Mercy Killing?

[Annie]

This has had a lot of coverage as the Captain is from Chicago area. What do you military guys think?

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/chi-050330maynulet,1,3455248.story?coll=chi-news-hed

Soldier: 'I had to put him out of his misery'

By Carlos Sadvovi
Tribune staff reporter
Published March 30, 2005, 3:00 PM CST


WIESBADEN, Germany -- A U.S. Army captain from Chicago testified at his court martial today that he felt helpless when he saw a mortally wounded Iraqi lying before him, and he shot him to end the man's suffering.

Dressed in his green dress uniform highlighted by four rows of colorful military commendations, Capt. Roger Maynulet testified on the third day of his trial that the man's head wound was the most serious he had ever encountered in combat.

In a calm and steady voice that slowed only when he recounted the condition of Karim Hassan Abed Ali al-Haleji on May 21, 2004, the Bronze Star winner said he believed he made the correct decision.

"He was in a state I didn't think was dignified. I had to put him out of his misery,'' Maynulet told the six-member panel of ranking officers trying his case. "I think it was the right thing to do. It was the honorable thing to do. I didn't think having him continue in that state was proper...''

 

[manu1959]

not a military guy ....just a guy


dude did the right thing.....should have done it solo ...then we would not know

 

[CSM]

Hard to say. I know that I would have tried to render as much first aid as I can, direct my medic to do the same and then try to get him medivaced if possible. If he dies, he dies...but we would have done all we could. How do I know what I would have done? Because I have been in similar situations. For me, once the fight is over, it is time to take care of those you can...enemy and friendly.

 

[Annie]

http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/ap/20050331/ap_on_re_eu/germany_us_iraq

U.S. Soldier Convicted in Court-Martial

20 minutes ago Europe - AP


By MELISSA EDDY, Associated Press Writer

WIESBADEN, Germany - A military court Thursday convicted a U.S. Army tank company commander of a lesser criminal charge in connection with the shooting death of a wounded Iraqi last year.

Capt. Rogelio "Roger" Maynulet was found guilty of assault with intent to commit voluntary manslaughter, which carries a maximum of 10 years in prison. Prosecutors had sought conviction on a more serious charge of assault with intent to commit murder, which carried a 20-year maximum.


Maynulet, 30, of Chicago, stood at attention as Lt. Col. Laurence Mixon, the head of the six-member panel, read the verdict at the court-martial. The court was to reconvene later Thursday to consider Maynulet's sentence.


Mixon did not give reasons for the ruling, which followed 2 1/2 hours of deliberations.

 

[5stringJeff]

Tough case. I think CSM is pretty right on, though. After the immediate hostilities are over, we treat the wounded, even if it looks hopeless.

 

[bintmundo]

If this was the 'humane' thing to do, why didn't Terri Shiaver get to die as quickly?

 

[CSM]

If this was the 'humane' thing to do, why didn't Terri Shiaver get to die as quickly?

Obviously, it was not the humane thing to do...the party in question was convicted.

 

[Merlin1047]

As soldiers, our aim is to defeat an enemy. In the process there's going to be some bleeding and dying. That's part of the business.

We do NOT get to play God and decide which of the wounded lives or dies. If CPT Maynulet was motivated by humanitarian concerns as he claims, would he have shot one of our own troops who was suffering a similar condition?

If there is a wounded soldier, then it does not matter what his affiliation may be. At this point we seek to preserve life. When the shooting stops, we no longer have the right to take it.

 

[NATO AIR]

I have never been in a combat situation so I can not judge his actions, though I would have done the same IF my medic told me the man could not be saved and was going to just die a slow, agonizing death.

Which leads me to the situation i am aware of, from being close friends with several corpsmen who have been involved in situations like that.

I don't believe they or the marines they serve with are murderers, and believe it to be a "mercy killing"

 

[freeandfun1]

In GWI I came across some Iraqis that were in really, really, bad unrecoverable conditions and we treated them as best we could. Our medic doped em up with morphine to help their suffering end as painless as possible. Frankly, I feel what he did was wrong. He shoulda called a medic up and let the medic pump the guy full of morphine. I know there have been cases where medics have purposely given their fellow soldiers overdoses of morphine when the soldier was obviously going to die so that they could die as quietly and comfortably as possible. If anything, maybe that should have been done here. But shooting him? I have to say, I have a feeling the soldier did it out of anger, spite, whatever you want to call it, but I am not so sure it was "mercy". I think he just wanted to help the Iraqi find those 72 virgins he was looking for....

 

[gaffer]

Being the heartless bastard that I am I would have let him live. Let him suffer for as long as it takes. He could have ended up a muslem vegetable practicing peace. Being brain dead would have been a big improvement for him.

 

[Gunny]

Intersting opinions. The Capt violated the rules, period. I'm just thinking he probably could have come up with a better story than he did. If I was to go so far as to execute someone who no longer posed a threat (which I would not), I'd at least say he was reaching inside his shirt or something and I acted in self-defense in fear for my life.

 

[nosarcasm]

if he is mortally wounded in pain its your call imo.

 

[Gunny]

Once they are no longer combatants, we are required to render all aid to save their lives. At a minimum I would call a corpsman and walk away.