Amazing!
Navy SEAL Eddie Gallagher found not guilty of murder
He was, however, found guilty of unlawfully posing for a picture with a human casualty.
The verdict was reached after about a day of deliberation. The government and defense attorneys both made closing arguments in the case on Monday, after presenting testimony from numerous witnesses over two weeks.
Gallagher, 40, was charged with premeditated murder over an alleged stabbing of a wounded ISIS fighter in Mosul, and attempted premeditated murder over alleged unlawful sniper shots taken at an old man and a young girl. He was also charged with wrongfully posing for an unofficial photo with a human casualty.
The charge of unlawfully posing for a photo — which was shown throughout the court martial — carries a maximum penalty of four months' confinement, though Gallagher is likely to get credit for the eight months he served in the brig prior to his trial, Navy spokesman Brian O'Rourke told Task & Purpose.
Throughout the trial, prosecutors painted Gallagher as a man, proud of his kill, who sent a "trophy photo" of the murdered detainee to friends, while the defense argued that the government and NCIS agents had a "target fixation" on Gallagher that led them to not ask important questions or consider alternatives.
Navy Cmdr. Jeff Pietrzyk, the lead prosecutor, acknowledged that a wounded ISIS fighter wouldn't get much sympathy from the jury or anyone else. "I'm not going to argue to you that this was a particularly sympathetic victim," he said. Before he was hit by a U.S. air strike, Pietrzyk said, "he would've done anything in his power to kill Americans."
Navy SEAL Eddie Gallagher found not guilty of murder
Navy SEAL Eddie Gallagher found not guilty of murder
He was, however, found guilty of unlawfully posing for a picture with a human casualty.
The verdict was reached after about a day of deliberation. The government and defense attorneys both made closing arguments in the case on Monday, after presenting testimony from numerous witnesses over two weeks.
Gallagher, 40, was charged with premeditated murder over an alleged stabbing of a wounded ISIS fighter in Mosul, and attempted premeditated murder over alleged unlawful sniper shots taken at an old man and a young girl. He was also charged with wrongfully posing for an unofficial photo with a human casualty.
The charge of unlawfully posing for a photo — which was shown throughout the court martial — carries a maximum penalty of four months' confinement, though Gallagher is likely to get credit for the eight months he served in the brig prior to his trial, Navy spokesman Brian O'Rourke told Task & Purpose.
Throughout the trial, prosecutors painted Gallagher as a man, proud of his kill, who sent a "trophy photo" of the murdered detainee to friends, while the defense argued that the government and NCIS agents had a "target fixation" on Gallagher that led them to not ask important questions or consider alternatives.
Navy Cmdr. Jeff Pietrzyk, the lead prosecutor, acknowledged that a wounded ISIS fighter wouldn't get much sympathy from the jury or anyone else. "I'm not going to argue to you that this was a particularly sympathetic victim," he said. Before he was hit by a U.S. air strike, Pietrzyk said, "he would've done anything in his power to kill Americans."
Navy SEAL Eddie Gallagher found not guilty of murder
