FORT BRAGG, N.C. -- Lawyers for an Army sergeant accused in a fatal grenade attack on his fellow soldiers in the opening days of the Iraq war asked Monday that the trial be moved or that jurors be chosen from another branch of the military. "This offense received worldwide coverage," said Capt. David Coombs, one of the lawyers for Sgt. Hasan Akbar. "Any Army member who heard this had a visceral response." Defense lawyers also complained that everyone in the pool of potential Army jurors outranks Akbar, whose court-martial is set to begin July 12.
Akbar, 32, is charged with two counts of premeditated murder and three counts of attempted premeditated murder for the March 23, 2003, attack in Kuwait on a group of fellow 101st Airborne Division soldiers and others. Two people were killed and 14 were wounded. It is the first time since the Vietnam War that a U.S. Army soldier has been prosecuted for the murder or attempted murder of another soldier during wartime, the Army has said. Coombs argued that reports from journalists embedded with military units at the time were so pervasive that military personnel still could have fixed opinions more than a year later. He suggested selecting court-martial panel members from another branch of service.
| Fine, how about the Marines? |
| They might be able to find twelve midshipmen still sore about the 2001 Army-Navy game. |
However, military prosecutor Capt. Rob McGovern said there was no evidence that any potential jurors have been influenced by the publicity. He said panel members already selected for the pool promised that they wouldn't expose themselves to coverage of the case. The judge, Col. Patrick Parrish, did not rule on the motion immediately. It was not clear when he would rule, post officials said.
If convicted, Akbar could receive the death penalty, life in prison without parole or life with parole. His lawyers have said he was accused only because he is Muslim.
| And he was missing from his post and he was short a few grenades, etc.. |
Killed in the March 23, 2003, attack at Camp Pennsylvania were Army Capt. Christopher Scott Seifert, 27, of Easton, Pa., and Air Force Maj. Gregory Stone, 40, of Boise, Idaho.
Akbar's lawyers also asked the judge to require that a new pool of jurors be selected at random. The current pool was selected by the commanding general of the XVIII Airborne Corps, of which the 101st is a member. None of the members has a rank lower than sergeant first class.
| Which is standard procedure in a case like this. The military lawyers know this, they're just throwing stuff against the wall and seeing what sticks. |
Although the 101st Airborne is based at Fort Campbell, Ky., the case was transferred to Fort Bragg last year because the division was deployed in Iraq. The 101st has since returned. Akbar is no longer a member of the 101st, and has been assigned to the 18th Airborne Corps.
| Soon to be assigned to Ft. Leavenworth. |
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