Team Infidel
Forum Spin Doctor
Fayetteville (NC) Observer
October 3, 2008
By Laura Arenschield, Staff writer
Military lawyers argued Thursday that Army Sgt. William Kreutzer — who killed an officer when he opened fire on his unit at Fort Bragg in 1995 — should be allowed to take back guilty pleas he entered during his original trial in 1996.
Kreutzer has never denied firing at his unit, the 2nd Brigade of the 82nd Airborne Division, early in the morning of Oct. 27, 1995. Maj. Stephen Badger, an intelligence officer for the 325th Airborne Infantry Regiment, was killed. Eighteen others were injured.
Thursday was the first time in court that Kreutzer or his lawyer suggested he might try to take back the guilty plea.
Kreutzer was convicted in 1996 and sentenced to death. An Army appellate court overturned his death sentence in 2004, saying Kreutzer’s original defense lawyers were ineffective.
Kreutzer’s case is scheduled to be reheard in January. Thursday’s arguments came during a pre-trial hearing meant to address issues that could affect the trial.
Kreutzer’s lawyer argued that the legal proceedings at Fort Bragg should be paused so that Kreutzer’s case could be sent back to the Army Court of Appeals. The lawyer, Maj. Eric Carpenter, argued that new evidence showed Kreutzer had a mental illness that he was unaware of when he pleaded guilty. That information, he said, should be enough for Kreutzer to be able to take back his guilty plea.
A military psychiatrist evaluated Kreutzer after the shooting in 1995, and a military panel diagnosed him with adjustment disorder. A different military psychiatrist, who evaluated Kreutzer for Thursday’s hearing, but did not evaluate him in 1995, testified Thursday that adjustment disorder is too mild a description for Kreutzer’s mental illness.
The psychiatrist, Maj. Christopher Lange, said that he thought Kreutzer knew what he was doing when he fired on the unit and said he thought Kreutzer knew that firing on the unit was wrong.
But, Lange testified, Kreutzer has a personality disorder and major depression. Lange said the combination, under stress, could sometimes make Kreutzer “fly off the handle.”
Carpenter, Kreutzer’s lawyer, argued that for the purposes of the request to send the case back to an appeals court, it doesn’t matter if Kreutzer knew what he was doing. What matters, Carpenter said, is whether Kreutzer knew he had a mental illness that could explain the attack when he pleaded guilty during the original trial in 1996.
Military prosecutors argued that the appeals court already accepted Kreutzer’s guilty plea, so the case should not be postponed at Fort Bragg.
October 3, 2008
By Laura Arenschield, Staff writer
Military lawyers argued Thursday that Army Sgt. William Kreutzer — who killed an officer when he opened fire on his unit at Fort Bragg in 1995 — should be allowed to take back guilty pleas he entered during his original trial in 1996.
Kreutzer has never denied firing at his unit, the 2nd Brigade of the 82nd Airborne Division, early in the morning of Oct. 27, 1995. Maj. Stephen Badger, an intelligence officer for the 325th Airborne Infantry Regiment, was killed. Eighteen others were injured.
Thursday was the first time in court that Kreutzer or his lawyer suggested he might try to take back the guilty plea.
Kreutzer was convicted in 1996 and sentenced to death. An Army appellate court overturned his death sentence in 2004, saying Kreutzer’s original defense lawyers were ineffective.
Kreutzer’s case is scheduled to be reheard in January. Thursday’s arguments came during a pre-trial hearing meant to address issues that could affect the trial.
Kreutzer’s lawyer argued that the legal proceedings at Fort Bragg should be paused so that Kreutzer’s case could be sent back to the Army Court of Appeals. The lawyer, Maj. Eric Carpenter, argued that new evidence showed Kreutzer had a mental illness that he was unaware of when he pleaded guilty. That information, he said, should be enough for Kreutzer to be able to take back his guilty plea.
A military psychiatrist evaluated Kreutzer after the shooting in 1995, and a military panel diagnosed him with adjustment disorder. A different military psychiatrist, who evaluated Kreutzer for Thursday’s hearing, but did not evaluate him in 1995, testified Thursday that adjustment disorder is too mild a description for Kreutzer’s mental illness.
The psychiatrist, Maj. Christopher Lange, said that he thought Kreutzer knew what he was doing when he fired on the unit and said he thought Kreutzer knew that firing on the unit was wrong.
But, Lange testified, Kreutzer has a personality disorder and major depression. Lange said the combination, under stress, could sometimes make Kreutzer “fly off the handle.”
Carpenter, Kreutzer’s lawyer, argued that for the purposes of the request to send the case back to an appeals court, it doesn’t matter if Kreutzer knew what he was doing. What matters, Carpenter said, is whether Kreutzer knew he had a mental illness that could explain the attack when he pleaded guilty during the original trial in 1996.
Military prosecutors argued that the appeals court already accepted Kreutzer’s guilty plea, so the case should not be postponed at Fort Bragg.