United States v. England

2009 WL 6842645 (2005)

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United States v. England

United States Army Court of Criminal Appeals
2009 WL 6842645 (2005)

Facts

Private First Class Lynndie R. England (defendant), a personnel administrative clerk at the Baghdad Central Confinement Facility at Abu Ghraib, Iraq faced multiple charges arising from alleged misconduct. England attempted to plead guilty to most of the charges in exchange for a sentence reduction. Included in England’s guilty plea was a specification for conspiracy to commit maltreatment involving Corporal Charles Graner, an officer who served at Abu Ghraib and who was in an intimate relationship with England. The specification arose from an incident in which Graner tied a strap around the neck of a nude detainee and, using a strap as a leash, pulled the detainee out of his holding cell. Graner then handed the leash to England and took photos of her holding the leash. Prior to accepting England’s plea, the military judge conducted a providence inquiry to confirm that England understood why her actions were unlawful. During this inquiry, England testified that she and Graner had no lawful purpose for taking the photo, that they had intended to degrade and humiliate the detainee, and that Graner took the photos for his personal use and amusement. The military judge, satisfied that England was provident to the offenses, accepted her pleas and found her guilty. During the presentencing case, England’s counsel called Graner as a witness. Graner testified that his treatment of the detainee had been part of a lawful planned use of force to extract the detainee from his cell and that he had taken the photos to document the extraction as required by military-police rules. The military judge interpreted Graner’s testimony as contradicting England’s guilty plea as to the conspiracy specification. The judge reasoned that the elements of conspiracy had not been met because England and Graner disagreed about the purpose of the incident. The judge rejected England’s guilty plea as to the conspiracy specification, leading to a contested court-martial in which England was acquitted of the specification. England was convicted of several other charges and appealed.

Rule of Law

Issue

Holding and Reasoning (Tozzi, J.)

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