FORT HOOD, Texas, 18 May 2005 — The military jury that convicted Spc. Sabrina Harman of taking part in detainee abuse at Abu Ghraib prison now must decide how harshly to punish her.
Harman, 27, was found guilty late Monday on six of the seven charges she faced for her role in the mistreatment of Iraqi inmates in late 2003.
A hearing to determine her sentence was set to begin yesterday morning. She faces up to 5 1/2 years in prison.
The jury of four Army officers and four senior enlisted soldiers deliberated less than four hours before convicting Harman on one count of conspiracy to maltreat detainees, four counts of maltreating detainees and one count of dereliction of duty.
She was acquitted of allegedly photographing a group of Iraqi prisoners forced to masturbate in public by Abu Ghraib guards. One of Harman’s co-defendants testified last week that she was not present when that incident occurred.
The army reservist showed no reaction when the verdicts were read. She left the Fort Hood courthouse without speaking to reporters.
Harman, a former pizza shop manager from Lorton, Virginia, appeared in several of the most notorious photos taken at Abu Ghraib, and she was found guilty of taking other pictures.
