Show England sentenced to 3 years J for part in Abu abuse 1 Josh White The Washington Post Nearly two years after she posed for photographs with naked and shackled detainees in the dusty Abu prison outside Baghdad R. R England was sentenced Tuesday to three years in prison and given a dishonorable dishonor dishonor- able discharge from the Army The sentence fell in the middIe middie middle mid mid- dIe dle of the range of punishments punishments punishments punish- punish ments meted out against the nine original Army reservists shown in photographs of abuse at the prison with the ringleader ringleader ringleader ring leader of the abuse getting a year 10 sentence and one soldier soldier soldier sol sol- dier who failed to report the maltreatment getting no jail time Prosecutors had asked the jury of five officers that convicted convicted convicted con con- England on Monday to sentence her to four to six years the defense asked for notime no notime notime time at all England apologized Tuesday and told a military courtroom that she posed in the infamous photographs because her lover encouraged her The Army reservist who has been characterized characterized characterized charac charac- by the defense as a ayoung ayoung young impressionable soldier who would have done anything that former corporal Charles A. A Graner Jr asked testified at ather ather ather her sentencing hearing at Ford Hood Texas that Graner had used her After the photos were released Ive I've heard that attacks were made on US U.S. armed forces because of them England said at the hearing according to the Associated Press I apologize to coalition coalition coalition tion forces and all the families families lies she said also apologizing ing to detainees the families America and all the soldiers England 22 of Fort Ashby W. W Va has been at the center of the abuse scandal because she appeared in some of the most shocking photographs including one in which she held a leash tied to a naked prisoners prisoner's neck Her defense attorneys have argued that she is being made a scapegoat for a broader policy of abuse that spread through through- out the US U.S. military in Iraq and Afghanistan Top US U.S. military military military mil mil- officials have argued that the pictures inflamed the insurgency insurgency insurgency gency in Iraq Also Tuesday an Army officer officer officer who has told members of Congress and a human rights group that vague policies from military leaders fomented abuse spoke publicly for the first time Capt Ian Fishback 26 said in an interview that he believes the Army is examining his claims of command failures and unclear treatment guidelines guidelines guidelines guide guide- lines mainly to punish low- low ranking soldiers and not to explore whether top commanders commanders commanders comman comman- ders bear responsibility Fishback assigned to Fort Bragg NC expressed frustration frustration frustration tion that Army investigators talked to him in the past week have focused almost entirely on identifying soldiers who spoke anonymously to Human Rights Watch Fishback and two unidentified soldiers spoke of detainee abuse at bases in Afghanistan and Iraq including instances in which detainees were severely beaten pushed to exhaustion or humiliated The way we have been treating detainees is immoral Fishback said We We had a serious serious serious seri seri- ous command climate problem problem lem across the board One of the things that infuriates me is that the leaders are not accepting accepting accepting accept accept- ing responsibility Defense Secretary Donald said at a news briefing briefing briefing brief brief- ing Tuesday that the Army is taking the allegations serious serious- ly And And to the extent somebody's somebody's somebody's some some- body's done something that they shouldn't have done they'll be punished for it said And And in any event well we'll know the truth Fishback said the courts- courts martial for England and other low ra ranking low king sold soldiers ers obscure the fact that unclear interrogation tion and treatment guidelines were accepted and promoted by the Army's chain of com com- mand Fishback said he has spent 17 months seeking clear explanation explanation explanation nation of those guidelines England was convicted Monday of six of seven counts against her most for posing in t the incriminating photographs photographs' photographs I or for indecent acts She is IS the t ninth Army reservist who j served at Abu to be convicted at martial court-martial or to M I J plead guilty to abuse charges Graner who is serving a 10 J year sentence at Fort yi 1 Leavenworth Kan was considered considered con con- i the ringleader and has i received the t longest sentence in the Abu cases Former staff sergeant Ivan L. L f Chip Frederick I II was sentenced sentenced sen- sen a year ago to 81 2 years Ji in prison after pleading guilty f l to several counts Former specialist specialist pe- pe Jeremy C. C J received a year one-year sentence t former specialist Roman Krol received 10 months 1 f former t ts t's s specialist Armin Cruz received j t. t eight months and former sergeant S. S Davis was i sentenced to six months I Former specialist Sabrina D. D t tHarman Harman was also sentenced to i six months in prison And former former former for for- mer specialist Megan M. M M Ambuhl was discharged from the Army without serving Prison time for failing to o report maltreatment |