US soldier Lynndie England today surrendered her right to challenge the seven charges she faces in the Abu Ghraib prison abuse scandal, moving her one step closer to a new military trial.
Her defence lawyer, Capt Jonathan Crisp, would not provide details as to why he decided not to go forward with the Article 32 hearing - the military equivalent of a grand jury proceeding, in which it is determined whether there is enough evidence to go to trial.
He said only that it was part of an "evolving trial strategy." Now the decision on England's charges goes to Lt Gen Thomas Metz, Fort Hood's commanding general. He'll decide whether she'll face any or all of the charges. Crisp said the waiver was not part of a deal with prosecutors.
He said he did not think the sides would reach another plea agreement after England's initial guilty plea was rejected by a judge this month. Prosecution spokeswoman Maj Rose Bleam said that if Metz orders a trial it could start as soon as next month. England could face up to 11 years in prison.
She faces two counts of conspiracy to mistreat detainees, four counts of mistreatment and one count of committing an indecent act. Many of the acts were captured in photographs.
In one, the 22-year-old reservist held a leash looped around the neck of a hooded, naked prisoner. Another showed her next to nude prisoners stacked in a pyramid, while a third depicted England pointing at a prisoner's genitals as a cigarette dangled from her lips.
Crisp said earlier that his client has been emotionally drained by her long legal fight, particularly after her guilty plea was abruptly thrown out on May 4th. "She was real upset the first week or two," Crisp said.
"She's still in the same position she was before (the deal) and she wants to move on with the next stage of her life." In March, Metz referred nine counts against England for a general court-martial; two were later dropped as part of the aborted plea deal.
But a military judge threw out her guilty plea when testimony during sentencing contradicted her claim that the photos were taken solely to amuse the US guards. Private Charles Graner, serving 10 years for his mistreatment of Iraqi detainees, testified that the pictures were meant to be used as a training aid for other guards.
Under military law, the judge could accept the guilty plea only if he were convinced that she knew at the time that her actions were illegal. Graner had been named as a possible defence witness at the Article 32 hearing, which had been scheduled to start today.
AP