(somebody had a crazy Halloween last year)
Military prosecutors on Thursday portrayed Pfc. Lynndie England as an eager participant in the 2003 scandal at Iraq’s Abu Ghraib prison, repeatedly referencing her appearance in now-notorious photos and carefully laying out a scene in which a rogue band of guards abused low-profile prisoners for their own amusement.
Pvt. Jeremy Sivits, a prosecution witness who served a year in prison for his role, said England appeared to be enjoying herself during the incident. Several other witnesses backed his characterization.
Prosecutor Capt. Chuck Neil said that England’s cohorts were not interrogating the prisoners, and England herself was a filing clerk who should have been nowhere near them.
In presenting their arguments for England’s guilt, the prosecutors painted a picture that sharply contrasts with the defense’s portrayal of a learning-challenged girl who fell hopelessly in love with a superior. In cross-examining prosecution witnesses, England’s lawyers framed her role as passive.