Evidence hurts both sides in Pfc. England's hearing

Prosecution witnesses were involved in Abu Ghraib abuses, defense suggests.
COMBINED DISPATCHES
FORT BRAGG, N.C. -- The military hearing to determine whether Pfc. Lynndie England will face a court-martial for abusing Iraqi detainees took an unexpected turn Friday, as last-minute testimony and the emergence of new tasteless photos undermined the cases of both England's defense and the Army's prosecution.
Army prosecutors produced a sworn statement in which England contradicted her earlier statements that she was ordered to abuse prisoners. And the defense claimed to know of photos in which key prosecution witnesses were depicted doing pranks of a sexual nature similar to those that form the basis of indecency charges against England.
The prosecutors hope to undermine the credibility of England, while the defense is attempting to convince a military judge that the photos provide graphic evidence that many in the Army company assigned to the Abu Ghraib prison were prone to aberrant social behavior.
Testimony
During the hearing, two Army investigators testified that England had signed a sworn statement after an April 30 interview at Fort Bragg in which she admitted stepping on detainees and posing in front of naked prisoners.
Special Agent James Stewart said England also told him no one ordered her to abuse detainees and that her purpose had been to "humiliate" them.
The testimony directly contradicted England's claim that she and the other five members of the 372nd Military Police Company were softening up detainees at the behest of military interrogators in order to encourage them to cooperate in investigations.
Special Agent William Hughes said England did say that personnel from military intelligence and the Central Intelligence Agency "would tell us we were doing a good job and to keep it up." But Hughes said England was unable to identify or describe any of those people.
Tony Vieira, one of England's attorneys, challenged Hughes on cross-examination, noting it was a routine practice for interrogators and intelligence operatives to cover up their name tags or to remove them. Without a photo line-up, "how was it that you gave her any real opportunity to identify any of these people?" he said.
Witnesses' credibility
The defense team also sought to cast doubt on the credibility of four key witnesses by suggesting they had engaged in the same sort of misconduct that England has been charged with.
In addition to abusing detainees, England faces a maximum penalty of 23 years in military prison for indecent acts and disobedience for posing for nude pictures with her boyfriend, Cpl. Charles Graner, another soldier accused in the case, and for sneaking off to sleep in his bed. England is about seven months pregnant with Graner's child.
Reservist's statement
Meanwhile, an Army reservist who saw naked detainees being humiliated at Abu Ghraib prison says military intelligence officials led and directed the abuse.
The account by Kenneth A. Davis, a former sergeant in the Maryland-based 372nd Military Police Company, contradicts the government's position that only members of Davis' unit were directly responsible for the abuse.
Davis' account makes him the first member of the unit who is not facing charges to publicly describe one of the episodes that led to criminal charges against others. No military intelligence personnel have been charged.
Davis says military intelligence soldiers were more culpable in the incident he witnessed than a military intelligence analyst acknowledged during testimony Thursday at England's pretrial hearing. Davis, 33, said Friday that testimony given Thursday by Spc. Israel Rivera, an analyst with the 325th Military Intelligence Battalion, was "inaccurate."
Rivera testified Thursday that military police forced detainees to crawl naked "low enough that their genitalia were rubbing on the floor, causing pain."
Rivera said two members of his unit, Spc. Armin J. Cruz and Spc. Roman Krol, participated in the abuse, and that he was disgusted by it.
Davis said it was Cruz and Krol who forced the men to crawl across the floor while demanding that they confess to raping a boy in the prison. Davis said he doesn't recall any military police joining in the abuse.
He said that when he questioned Rivera about the possibility that the men were innocent, Rivera replied, "I've been doing this longer than you've been in the military. You know, sergeant, they are guilty."
Krol has denied engaging in improper conduct. Cruz did not respond to e-mailed requests for comment.