tinyurl.com/b997c -> news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20050503/ap_on_re_us/prisoner_abuse_england;_ylt=Aq6EP5aElbPLQFHvWHwgsBys0NUE;_ylu=X3oDMTA2MTQ3MTFjBHNlYwN0cw--
AP Sentencing Phase for England Set to Begin By TA BADGER, Associated Press Writer 1 hour, 9 minutes ago FORT HOOD, Texas - Pfc. Lynndie England took responsibility for the smili ng, thumbs-up poses she struck for photographs taken at Abu Ghraib priso n camp, which made her the face of the prisoner abuse scandal. Now, with the sentencing phase in her military trial set to begin Tuesday, Englan d's goal is to minimize the punishment.
England, 22, pleaded guilty Monday to seven counts of mistreating prisone rs, saying she let her comrades talk her into going along with the abuse . The charges carry up to 11 years in prison, but prosecutors and the defen se reached an agreement that caps the sentence at a lesser punishment, t he length of which was not released. She will get the lesser of the mili tary jury's sentence or the term agreed on in the plea bargain. Wearing her dress green Army uniform and speaking somberly in a soft voic e with her arms close by her side, the reservist told the judge she init ially resisted taking part in the abuse at the Baghdad prison, but caved in to peer pressure. Cullen Sheppard, a prosecution spokesman, said the government will put on one sentencing witness before the defense begins its effort to pe rsuade the jury to go easy on England. Graner was convicted in January on a range of abuse charges and is servin g a 10-year sentence in the military prison at Fort Leavenworth, Kan. England became a central figure in the Abu Ghraib scandal after photos em erged last year showing her and others sexually humiliating Iraqi prison ers. One of the photos showed her holding a hooded, naked prisoner on a leash. Another showed her smiling and giving a thumbs-up next to nude prisoner s stacked in a pyramid. A third depicted England pointing at the prisone r's genitals as a cigarette dangled from her lips. She told Pohl she did not want to point at the man's genitals, but that G raner or another soldier pressured her into it. "I had a choice, but I chose to do what my friends wanted me to," she said. England entered guilty pleas to two counts of conspiracy to maltreat pris oners, four counts of maltreating prisoners and one count of committing an indecent act. Prosecutors agreed to drop another count of committing an indecent act and one count of dereliction of duty. Four other members of the Maryland-based 372nd Military Police Company an d two low-level military intelligence officers have entered guilty pleas in connection with the scandal, with sentences ranging from no time to 8 1/2 years. Sabrina Harman, a former Abu Ghraib guard, is schedule d to go to trial at Fort Hood next week. Several investigations have been conducted, but so far only low-level sol diers have been charged, though the defendants have alleged that high-le vel officials condoned the abuse. In England's hometown in West Virginia, Joyce Satzer said the scandal has given the community a bad name. "For someone to do something like that, and then for her to be from Fort Ashby, it's upsetting," said Satzer, 7 3 "This is a nice place to live."
Lynndie R England arrives for day two of her court martial at Fort Hood, Texas, Tuesday, May 3, 2005. A military panel that will d ecide her punishment will be chosen today.
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