center of Hell.
yeah but at least they don't wear rags on their head and are too busy watching plasma screen TV's to get off their fat asses and do something about their feelings.
Yippee...and no virgins for this yo yo!
I think a firing squad at sunup tommorow would be might efficient and cost effective.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.