SAN ANTONIO, 1 May 2005 — Pfc. Lynndie England, the Army reservist shown in some of the most notorious photos in the Abu Ghraib prison scandal, will plead guilty to abusing Iraqi detainees in a case that sparked global outrage against the United States and its military.
England, 22, faces a maximum sentence of 11 years in prison as part of the plea deal, which still must be accepted by a military judge, her attorney, Rick Hernandez, said Friday. She had been facing up to 16 years.
The plea deal came four days before England was scheduled to go on trial in a military court in Fort Hood.
“This is in her best interests,” Hernandez said.
England was one of seven members of the Maryland-based 372nd Military Police Company charged with humiliating and assaulting Iraqi detainees at the prison near Baghdad. She became a focal point of the scandal after photos of her surfaced, including one that showed her smiling and posing with nude prisoners stacked in a pyramid.
In another picture, she is smiling and pointing at a naked detainee’s genitals while a cigarette dangles from the corner of her mouth.
England will plead guilty Monday to seven of the nine counts against her, Hernandez said.
England’s lawyers have argued that she and others in her unit were acting on orders from military intelligence to “soften up” prisoners for interrogations.
But Army investigators testified during hearings last summer that England said the reservists took the photos while “they were joking around, having some fun.”
