Army drops case case against GI in Iraqi deaths

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Army drops case case against GI in Iraqi deaths
By John Vandiver, Stars and Stripes
European edition, Wednesday, February 25, 2009

The Army has dropped its case against a Grafenwöhr, Germany-based soldier who was poised to stand trial on a conspiracy charge in connection with the execution of four Iraqi men in Baghdad last year.

Sgt. Charles Quigley of the 172nd Infantry Brigade was accused of being at the scene of the crime, but his attorney said Quigley should never have been charged with conspiring to kill.

"We have maintained from the beginning that SGT Quigley is not guilty of conspiring with other members of his unit to do anything unlawful to detainees," said Scot Sikes, Quigley’s civilian attorney in a prepared statement.

Though Quigley agreed to wear a wire to help the Criminal Investigation Command gather evidence and build a case against others involved in the killings, the military opted to push forward with the conspiracy charge against him.

Lt. Col. Eric Bloom, a spokesman for the Joint Multinational Readiness Center, confirmed Tuesday that the charge against Quigley was withdrawn and dismissed. The decision was based on new evidence that emerged during the court-martial of a fellow soldier, Staff Sgt. Jess Cunningham.


Rest of article at: http://www.stripes.com/article.asp?section=104&article=60951