Prosecutor Recommends Dealth Penalty for US Soldiers

from CNN
I hope I am able to present this story unbiased

An Army investigator has recommended that four soldiers accused of murder in a raid in Iraq should face the death penalty if convicted. Lt. Col. James P. Daniel Jr. concluded that the slayings were premeditated and warranted the death sentence based on evidence he heard at an August hearing. The case will now be forwarded to Army officials, who will decide whether Daniel's recommendation should be followed.

The soldiers, all from the Fort Campbell, Kentucky-based 101st Airborne Division's 187th Infantry Regiment, are accused of killing three Iraqi men taken from a house May 9 on a marshy island outside Samarra, about 60 miles north of Baghdad. Staff Sgt. Raymond L. Girouard, Spc. William B. Hunsaker, Pfc. Corey R. Clagett and Spc. Juston R. Graber have claimed they were ordered to "kill all military age males" during the raid on the island. According to statements from some of the soldiers, they were told the target was an al Qaeda training camp. Prosecutors argue the soldiers conspired to kill the men and then altered the scene to fit their story.

The soldiers are expected to be tried at Fort Campbell. They have been jailed in Kuwait since their arrests this year. The U.S. military has not executed a soldier since the 1960 hanging of a soldier convicted rape and attempted murder.