Team Infidel
Forum Spin Doctor
Atlanta Journal-Constitution
August 9, 2007
Pg. 3
By Moni Basu and Jeffry Scott
The lawyer for a Georgia soldier charged with the premeditated murder of a detainee in Iraq said Wednesday that the detainee had already been shot when a platoon sergeant ordered the soldier to shoot and "finish him off."
The attorney, Michael Waddington of Augusta, said there were no witnesses to the incident but that his client, Army Spc. Christopher P. Shore, says he was standing 4 feet away from the detainee when he fired his weapon twice, intentionally failing to hit the man.
Waddington said Shore and four other soldiers reported the incident within hours to their company commander. "Why would he [Shore] turn himself in if he did it?" Waddington said.
Shore, 25, of Winder, and platoon Sgt. 1st Class Trey A. Corrales, 34, of San Antonio, were charged last month with the June 23 killing of the unidentified man. Conviction on the charge carries a possible death penalty.
The soldiers, who are assigned to the 25th Infantry Division based in Hawaii, are members of a scout platoon. The night of the alleged murder they had been airlifted on Black Hawk helicopters to al Shaheed, near northern Iraqi city of Kirkuk, to clear a series of houses which the Americans believed were harboring the suspected terror cell, said Waddington.
According to the attorney, other soldiers were already in the area searching the houses when Shore's platoon arrived. As they tested four men inside the house for explosives, one ran outside.
From inside, Shore heard shots being fired, Waddington said. Shore stepped outside and saw Corrales standing before the bleeding suspect, who was on the ground. That is when Corrales allegedly ordered Shore to "finish him off."
The Army has declined to release details of the incident, saying it is an ongoing investigation.
Waddington said the Army pathologist's report shows that the bullet wounds that fatally wounded the detainee were not fired at close range. "The bottom line is that [Shore's] bullet did not hit the guy," Waddington said.
He said the detainee, described by the military as being of Middle Eastern descent, was shot five times, including under his eye. He was evacuated by U.S. medics but died later at a hospital.
Corrales' civilian attorney, Frank Spinner of Colorado Springs, Colo., did not return a call seeking comment Wednesday.
Shore's father, Ray B. Shore of Lawrenceville, said his son "is determined about this and convinced that when the truth is out, he will be cleared."
Shore and Corrales are awaiting an Article 32 hearing, in which the military will lay out its case against them and decide whether to proceed with a court-martial. Shore and Corrales probably will be tried separately, Waddington said.
August 9, 2007
Pg. 3
By Moni Basu and Jeffry Scott
The lawyer for a Georgia soldier charged with the premeditated murder of a detainee in Iraq said Wednesday that the detainee had already been shot when a platoon sergeant ordered the soldier to shoot and "finish him off."
The attorney, Michael Waddington of Augusta, said there were no witnesses to the incident but that his client, Army Spc. Christopher P. Shore, says he was standing 4 feet away from the detainee when he fired his weapon twice, intentionally failing to hit the man.
Waddington said Shore and four other soldiers reported the incident within hours to their company commander. "Why would he [Shore] turn himself in if he did it?" Waddington said.
Shore, 25, of Winder, and platoon Sgt. 1st Class Trey A. Corrales, 34, of San Antonio, were charged last month with the June 23 killing of the unidentified man. Conviction on the charge carries a possible death penalty.
The soldiers, who are assigned to the 25th Infantry Division based in Hawaii, are members of a scout platoon. The night of the alleged murder they had been airlifted on Black Hawk helicopters to al Shaheed, near northern Iraqi city of Kirkuk, to clear a series of houses which the Americans believed were harboring the suspected terror cell, said Waddington.
According to the attorney, other soldiers were already in the area searching the houses when Shore's platoon arrived. As they tested four men inside the house for explosives, one ran outside.
From inside, Shore heard shots being fired, Waddington said. Shore stepped outside and saw Corrales standing before the bleeding suspect, who was on the ground. That is when Corrales allegedly ordered Shore to "finish him off."
The Army has declined to release details of the incident, saying it is an ongoing investigation.
Waddington said the Army pathologist's report shows that the bullet wounds that fatally wounded the detainee were not fired at close range. "The bottom line is that [Shore's] bullet did not hit the guy," Waddington said.
He said the detainee, described by the military as being of Middle Eastern descent, was shot five times, including under his eye. He was evacuated by U.S. medics but died later at a hospital.
Corrales' civilian attorney, Frank Spinner of Colorado Springs, Colo., did not return a call seeking comment Wednesday.
Shore's father, Ray B. Shore of Lawrenceville, said his son "is determined about this and convinced that when the truth is out, he will be cleared."
Shore and Corrales are awaiting an Article 32 hearing, in which the military will lay out its case against them and decide whether to proceed with a court-martial. Shore and Corrales probably will be tried separately, Waddington said.