Ex-soldier gets 5 life terms in Iraq murders
PADUCAH, Ky. - A former soldier received five consecutive life sentences yesterday for his role in the rape and murder of an Iraqi teenager and the slaying of three of her family members.
“What the defendant did was horrifying and inexcusable,’’ US District Judge Thomas Russell said in sentencing Steven Dale Green, 24, of Midland, Texas. “The court believes any lesser sentence would be insufficient.’’
A civilian jury in Western Kentucky convicted Green in May of raping Abeer Qassim al-Janabi, conspiracy, and multiple counts of murder.
Green shot and killed the teen’s mother, father, and sister, then became the third soldier to rape her before shooting her in the face. Her body was set on fire March 12, 2006, at her home about 20 miles south of Baghdad.
The panel could not reach a unanimous decision about whether Green should get a death sentence, automatically making Green’s sentence life in prison. Barring a successful appeal or presidential pardon, Green will not be eligible for release from prison.
Green told the judge he merely followed orders from other soldiers involved in the attack.
