Winder soldier told to 'finish off' Iraqi is no murderer, attorney says

[sabra]

Source: AJC

The lawyer for a Georgia soldier charged with the premeditated murder of an detainee in Iraq said Wednesday that the detainee had already been shot when a platoon sergeant then ordered Army Spc. Christopher P. Shore to shoot and "finish him off."

The attorney, Michael Waddington, of Augusta, said there were no witnesses to the incident but that Shore says he was standing four feet away from the detainee when he fired his weapon twice. Shore says he intentionally did not hit the man.

Waddington said Shore and four other soldiers reported the incident within hours to their company commander. "Why would he (Shore) turn himself in if he did it?" Waddington said.

Shore, 25, of Winder, and platoon Sergeant 1st Class Trey A. Corrales, 34, of San Antionio were charged last month with the June 23 premeditated murder of the unidentified man in the northern Iraqi city of Kirkuk — it's a charge that carries the death penalty.

Read more: http://www.ajc.com/metro/content/metro/stories/2007/08/08/soldier_0809_web.html