Alabama Grants Scottsboro Boys Posthumous Pardons

Eighty-two years after they were falsely accused of raping two white women, all of the “Scottsboro Boys” have been pardoned. Alabama’s Board of Pardons and Paroles pardoned the last three today after a unanimous vote, the Montgomery Advertiser reports. Nine black teens were accused of the rapes in 1931; by…
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Alabama Grants Scottsboro Boys Posthumous Pardons

U.S. Soldier Accused Of Murder In Deaths Of Deaf Iraqi Boys

A U.S. Army sergeant who in 2007 allegedly shot and killed two unarmed deaf Iraqi boys who had no known ties to the insurgents then battling American forces, has now been charged with two counts of premeditated murder.

The story of what Sgt. 1st Class Michael Barbera allegedly did was spelled out in detail last December by the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. An online version of the newspaper’s 8-page report is posted here. It began its package of stories this way:

“AS SADAH, Iraq — Shortly before noon on March 6, 2007, Small Kill Team leader Michael Barbera rose from his squad’s position in high grass in a palm grove here and shot two teenage cattle herders.

“A short time later, the Army staff sergeant ordered his soldiers to kill a third teenager walking toward them.

“Barbera would report to his superiors that the three dead boys were insurgents operating out of this farming village about 50 miles northeast of Baghdad.

“In reality, Ahmad Khalid al-Timmimi, 15, his brother, Abbas, and their cousin, Muhamed Khaleel Kareem al-Galyani, both 14, were unarmed deaf mutes with no known ties to the insurgency. Their slayings angered most members of Barbera’s squad — decorated combat veterans who reported the killings to Army investigators in Fort Bragg, N.C.”

It was those other members of the squad who took their concerns to Army officials, and later to the Tribune-Review after Army brass initially overruled a recommendation from investigators that Barbera be charged. The soldiers were not only upset by what had happened, but were also convinced that 10 of their comrades were subsequently killed by suicide bombers who were retaliating for the boys’ deaths.

On Friday, officials at Joint Base Lewis-McChord in Washington state announced that Barbera has been charged. The next step, according to The Associated Press, “is an Article 32 investigation which decides if he should be court martialed. No date has been scheduled for the Article 32.”

The Tribune-Review notes that:

“When Barbera’s Article 32 hearing is convened, it will be the latest high-profile military criminal case at Joint Base Lewis-McChord.

“In the past three years, prosecutors there have won convictions against a string of accused war criminals, including Robert Bales, who murdered 16 Afghan villagers; John Russell, who shot to death five soldiers at a mental health clinic in Iraq; and Calvin Gibbs, the leader of another small-kill team in Afghanistan that murdered innocent Afghans and covered up the rampage.”

Related post from the Poynter Institute: “How an award-winning investigative reporter tracked killings in Iraq.”

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U.S. Soldier Accused Of Murder In Deaths Of Deaf Iraqi Boys

U.S. Soldier Accused Of Murder In Deaths Of Deaf Iraqi Boys

U.S. Soldier Accused Of Murder In Deaths Of Deaf Iraqi Boys
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A U.S. Army sergeant who in 2007 allegedly shot and killed two unarmed deaf Iraqi boys who had no known ties to the insurgents then battling American forces, has now been charged with two counts of premeditated murder.

The story of what Sgt. 1st Class Michael Barbera allegedly did was spelled out in detail last December by the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. An online version of the newspaper’s 8-page report is posted here. It began its package of stories this way:

“AS SADAH, Iraq — Shortly before noon on March 6, 2007, Small Kill Team leader Michael Barbera rose from his squad’s position in high grass in a palm grove here and shot two teenage cattle herders.

“A short time later, the Army staff sergeant ordered his soldiers to kill a third teenager walking toward them.

“Barbera would report to his superiors that the three dead boys were insurgents operating out of this farming village about 50 miles northeast of Baghdad.

“In reality, Ahmad Khalid al-Timmimi, 15, his brother, Abbas, and their cousin, Muhamed Khaleel Kareem al-Galyani, both 14, were unarmed deaf mutes with no known ties to the insurgency. Their slayings angered most members of Barbera’s squad — decorated combat veterans who reported the killings to Army investigators in Fort Bragg, N.C.”

It was those other members of the squad who took their concerns to Army officials, and later to the Tribune-Review after Army brass initially overruled a recommendation from investigators that Barbera be charged. The soldiers were not only upset by what had happened, but were also convinced that 10 of their comrades were subsequently killed by suicide bombers who were retaliating for the boys’ deaths.

On Friday, officials at Joint Base Lewis-McChord in Washington state announced that Barbera has been charged. The next step, according to The Associated Press, “is an Article 32 investigation which decides if he should be court martialed. No date has been scheduled for the Article 32.”

The Tribune-Review notes that:

“When Barbera’s Article 32 hearing is convened, it will be the latest high-profile military criminal case at Joint Base Lewis-McChord.

“In the past three years, prosecutors there have won convictions against a string of accused war criminals, including Robert Bales, who murdered 16 Afghan villagers; John Russell, who shot to death five soldiers at a mental health clinic in Iraq; and Calvin Gibbs, the leader of another small-kill team in Afghanistan that murdered innocent Afghans and covered up the rampage.”

Related post from the Poynter Institute: “How an award-winning investigative reporter tracked killings in Iraq.”

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Read more about U.S. Soldier Accused Of Murder In Deaths Of Deaf Iraqi Boys and other interesting subjects concerning NSA at TheDailyNewsReport.com

Philly priest, teacher get prison time for boy"s sexual assault

(CNN) — A Philadelphia Catholic priest was sentenced Wednesday to six to 12 years in prison, and a teacher at the same parish was sentenced to eight to 16 years in prison, in a case involving the sexual assault of an elementary school student.

The Rev. Charles Engelhardt, who was a priest at St. Jerome Parish in northeast Philadelphia, was convicted in January of indecently assaulting a 10-year-old boy in 1998 and 1999.

The parochial teacher, Bernard Shero, who authorities said raped the same boy in 2000, was convicted of rape, attempted rape, involuntary deviant sexual intercourse, indecent sexual assault and other charges.

Both men also must serve five years of probation after prison, the judge ordered at Wednesday’s sentencing.

“This prison sentence sends a clear message to sexual assault victims in Philadelphia. If you come forward, you will be heard,” Philadelphia District Attorney Seth Williams said. “I would also like to compliment the jury for its hard work in carefully sifting through the evidence, and coming up with a just verdict.”

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Philly priest, teacher get prison time for boy"s sexual assault

NATO says 2 Afghan boys accidentally killed

KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — International forces accidentally killed two Afghan boys during an operation in southern Afghanistan, the U.S.-led coalition said Saturday.

Marine Gen. Joseph Dunford, the commander of U.S. and allied forces in Afghanistan, offered his “personal apology and condolences to the family of the boys who were killed” and said the coalition takes full responsibility for the deaths.

A statement issued by the coalition says the boys were killed Thursday when coalition forces fired at what they thought were insurgent forces in the Shahid-e Hasas district of Uruzgan province. It says a joint Afghan-NATO investigation team visited the location Saturday and met with local leaders.

The killing of civilians by foreign forces has been a major source of tension with the Afghan government throughout the nearly 12-year-old war.

According to a recent report by the United Nations, 2,754 Afghan civilians were killed last year, down 12 percent from 3,131 in 2011. But the number killed in the second half of last year rose, suggesting that Afghanistan is likely to face continued violence as the Taliban and other militants fight for control following the impending withdrawal of U.S. and allied combat forces.

The U.N. said the Taliban and other insurgents were responsible for 81 percent of the civilian deaths and injuries last year while 8 percent were attributed to pro-government forces. The remaining civilian deaths and injuries could not be attributed to either side.

The number of casualties blamed on U.S. and allied forces decreased by 46 percent, with 316 killed and 271 wounded last year. Most were killed in U.S. and NATO airstrikes, although that number, too, dropped by nearly half last year to 126, including 51 children.

(Copyright 2013 Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)

NATO says 2 Afghan boys accidentally killed