US Army sergeant found not guilty in Kirkuk Iraqi civilian murder News
US Army sergeant found not guilty in Kirkuk Iraqi civilian murder

[JURIST] US Army Sgt. 1st Class Trey A. Corrales [advocacy website] was acquitted by a military jury on Friday of charges connected to the 2007 killing of an unarmed Iraqi civilian near the city of Kirkuk [GlobalSecurity backgrounder]. Corrales was cleared of all charges [JURIST report] against him, including premeditated murder, wrongful solicitation of another soldier to shoot an unarmed, wounded Iraqi, and planting an AK-47 rifle next to the victim after the shooting. His court-martial [JURIST report] began in Hawaii earlier this week, where he pleaded not guilty to all charges [AP report]. AP has more.

In February, US Army Specialist Christopher P. Shore was convicted of aggravated assault [JURIST report] in the incident, but acquitted on third-degree murder charges. During his Article 32 hearing [JAG backgrounder; KHNL report] last year, Shore's lawyer painted Corrales as sadistic and out of control. Shore testified that when Corrales ordered him to shoot the unarmed Iraqi civilian, he intentionally missed.