AP: Texas

09/22/2005

By T.A. BADGER  / Associated Press

A former Abu Ghraib guard testified Thursday that Army Pfc. Lynndie England was immature and impressionable, and that she was under the sway of her soldier boyfriend — the man prosecutors say led the abuse of detainees at the Iraq prison.

The testimony from Robert Jones may help the defense as it tries to convince jurors that England was only trying to please then-Cpl. Charles Graner when she posed for the notorious abuse photos at Abu Ghraib.

Jones, now a policeman in Baltimore, said Graner's dominant presence trumped military rank to make him the de facto leader of the section of the prison where the detainee mistreatment occurred in late 2003.

Graner surrounded himself with people with weaker personalities, including England, Jones said.

In addition, an Army criminal investigator who questioned England about the photos said he did not take extra steps to make sure she understood her rights against self-incrimination. During that questioning, England implicated herself in the abuse.

Sgt. 1st Class Warren Worth said he followed his normal procedure in advising England of her rights and that he believed that she knew what she was doing when she agreed to answer his questions.

England's defense team contends otherwise, saying she has learning disabilities that make it hard for her to comprehend complex language such as legal documents.

Both Jones and Worth were called as witnesses for the prosecution, which began its case against England on Thursday. The defense is scheduled to present its case beginning Friday.

England, 22, of Fort Ashby, W. Va., is charged with seven counts of conspiracy and abuse that carry a maximum sentence of 11 years in prison.

Capt. Jonathan Crisp, lead defense lawyer, says England posed for the photos to please Graner, a former Pennsylvania prison guard, and that she didn't think she was doing anything improper.

"The only place she felt safe was with him — she was happiest with him," Crisp said during his opening statement Wednesday. "She was able to block out the surrealness of the environment she was in."

England placed her faith in Graner because he outranked her, was much older and was an experienced corrections guard, the lawyer said.

Prosecutors countered that England's smiles and thumbs-up in the graphic photos show that she was a willing, even eager, participant in the abuse.

"Pfc. England was very actively involved in what was going on," Capt. Chuck Neill told the jury of five Army officers.

England is charged with two counts of conspiracy, four counts of maltreating detainees and one count of committing an indecent act.

Graner, who England has said fathered her young son while they were deployed, is scheduled to testify as a defense witness. He was convicted in January and sentenced to 10 years in prison.

The prosecution indicated that its case will be built largely on the photos of England, which have made her the most recognizable figure in the scandal, as well as testimony from several of the eight soldiers previously convicted.

One image shows he holding a naked prisoner on a leash, while in another she smiles while standing next to nude prisoners stacked in a pyramid. In a third photo, she points at a prisoner's genitals.