A US court has heard how a staff sergeant gave soldiers the option of shooting three Iraqi detainees before the killings took place.
According to the testimony of Pfc. Juston Graber, Staff Sgt. Ray Girouard, 24, called members of his squad into a meeting in Samarra, Iraq in May and told them they could shoot the men after they were released.
Girouard, 24, who is charged with murder, is the last and most senior soldier from the 101st Airborne Division to face trial for the killings during a May 9 raid on a suspected insurgent camp. He is accused of ordering soldiers in his squad to kill the men and cover up their crime as self-defence.
Graber pleaded guilty in January to aggravated assault for shooting one of the three detainees who had been wounded and was sentenced to nine months in a military jail.
Graber said after the detainees were shot, he walked over to two of them who appeared to still be alive.
"There was one that was puking up blood and had agonizing breathing," Graber said. "Sgt. Girouard said, 'Go ahead and put him out of his misery.' I felt it was the right thing to do."
Graber pointed to a photo of the detainee that he shot, pointing out the entry wound just below his left eye. Graber said he aimed there because he knew that would cause immediate death.
Graber said although he initially didn't tell investigators about the meeting and his "mercy killing" of the detainee, he confessed to investigators in June.
"I wanted to get it off my chest," Graber said.
Graber was expected to be questioned by Girouard's attorney later today. He is the third soldier charged in the killings to testify against Girouard.
Spc. William Husaker and Pfc. Corey Clagett testified yesterday that Girouard gave them the order to release the three men and shoot them as they fled. They each have pleaded guilty to murder and sentenced to 18 years in military prison.
"Sgt. Girouard said Clagett and Hunsaker wanted to kill the detainees," Graber testified today.
Hunsaker said he and Clagett took the three detainees outside, away from other soldiers. Hunsaker said that he pulled down their blindfolds and looked them in the eyes and that Clagett told them in Arabic to run.
Clagett testified last night that he dropped a knife near a detainee's body to make it look like they had attacked the soldiers. Other soldiers in the squad who have not been charged said they also heard Girouard's plot to kill the men while on their mission but did not agree or go along with it.
The soldiers had previously told investigators they were given rules of engagement by 3rd Brigade commander Col. Michael Steele to kill all military-age men. Steele has denied this but invoked his right not to testify.
A judge ruled last week that Steele will not be forced to testify, but defense attorneys could cross-examine the witnesses about their understanding of Steele's order.
Girouard faces a maximum sentence of life without the possibility of parole if convicted.
AP