Posted on Nov 19, 2014
Military court weighing fate of condemned soldier. What Are Your Thoughts?
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From: Army Times
A former U.S. soldier sentenced to death for killing two fellow soldiers and injuring 14 others in an attack in Kuwait is pinning his hopes of staying alive on an argument jurors should have never seen his diary.
Attorneys for 43-year-old Hasan K. Akbar argued on Tuesday that the one-time sergeant's writings, which include details of how he converted to radical Islam, were so inflammatory, that without the proper context, jurors were most likely to focus on the most damaging parts while considering whether to impose a death sentence.
"They didn't present the information in any meaningful way," said Lt. Col. John Potter, a military lawyer arguing the case for Akbar before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces in Washington.
Akbar was with the 326th Engineer Battalion of the 101st Airborne Division based at Fort Campbell, Kentucky, when he was sentenced to death in 2005. He killed Army Capt. Christopher S. Seifert and Air Force Maj. Gregory L. Stone in Kuwait two years earlier during the early days of the Iraq war.
Prosecutors say he threw four hand grenades into tents as members of his division slept, then fired his rifle at soldiers in the ensuing chaos on March 23, 2003. A military jury at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, convicted Akbar and handed down the sentence. The military has not carried out an execution since 1961. Akbar is one of five ex-soldiers facing a death sentence, the only one for actions in the Iraq war.
Potter told the judges the defense failed to prepare witnesses and errantly let jurors see Akbar's diary, which contained multiple anti-American passages.
Potter said allowing the jury to read the diary "eviscerated the defense in any meaningful way."
"We think the diary, there's no tactical reason to submit the diary," Potter said.
In one entry dated Feb. 23, 2002, Akbar wrote that he believed staying in the Army would eventually lead him to prison.
"I had a premonition that if I re-enlisted I would find myself in jail. That is probably true because I already want to kill several of them," Akbar wrote of his fellow soldiers.
The judges hearing the case focused on how the diary fit into the rest of the defense strategy, asking whether attorneys did anything to put the passages in the context of Akbar's pre-military life or any mental issues he may have had.
Potter noted that the defense put on 38 minutes of mitigation evidence and argument and didn't present any testimony from his family to humanize him. Instead, the lawyers failed by letting jurors pick through the diary and focus on the passages that left their client in the worst possible light.
Prosecutors said Akbar's defense attorneys acted in his best interest to try and prevent a death sentence from being issued in one of the "most egregious offenses in modern military history." The defense attorneys focused on the most viable arguments and witnesses, Maj. Kenneth Borgnino said.
Prosecutors noted that much of Akbar's family likely wouldn't have made a good impression on the witness stand.
The judges did not indicate when a ruling would be issued.
http://www.armytimes.com/story/military/crime/2014/11/19/akbar-appeal-111914/19265341/
A former U.S. soldier sentenced to death for killing two fellow soldiers and injuring 14 others in an attack in Kuwait is pinning his hopes of staying alive on an argument jurors should have never seen his diary.
Attorneys for 43-year-old Hasan K. Akbar argued on Tuesday that the one-time sergeant's writings, which include details of how he converted to radical Islam, were so inflammatory, that without the proper context, jurors were most likely to focus on the most damaging parts while considering whether to impose a death sentence.
"They didn't present the information in any meaningful way," said Lt. Col. John Potter, a military lawyer arguing the case for Akbar before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces in Washington.
Akbar was with the 326th Engineer Battalion of the 101st Airborne Division based at Fort Campbell, Kentucky, when he was sentenced to death in 2005. He killed Army Capt. Christopher S. Seifert and Air Force Maj. Gregory L. Stone in Kuwait two years earlier during the early days of the Iraq war.
Prosecutors say he threw four hand grenades into tents as members of his division slept, then fired his rifle at soldiers in the ensuing chaos on March 23, 2003. A military jury at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, convicted Akbar and handed down the sentence. The military has not carried out an execution since 1961. Akbar is one of five ex-soldiers facing a death sentence, the only one for actions in the Iraq war.
Potter told the judges the defense failed to prepare witnesses and errantly let jurors see Akbar's diary, which contained multiple anti-American passages.
Potter said allowing the jury to read the diary "eviscerated the defense in any meaningful way."
"We think the diary, there's no tactical reason to submit the diary," Potter said.
In one entry dated Feb. 23, 2002, Akbar wrote that he believed staying in the Army would eventually lead him to prison.
"I had a premonition that if I re-enlisted I would find myself in jail. That is probably true because I already want to kill several of them," Akbar wrote of his fellow soldiers.
The judges hearing the case focused on how the diary fit into the rest of the defense strategy, asking whether attorneys did anything to put the passages in the context of Akbar's pre-military life or any mental issues he may have had.
Potter noted that the defense put on 38 minutes of mitigation evidence and argument and didn't present any testimony from his family to humanize him. Instead, the lawyers failed by letting jurors pick through the diary and focus on the passages that left their client in the worst possible light.
Prosecutors said Akbar's defense attorneys acted in his best interest to try and prevent a death sentence from being issued in one of the "most egregious offenses in modern military history." The defense attorneys focused on the most viable arguments and witnesses, Maj. Kenneth Borgnino said.
Prosecutors noted that much of Akbar's family likely wouldn't have made a good impression on the witness stand.
The judges did not indicate when a ruling would be issued.
http://www.armytimes.com/story/military/crime/2014/11/19/akbar-appeal-111914/19265341/
Death Penalty
Kuwait
UCMJ
Posted 10 y ago
Responses: 487
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SSG Keven Lahde
What ever happened to him? What was the outcome? I haven't heard anything on this yet.
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He is no longer a soldier, he had his Cory martial proceeding. He is guilty, he has lost the privilege to be called a soldier, and for his acts, he deserves death. I will gladly perform this duty.
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SSG (Join to see)
This……..person (he need NOT be called or be described as an NCO) the moment he decided to take his fellow Soldiers Lives. Yes, his Courts Marshall is done, he was found Guilty and why wait? I am not sorry for what I’m about to say; No table or chair is worth his time. Only one thing will suffice for him. And it NEEDS to be brought back due to this atrocity happened during a time of War.
The Military uniform he is wearing in the picture should have been stripped of ALL awards, stripes and insignia to include his Maroon Barrett. His name tape and US Army should have been the ONLY things on that coat (and I’ll call it just that).
The Military uniform he is wearing in the picture should have been stripped of ALL awards, stripes and insignia to include his Maroon Barrett. His name tape and US Army should have been the ONLY things on that coat (and I’ll call it just that).
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Why is this murderer still alive and costing us money? He was sentenced to death in 2005, he should have had the sentence carried out by 2006. The SOB is guilty as determined by court.
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I was there that night. I had just recently left the command post and laid down when the grenades went off. I had to see the faces of those that were caught in the chaos. Fuck Akbar. I'll pull the trigger.
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SFC (Join to see)
It was a very chaotic night. We still had radio fills to load in the gun trucks, the grenades went off, and later the shoot down happened. The BGD CDR gets wounded, and some of us knew him as more than just the BGD CDR, so we wanted to get hunting. Then to find out it was "one of our own" who committed this treasonous act of terrorism?!
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It amazes me that Akbar even made it to trial. The American taxpayer has already spent too many resources on this man. Lethal injection is far too expensive. Why not execute him with a captive bolt pistol? It's simple (no team of doctors or experts needed), results in instant death (no cruelty), and it's cheap. Any savings could be used to fund widespread telivisation of the hopefully unceramonial execution.
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Being a soldier and having deployed in support of this country I may not have always agreed with the things that lead us to deploy but I have supported the decisions of my commanders. If you have joined the military you are automatically saying you will die for your country, If you do something like this you deserve to pay with your life. In my personnel opinion I think he should be put down. No need to keep him in prison, If given the opportunity and immunity I would drag him out behind the wood shed and put an end to our suffering and give closure to the victims (soldiers, family and friends).
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SFC (Join to see)
I was reading through the news stories yesterday on this case and became somewhat irate, so I created a petition to the President to immediately implement the sentence. Hopefully I get the required signatures to send it forward. I believe we as the military are owed an answer from our Commander in Chief on this.
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This is just sick, this D-Bag has a diary pretty much confessing his intent to do harm, then he actually does kill two officers, quit cowardly I might add. Why have we not fulfilled the sentence given.
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SGT James Colbert
yeah well. They aren't going to decide right away, he can sit there for the rest of his life waiting to die.
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Get him to the execution chamber ASAP, and absolutely NO media coverage whatsoever because this prick doesn't deserve any recognition after what he did. Then, he should be buried with no honors, no gravestone with his name, burn his uniforms, and may he soon be forgotten. Do the same for that scumbag Major Nidal Hassan.
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SFC (Join to see)
Agree. Do not give him attention, which is what we want. I repeat “NO ATTENTION “ plus, no life sentence, I paid taxes, he will not get a free meal from me.
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Put him in front of a firing squad. Get rid of the traitor once and for all.
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