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I would have thought that all these showtrials were a slam-dunk affair.
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US soldier forced to change plea
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Pte England's defence will have to think again
</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE><!-- E IIMA -->A military judge has rejected the guilty plea entered by US soldier Lynndie England in her trial over the abuse at Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq.
Judge Colonel James Pohl declared a mistrial and entered a not guilty plea on her behalf.
He said her plea rested on the assumption that she knew what she was doing was wrong - but that other testimony contradicted this.
Pte England's case will be sent back to military authorities to start again.
Images of US soldiers with naked Iraqi prisoners, including Pte England holding one on a leash, sparked widespread condemnation of US practices in Iraq.
Deal cancelled
She had originally pleaded guilty to seven of the nine charges after negotiations with the prosecution in the hope of receiving a lighter sentence.
They included a charge of conspiring with her former boyfriend, Specialist Pte Charles Graner, to maltreat detainees.
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Pictures such as this one showing Pte England shocked the world (AP Photo/Courtesy of The New Yorker)
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But Col Pohl told the court: "The plea deal is cancelled."
The judge had repeatedly warned her legal team that testimony meant as mitigation to reduce her sentence was implying her innocence.
"Both sides have indicated to me there is no way to resolve this inconsistency," he said on Wednesday.
Graner, who has already been jailed over the scandal, said he had ordered Pte England, 22, to perform some of the now infamous acts of abuse.
Graner said the pictures he took were meant to become a legitimate training aid.
However, Pte England testified that she knew the pictures were taken purely for the amusement of the guards.
Col Pohl said the two statements could not be reconciled.
"You can't have a one-person conspiracy," he said.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/4514839.stm
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I would have thought that all these showtrials were a slam-dunk affair.
-----------------------------------------------------------
US soldier forced to change plea
</TD></TR><TR><TD vAlign=top width=416><!-- S BO --><!-- S IIMA --><TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width=203 align=right border=0><TBODY><TR><TD>
</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE><!-- E IIMA -->A military judge has rejected the guilty plea entered by US soldier Lynndie England in her trial over the abuse at Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq.
Judge Colonel James Pohl declared a mistrial and entered a not guilty plea on her behalf.
He said her plea rested on the assumption that she knew what she was doing was wrong - but that other testimony contradicted this.
Pte England's case will be sent back to military authorities to start again.
Images of US soldiers with naked Iraqi prisoners, including Pte England holding one on a leash, sparked widespread condemnation of US practices in Iraq.
Deal cancelled
She had originally pleaded guilty to seven of the nine charges after negotiations with the prosecution in the hope of receiving a lighter sentence.
They included a charge of conspiring with her former boyfriend, Specialist Pte Charles Graner, to maltreat detainees.
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But Col Pohl told the court: "The plea deal is cancelled."
The judge had repeatedly warned her legal team that testimony meant as mitigation to reduce her sentence was implying her innocence.
"Both sides have indicated to me there is no way to resolve this inconsistency," he said on Wednesday.
Graner, who has already been jailed over the scandal, said he had ordered Pte England, 22, to perform some of the now infamous acts of abuse.
Graner said the pictures he took were meant to become a legitimate training aid.
However, Pte England testified that she knew the pictures were taken purely for the amusement of the guards.
Col Pohl said the two statements could not be reconciled.
"You can't have a one-person conspiracy," he said.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/4514839.stm
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