NC Guardsman killed Iraqi after gay sex

[Ian David]

Guardsman killed Iraqi after sex

By JAY PRICE, Staff Writer

A North Carolina National Guard member thought to be the first U.S. soldier convicted of murdering an Iraqi said he "snapped" and shot the 17-year-old boy after they had consensual sex, according to court-martial records released this week.

Pvt. Federico Daniel Merida, 21, of Biscoe, a tiny town south of Asheboro, pleaded guilty during a court-martial in Iraq to shooting the Iraqi national guard private, whose name the Army withheld.

Merida was sentenced Sept. 25 to 25 years in prison and reduced in rank. He will be dishonorably discharged.

Army officials at Forward Operating Base Danger, where the court-martial was held, withheld details of the case, saying the records had to be approved by a general. They released the records to The News & Observer on Thursday.

Maj. Neal E. O'Brien said Army rules required that most of the names be inked out, including that of the victim. The Los Angeles Times reported shortly after the court-martial that the victim's name was Falah Zaggam.

According to the records, Zaggam and Merida were on guard duty May 11 in a tower on the perimeter of an Army camp near Tikrit in northern Iraq. About 10:30 p.m., Merida shot Zaggam repeatedly with his M-4 carbine.

The "gay panic" motive was the third that Merida offered. He first told investigators that Zaggam demanded money at gunpoint. Later, he said he killed Zaggam because the boy forced him to have sex.

http://www.newsobserver.com/news/story/1941428p-8299574c.html

[Ms_Mary]

1. :-( nt

n

[NNN0LHI]

2. Wasn't gay sex. It was rape. Can't have "sex" with someone imprisoned n/t

[KittyWampus]

5. Did You Read The Article? Kid Was An Iraqi National Guard Private

at least that's what it said.

[NNN0LHI]

12. The Iraqis country is currently being occupied by American troops with guns

So who is in charge here? The Iraqis?

Don

[KittyWampus]

14. Again, Where Does It Say Prisoner? And The Iraqi N.G. Does Exist

and they do work with the Americans.

Story is screwed up enough without making shit up.

[NNN0LHI]

17. You don't get it. If China invaded the USA with their military...

...and some American women or man was to have sex with one of their soldiers to keep from getting shot or starved to death, would you call that rape? Or would you say the person was just out being promiscuous? Think about it.

Don

[Liberal Veteran]

19. I have to agree that I see nothing to indicate rape or force involved...

The article specifically says it was consensual sex. You know it is possible that two people who are free (as free as two members of militaries can be) to become attracted to one another and agree to sex.

Why heap insult onto greivous injury based on pure unadulterated speculation?

[NNN0LHI]

21. Bet there was a lot of "consensual sex" in the German death camps too

:bounce:

[mark414]

22. whoa fuck

don't go comparing this war to the holocaust

that goes too far over the line

[Liberal Veteran]

24. Yeah, remember all those tales of armed Jews on guard duty...

...with the Germans in the death camps having consensual sex?

C'mon. You are trying to make this into something you don't really have the info to make it into.


They were serving on guard duty together.

They BOTH had weapons.

This was not a prisoner he killed. At the most you can say the person was a collaborator, but he was NOT a prisoner. Prisoners don't generally serve on guard duty armed with Ak-47's (which if you read the entire article you would know this).

It's obvious you are wanting to make this into something more to suit your own viewpoint and I agree that some heinous acts that rise and exceed the term war crimes have occurred in Iraq, probably more than we know, but there is NOTHING in this article that indicates this was anything other a murder.

[bpilgrim]

20. hmmm...

but what if it was a Christian Chinese soldier :shrug:

peace

[0007]

3. Sounds like a repuke trying to covering up his tracts for his

sinful deeds, LOL!

[Deja Q]

4. A boy prisoner forced a grown man to have sexw w/him?! Where's the camera?

This I must see. For reading it makes no sense at all.

[KittyWampus]

11. Prisoner? I Must Be Missing The Word Prisoner. It Says Iraqi N.G. Pvt.

Pvt. Federico Daniel Merida, 21, of Biscoe, a tiny town south of Asheboro, pleaded guilty during a court-martial in Iraq to shooting the Iraqi national guard private, whose name the Army withheld.

[Liberal Veteran]

23. Exactly and from what we are told the Iraqi was NOT a prisoner.

According to the records, Zaggam (the victim) and Merida were on guard duty May 11 in a tower on the perimeter of an Army camp near Tikrit in northern Iraq. About 10:30 p.m., Merida shot Zaggam repeatedly with his M-4 carbine.

[vpigrad]

6. How will the repukes spin this one..

to make it appear that the thug in green did the right thing?

[ashling]

7. Scott Peterson

should have gotten this guy's attorney.

[Bluzmann57]

8. Reason is somewhat irrelevant

Merida is a murderer, pure and simple. He is getting locked up and a dishonorable discharge and thats fitting. He may never get a decent civilian job with a murder conviction and a dd on his permanenet record. The hell with Merida.

[Liberal Veteran]

16. Well, I don't necessarily agree with that....

Motive is relevant to any that kind of criminal case, however, the defenses he offered and the fact that his story changed three times sounds to me like he was just someone who was self-loathing or in deep denial and/or a potential serial killer in the making.

Hard to say which at this point, but he definitely deserves his punishment since this was not a case of self-defense or anything like that.

From a rehabilition standpoint, I think that if this turns out to be a case where he killed someone to hide the fact that he was gay, it will go a long way to helping him repent for his crime and at least be able to find a modicum of peace in life.

[Liberal Veteran]

9. Oh you gotta be shtting me....

What a fucking waste this person is.

[aquart]

10. "The boy forced him to have sex."

And nobody bought that one? Gosh.

[Ian David]

15. Gotta love those NC Red State Bible Belt Family Values Types

The soldier finaly claimed "gay panic," that he got "panicked" after the consensual sex.

Probably because everyone he grew up with in North Carolina taught him that being gay was a terrible, shameful mortal sin. Even his own military would have kicked him out for being gay. No wonder he supposedly "gay panicked."

Personaly, I think "gay panick" is a bogus defense.

I think he was just worried about being outed and losing his job.

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

13. What rank is lower than private?

The article says he would be 'reduced in rank'. I thought Pvt. was the lowest rank.

[benburch]

18. We are really winning hearts and minds here!

Wow! This impressive plan by Bush to pacify Iraq, hold peaceful elections in a month, and make the whole world love us is working WONDERFULLY!

Go Bush!

You Da Man!

:eyes:

[Ian David]

25. But the Iraqis would have killed the boy for the gay sex anyway

[ally_sc]

26. Just another reason...

Why we should not expect a National Guard to do a soldier's job. I don't think that Nat. Guard. is required to go through the psychological testing that the armed services require. Just a thought.
And more importantly why should we even be there at all...So much of this could have been avoided if we just weren't even there.

[Moderator]

27. duplicate topic

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=102&topic_id=1083214&mesg_id=1083214