US soldier found guilty of murdering unarmed Iraqi

0 Comments | AFP, December, 2004

CAMP TAHREER, Iraq (AFP) — A US soldier who said he shot dead an unarmed and wounded Iraqi civilian to "put him out of his misery" was found guilty of murder at a court martial in Baghdad.

Staff Sergent Johnny Horne was convicted of the unpremeditated murder of a severely wounded Iraqi civilian in Baghdad's deprived Sadr City district on August 18.

A pre-trial agreement limits sentencing to 10 years, without which the charge carried a maximum sentence of life imprisonment.

The murder of Kassim Hassan took place when US soldiers spotted a garbage truck apparently dropping homemade bombs in Sadr City, the capital's most populous Shiite Muslim neighbourhood.

The soldiers started shooting at the truck, which caught fire, and a severely wounded Hassan...