Soldiers lied over Iraqis' deaths

A US soldier convicted of murdering unarmed Iraqis said today that he falsely implicated his platoon leader in the hope of receiving a lighter prison sentence.

At a hearing to determine whether 2nd Lt Erick Anderson will face a court martial on murder and conspiracy charges, Pvt Michael Williams said he lied when he said Anderson ordered him to shoot a man in Sadr City on August 28, 2004.

Williams, in testimony that contradicted his initial statements, said his platoon leader arrived after the Iraqi man was dead and never gave an order to kill him.

“I just felt that pressure of getting a life sentence instead of 25 years,” Williams said. “It’s just a lot of my fear.”

Williams said today that after entering a house near the east Baghdad slum of Sadr City, he and his team found a man with an AK-47 rifle and shot him when he reached for the weapon. He said he fired a third shot before Anderson arrived to make sure the man was dead.

Williams was convicted of two counts of murder for the deaths of Iraqi civilians during the operation.

He was sentenced in May to life in prison, but that was later reduced to a 25-year term.

His original statement, made in Iraq, led to murder charges that were filed against Anderson in October, alleging he ordered Williams and a second soldier in a separate incident to kill Iraqi civilians.

Attorneys for Anderson, who maintained that the soldiers lied to secure more lenient sentences, appeared stunned by Williams’ reversal.

“We’re going to shorten our case significantly,” Neal Puckett said.

The two incidents occurred while Anderson’s platoon, part of Charlie Company, 1st Battalion, 41st Infantry, was conducting missions against followers of radical Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr.

Williams’ case is under appeal, and he said he realised that the new testimony “destroys my credibility.”

In pleading guilty to the shootings, Williams signed a stipulation that did not mention Anderson giving an order to shoot. But days later, he said, he gave a hand-written statement to Army investigators because he thought it was necessary to keep his deal for a reduced sentence.

A second soldier, Spc Brent May, of Salem, Ohio, was convicted of murder in the same incidents and sentenced to five years in prison.

In a separate incident, prosecutors allege Anderson ordered two sergeants to kill a teenager on August 18, 2004, during night operations near Sadr City.

Staff Sgts Johnny Horne, and Cardenas Alban, were convicted of killing the teenager they claim was fatally wounded, and were sentenced to one year in prison for what they described as a “mercy killing” authorised by Anderson.