Closing arguments made in England abuse case

Prosecutors in Private Lynndie England’s prison abuse case portrayed her in closing arguments today as an eager participant with a “sick” sense of humour, while defence lawyers described her as a weak-minded pawn trying to appease a sadistic boyfriend.

A jury of Army officers was to start deliberating this afternoon. England, one of the most visible figures in the Abu Ghraib scandal, faces up to 11 years in prison if convicted on seven counts of conspiracy and maltreatment of detainees at the Iraq prison in 2003.

Jurors in Fort Hood, Texas, heard competing descriptions of the 22-year-old reservist from Fort Ashby, West Virginia, during closing arguments.

“The accused knew what she was doing,” said Capt. Chris Graveline, the lead prosecutor. “She was laughing and joking. ... She is enjoying, she is participating, all for her own sick humour.”

Capt. Jonathan Crisp, England’s defence lawyer, countered that England’s actions were at the behest of Private Charles Graner Jr., with whom she was having a romantic relationship. Graner, then a corporal, has been labelled the abuse ringleader by prosecutors.

“She was a follower, she was an individual who was smitten with Graner,” Crisp said. “She just did whatever he wanted her to do.”

Graveline said any subservience England felt toward Graner was not a legal excuse.

“You have the same moral responsibility whether you’re a leader or a follower,” he said.

England’s trial is the last for a group of nine Army reservists charged with mistreating prisoners at Abu Ghraib. Two others have been convicted, including Graner, and the remaining six made plea deals. Several of those soldiers testified during England’s trial.

Prosecutors used graphic photos of England to support their contention that she was a key member of the abuse conspiracy. They included one of England holding a naked detainee on a leash and pointing to other prisoners in humiliating poses.

They also pointed to her own statement to Army investigators in January 2004 in which she said the mistreatment was done to amuse the US guards at Abu Ghraib.

The defence team argued that England suffered from depression and that she has an overly compliant personality, while Army psychiatrist called by prosecutors testified she interviewed England and found no evidence of depression or other personality disorders.

In May, England tried to plead guilty to all the same counts she faced at the trial in exchange for an undisclosed sentencing cap. But the deal was thrown out during the sentencing phase when testimony by Graner contradicted England’s guilty plea.