According to WSAV.com, out of Georgia, a military court has ruled Sgt Boziecevich guilty of Uniform Code of Military Justice, section 118, in gunning down two of his fellow soldiers on September 14th, 2008, for criticizing his battle performance during a tour in Iraq. The shooting occurred at a patrol station in Iraq.
One of the murdered soldiers, Sgt. Wesley Durbin of Dallas, Texas, was to take Boziecivich's place in battle. The other soldier who was gunned down was Staff Sgt. Darris Dawson of Pensacola, Florida, who was shot for his criticism of Boziecevich's performance, after a heated argument. Although sentencing has not been determined yet, the convicted soldier could face the death penalty for his crimes.
In a report from Savannahnow.com, no other soldiers from his unit could confirm such details, defense attorneys in the case portrayed his actions as self-defense, and that he only fired on the two other soldiers after they had both placed rifles against his head. It was Sgt. 1st Class John Dresel who testified that he tackled Boziecivich to the ground after seeing him shoot Dawson.
In this case, both the prosecutors and the defense took a two-week time frame to lay out their case, while the all-military jurors deliberated over a two-day period.
While there may be many who applaud the soldier's conviction, eyewitness accounts are notoriously unreliable. Opponents of the death penalty will probably act to get Boziecevich's sentence commuted to a life term, rather than face execution, for a conviction based on eyewitness accounts alone. Regardless of the sentencing decision, the families of everyone involved are the ones suffering the most.
Originally published (for the most part) on Gather News.
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