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President Trump has granted his pardon to former lieutenant Michael Behenna, who had been convicted of killing an Iraqi prisoner, the White House announced on Monday.
Behenna, a ranger deployed in Iraq in 2007, was sentenced to 15 years in prison for the untimely murder of Ali Mansur Mohamed in a combat zone by a military court in 2009.
Mansur, suspected of having links with al-Qaeda, was questioned but was eventually released after insufficient evidence linking him to a bombing with the help of al-Qaeda. IED that killed two comrades of Behanna. Prosecutors said that Behenna, who was ordered to bring Mansur back to his village, then took him to the desert, stripped him naked and shot him during a visit. interrogation not allowed.
Behenna, now 35, claims to have acted in self-defense and been released on parole after serving less than five years in prison in 2014, but his efforts to quash the sentence were unsuccessful.
The Attorney General of Oklahoma, Mike Hunter, urged the Trump administration in February 2018 and again in April 2019 to forgive Behenna. In a letter to Attorney General William Barr this year, he stated that "federal regulation unduly restricts your broad constitutional power to show mercy and forgive."
The White House said Monday in its statement that "the case of Behenna has garnered wide support from the military, elected representatives of Oklahoma and the public".
"In light of these facts, Mr Behenna fully deserves this grant of clemency from the executive," said the White House.
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