Jury gets fragging case

[unhappycamper]

Jury gets fragging case
The Associated Press
Posted : Wednesday Dec 3, 2008 20:46:56 EST

FORT BRAGG, N.C. — A military jury deliberated for about eight hours Wednesday without reaching a verdict in the murder trial of a New York Army National Guard soldier, who stands accused of the bombing deaths of two superior officers on a U.S. military base in Iraq.

Jurors deciding the fate of Staff Sgt. Alberto Martinez at Fort Bragg at one point asked the judge for transcripts of a witness’ testimony. The 14 jurors, who heard nearly six weeks of testimony, couldn’t reach a decision but were scheduled to resume deliberations Thursday.

Martinez, 41, of Troy, N.Y., could face the death penalty if convicted of premeditated murder in the deaths of Capt. Phillip Esposito of Suffern, N.Y., and 1st Lt. Louis Allen of Milford, Pa. All three were members of the 42nd Infantry Division.

Both officers were killed when an anti-personnel mine detonated in a window of their room at Saddam Hussein’s Water Palace near Tikrit in June 2005. The military built an operating base around the palace that sheltered up to 3,000 troops.

Martinez is the first soldier from the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq to be accused of killing a direct superior, a crime known as “fragging” during the Vietnam war. Witnesses have testified that Martinez and Esposito fue because Esposito believed Martinez was lax in operating the unit’s supply room.


Rest of article at: http://www.armytimes.com/news/2008/12/ap_martinez_120308/%2e