Pfc England gets 3 years in abuse case
(AP)
Updated: 2005-09-28 08:43

Army Pfc. Lynndie England, who said she was only trying to please her soldier boyfriend when she took part in detainee abuse at Iraq's Abu Ghraib prison, was sentenced late Tuesday to three years behind bars, AP reported.

England's sentencing wrapped up the last of nine courts-martial of low-level soldiers charged in the abuse scandal, which severely damaged America's image in the Muslim world and tarnished the U.S. military at home and abroad.

Iraqi artist Salah Edine Sallat puts the final touches to a wall painting based on the US Statue of Liberty and a widely published photograph of an abused detainee at the Abu Ghraib prison in Baghdad's Shiite neighborhood of Sadr City. [AFP/file]

The jury of five Army officers needed about 90 minutes to determine their sentence for England, a 22-year-old reservist from rural West Virginia.

The charges carried up to nine years, but prosecutor Capt. Chris Graveline asked the jury to imprison her for four to six years. The defense asked for no time behind bars.

England sat with her eyes forward as the verdict was read, occasionally looking down.

U.S. Army PFC Lynndie England walks into the courthouse for the start of her pre-trial hearing at Fort Hood, Texas in this September 20, 2005 file photo.[Reuters/file]

England, the most recognizable of the reservists charged after the graphic abuse photos became public, was convicted Monday on six of the seven counts against her.

She apologized Tuesday for posing for the photos, saying she did so at the behest of Pvt. Charles Graner Jr., the boyfriend who she said took advantage of her love and trust while they were deployed in Iraq.

"I was used by Private Graner," England said. "I didn't realize it at the time."

She appeared in several of the best-known photos taken by U.S. guards at Abu Ghraib in late 2003. In one image she held a naked prisoner on a leash, while in others she posed with a pyramid of naked detainees and pointed at the genitals of a prisoner while a cigarette hung from the corner of her mouth.

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