PADUCAH, Ky., May 7 (UPI) -- The case of a former U.S. Army soldier accused of killing an Iraqi girl's family and then raping and killing her is headed to a federal jury in Kentucky.
Closing arguments were made Wednesday in U.S. District Court in Paducah in the case of Steven Green, a 24-year-old former Fort Campbell soldier from Midland, Texas, The (Louisville) Courier-Journal reported.
Prosecutors are seeking a conviction for premeditated capital murder. But Scott Wendelsdorf, a public defender representing Green, said the effects of combat had "broken" the soldier and therefore he should be found guilty of second-degree murder, which is not punishable by death.
But Assistant U.S. Attorney Marisa Ford told the jury being in a war zone was no excuse for Green's alleged actions.
"Rape and murder is wrong, wherever it is carried out," she said. "American soldiers fight hard, but they fight fair, and they understand where the line is."
Green is charged with more than a dozen counts, including sexual assault and four counts of murder. He and other soldiers allegedly attacked the Iraqi family March 12, 2006, near Mahmoudiya. Prosecutors allege he shot 14-year-old Abeer Qassim al-Janabi's parents and 6-year-old sister, then was the third to rape the teen before shooting her several times.
Another soldier, James Paul Barker, is serving time in prison for his part in the attack.
