BREAKING NEWS ~ Abu Ghraib dog handler gets six month prison sentence News
BREAKING NEWS ~ Abu Ghraib dog handler gets six month prison sentence

[JURIST] AP is reporting that a military jury has sentenced US Army Sgt. Michael J. Smith to six months in prison for abusing detainees at Iraq's Abu Ghraib prison [JURIST news archive] by using his unmuzzled dogs to intimidate inmates.

Smith was convicted [JURIST report] Tuesday on two counts of maltreatment of detainees, conspiring to make a contest of making detainees soil themselves, dereliction of duty, assault, and an indecent act in violation of the Uniform Code of Military Justice [text] and faced a maximum sentence of 8 1/2 years. Though only convicted on six counts, Smith was initially charged with 14 counts of misconduct [JURIST report] which carried a possible sentence of 29 1/2 years. AP has more.