Former US contractor in Afghanistan given probation, fine for killing prisoner

Don Ayala of New Orleans pleaded guilty to manslaughter charges that normally would carry up to eight years in prison. But US District Senior Judge Claude Hilton decided probation was warranted under the circumstances. The man whom Ayala shot had set fire to one of Ayala's colleagues minutes before the shooting.

After the Nov. 4 attack on anthropologist Paula Loyd, Ayala helped subdue the man, Abdul Salam. When Ayala learned the extent of Loyd's burns, he shot Salam at close range.

Ayala was sentenced to five years of probation and a $12,500 fine.

Ayala, 46, initially was charged with murder - the first military contractor charged with the crime while working in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Prosecutors said he acted as an executioner and deserved a lengthy prison term. Supporters called him a hero whose actions were reasonable under the circumstances.

Minutes before the shooting, Salam had been chatting with Loyd about the price of fuel. Both Ayala and Loyd were members of what the Army calls a human terrain team, in which social scientists such as Loyd are embedded with the military to help them understand and navigate Afghan culture.

Salam tossed a pitcher of gasoline on Loyd and lit her on fire. Soldiers dragged Loyd, 36, to a sewage-filled drainage ditch to put out the flames.

When others told Ayala how badly Loyd was injured, Ayala pointed a 9mm pistol to Salam's temple and pulled the trigger.

Salam died instantly. Loyd did not. With second- and third-degree burns covering 60 percent of her body, she lingered for two months before dying Jan. 7 at military hospital.

The Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack.