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A military jury sentenced Spc. Charles Graner to 10 years in prison on Saturday for his leading role in the 2003 Abu Ghraib torture of Iraqi prisoners, five years less than the maximum sentence possible.
The sentencing at a central Texas military base came a day after a 10-person jury found Graner guilty on 10 counts related to the abuses, many of which were documented in photographs that included naked prisoners stacked into a pyramid and being forced to masturbate.
In his first public remarks on the scandal earlier in the day, Graner admitted he had acted wrongly, but said he complained repeatedly to superiors and was told to continue rough treatment.
In 2 1/2 hours of testimony at the sentencing hearing, Graner smiled from time to time and spoke confidently as he detailed his role in the scandal that delivered a powerful blow to the U.S. image abroad.
"I didn't enjoy anything I did there. A lot of it was wrong, a lot of it was criminal," said Graner, 36, the first soldier to go on trial in the abuse case.
Army Spc. Charles Graner Jr., is taken into custody after being sentenced to 10 years in his court-martial at Fort Hood, Texas.
The former Pennsylvania prison guard was convicted on charges including conspiracy, assault and indecent acts.
"The enemy needs rallying points," prosecutor Maj. Michael Holley said in arguing for the maximum 15-year penalty. "The accused has provided so much in that regard.
"If a maximum was ever appropriate in a case, this is the case."
Graner, seen grinning in photos of abuses such as stacking a pyramid of naked Iraqi detainees, said gallows humor was the only way to deal with the harsh environment at Abu Ghraib, once Saddam Hussein's most notorious prison.
"There was a lot of things that we did that were so screwed up, if we didn't look at them as funny then there was no way to deal with it," he said. "When I knew someone would take a picture, I'd be smiling; that's the only explanation I have."
SEEKING ANOTHER CHANCE
In his statement to the jury asking that he be given another chance as a soldier, Graner did not discuss the most notorious episodes during his time there, such as when he directed the human pyramid or put a leash on a naked prisoner.
In a photo first published in May, Charles Graner, then a sergeant with the 372nd Military Police Company, poses with the body of an Iraqi at Abu Ghraib prison.
Graner said he complained repeatedly to superiors about the rough treatment he says he was forced to mete out to prisoners.
"We were not treating prisoners the way we were supposed to so I complained about it," he said. "I never stopped complaining."
Graner named several higher-ranking officials to whom he complained about the conditions or treatment forced upon the prisoners, such as sleep deprivation and forced eating cycles. They told him to "follow your order, charge on."
"Like all good soldiers, or bad little soldiers, it was 'right on sir.' We went back."
Four others have been convicted after reaching plea bargains in the case.
Graner and Spc. Sabrina Harman pose behind a pile of naked Iraqi prisoners at the prison.
During the court-martial, prosecutors provided evidence, including graphic videos and photos, that Graner forced seven Iraqi prisoners to stack themselves into a naked human pyramid and later posed for photos before them. On another occasion, he photographed his lover, Pfc. Lynndie England, holding a leash he put around the neck of a naked prisoner.
Witnesses described how Graner had hit prisoners, in one case knocking one out before piling him into the naked human pyramid.
At one point, Graner demonstrated the power of his blow, perhaps inadvertently, when he whacked a punch into his hand to create a sound told illustrate a point he was making.
Graner said he was troubled by the public perception of his character. "I've been bad-mouthed about my religion -- that I'm not a good Christian," he said.
He showed little emotion on Friday after the jury of 10 male officers and enlisted men found him guilty.
In a Friday night court session, his parents, Charles and Irma Graner of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, described their son as a good boy and good father to his two children.
"He's not the monster he's being made out to be," Irma Graner told the jury. "In my eyes, he'll always be a hero."
Source: AP
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