Michael Behenna, center, is embraced by his brother Brett and girlfriend, Shannon Wahl,
President Donald Trump has granted a full pardon to former Airborne Division 1st Lt Michael Behenna who was convicted by the military court in 2009 over the murder of an Iraqi prisoner.
Behenna, 35, was sentenced to 25 years in prison for “unpremeditated murder in a combat zone” after killing suspected al-Qaeda terrorist Ali Mansur. Behenna was paroled in 2014.
While Behenna said he killed Mansur in self-defense, during the trial he admitted that he disobeyed orders to return Mansour to his village after he was released from military intelligence and questioned about his connection to an explosion that killed two U.S. soldiers.
Prosecutors said Behenna instead interrogated and stripped Mansour naked before shooting him twice.
Behenna’s trial raised the support of fellow soldiers.
White House press secretary Sarah Sanders wrote in a statement that upon his release from jail in 2014, “Dozens of Patriot Guard motorcycle riders met Mr. Behenna to escort him back to his home in Oklahoma.” She added that “Behenna’s case has attracted broad support from the military, Oklahoma elected officials, and the public” and he was a “model prisoner.”
But questions have been raised about Behenna’s claim of self-defense.
Oklahoma Attorney General Mike sent a letter to Attorney General William Barr earlier this year urging the Trump administration to consider a pardon for Behenna.