Sgt. Hasan Akbar, shown here in 2005, was convicted of killing two U.S. officers and wounding 14 others March 23, 2003, at Camp Pennsylvania, Kuwait.
Death penalty approved for Akbar
Army Times
The death sentence for convicted murderer Sgt. Hasan Akbar was approved late last week at Fort Bragg, N.C., by Lt. Gen. John R. Vines, commander if XXVIII Airborne Corps and court martial convening authority in the case.
Akbar was sentenced to death in April 2005 by unanimous vote of a military panel for the March 23, 2003, grenade attack that killed Capt. Christopher Seifert and Maj. Gregory Stone.
The grenade attack, which also wounded 14 others, took place at Camp Pennsylvania in Kuwait, where the 1st Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division, was preparing to cross the berm into Iraq.
Akbar lobbed grenades into three tents while members of the brigade slept, and then fired shots at those who emerged from the smoky blasts.
Approval of the death penalty means that Akbar’s case will automatically go to appeal and be reviewed by the U.S. Army Court of Criminal Appeals, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces, and ultimately could end up at the U.S. Supreme Court.
“He can’t be executed until the president gives a firm OK,” said military law expert Eugene Fidell, who is not involved in the Akbar case.
However, he added, Akbar’s case will likely be in appeals for some time to come.
“Experience teaches that this case will not be over while Mr. Bush is in office,” Fidell said.
Wild Thing’s comment……
Hang him now, stop this insane length of time please to get rid of this killer of our troops.
I am glad the death sentence was unanimous. And, I expect it to be upheld through the military courts.
However, Akbar committed these murders three and a half years ago. It should not take this long for justice to be served. Two or more years to confirm his sentence? The time involved is a criminal act itself. Didn’t the Timothy McVeigh trial, verdict, sentence and execution take place in a much shorter period of time?
Good, and good riddance. I hope it’s the noose or firing squad, but it will probably be the needle.
Tom I know what you mean, I will never understand why these things drag on and on and on. grrrr
Rhod I had not thought of that, it might be the needle like you said.
I bet he’ll never face the executioner. The way the US is bowing to Islam, he’ll get life at the most.
Yahoo.
Where do I apply to be chief executioner?