us soldier no murder charge

Murder charge dropped against soldier
ROBERT WELLER
January 13, 2006
chieftain.com/national/1137150343/6

DENVER - The Army has decided to drop a murder charge against one of two soldiers accused in the suffocation death of an Iraqi general during interrogation and will pursue administrative discipline instead, his attorney said Thursday.

Chief Warrant Officer Jefferson Williams could face home arrest, suspension, demotion or a loss of pay but will not be expelled from the service, attorney William Cassara said.

The other soldier, Chief Warrant Officer Lewis Welshofer Jr., is scheduled to go on trial in a military court on Monday on a murder charge.

Williams and Welshofer were accused in the 2003 death of Maj. Gen. Abed Hamed Mowhoush. Military documents said he was killed with an electrical cord, and a Pentagon investigation reportedly says a soldier sat on Mowhoush as he was restrained headfirst inside a sleeping bag.

Williams is expected to testify in Welshofer’s court-martial, but not as part of any deal to drop the charge, Cassara said.

Army spokesman Lt. Justin Journeay said he could not confirm the charges against Williams were dropped.

The move was first reported by The Denver Post and The Gazette of Colorado Springs in Thursday editions.

Cassara said Williams was never suspected of beating Mowhoush or forcing him to get into the sleeping bag but was accused of failing to intervene when it became obvious the victim’s life was threatened.

Welshofer’s attorney, Frank Spinner did not immediately return a call.

The Washington Post reported that documents it examined said that two days before Mowhoush was suffocated, he had been severely beaten by a paramilitary Iraqi group sponsored by the Central Intelligence Agency.

A CIA spokeswoman refused to comment and declined to give her name.

Williams and Welshofer were both assigned to the 3rd Armored Cavalry, deployed to Iraq from Fort Carson, at the time of Mowhoush’s death.