Soldier Convicted of Civilian Deaths.

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Staff Sgt. Calvin Gibbs, 26, the alleged ringleader of a rogue group that slaughtered three Afghan civilians, was found guilty of three counts of murder among other charges levied against him by a military court. The verdict was reached after less than a day of deliberation by the five person panel. Of the five soldiers accused of murder in the incident, three have pleaded guilty and one has pleaded guilty to manslaughter. Gibbs would fabricate situations to coverup his crimes and he took pictures and body parts as souvenirs. He described taking a tooth from one victim’s corpse like ‘taking antlers off of a deer.’ The men were members of the Fifth Stryker Brigade, Second Infantry Division and were more of a patrol rather than combat unit. Gibbs was reportedly stunned by the verdict. Of the members of his unit, he had seen combat in Iraq but the others had not. Witnesses against him, Pfc. Jeremy Morlock pleaded guilty to three counts of murder and faces 24 years, Specialist Adam C. Winfield pleaded guilty to manslaughter in one count and faces three years, and Pfc. Andrew Holmes pleaded guilty to one of the killings. The scandal rocked the U.S. Army and resulted in Col. Harry D. Tunnel IV, leader of the Stryker Brigade, being removed from his post.

 

[New York Times]