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Convicted GI freed during clemency request

ATLANTA — A Hawaii-based soldier who was convicted of aggravated assault in the shooting death of an Iraqi man has been freed pending a decision on clemency.

Pvt. Christopher Shore of Winder, Ga. e-mailed his father at his Lawrenceville, Ga. home to tell him that he was no longer confined at the brig at Ford Island in Hawaii.

“I’m feeling so good I can’t keep my feet on the ground,” Brian Shore told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution Friday after receiving the e-mail.

The message said: “Hey, dad. It was too late to call. I didn’t want to wake you but I’m out now so everything is good.”

Shore, 26, had faced a murder charge during his February court-martial in the death of a detainee last June in the Iraqi city of Kirkuk. He testified that his platoon sergeant ordered him to finish off the wounded man, but he intentionally missed.

Sgt. 1st Class Trey Corrales was acquitted of all charges last week in a separate court-martial.

A military jury found Shore not guilty of third-degree murder, but convicted him of aggravated assault.

Shore was sentenced to a two-grade reduction in rank and 120 days in prison, which he was serving until his recent release. He was allowed to remain in military service.

Shore could have been sentenced to a maximum of eight years in prison, dropped to the Army’s lowest pay grade and been given a dishonorable discharge.

The commander of the 25th Infantry Division based in Hawaii late Thursday deferred Shore’s 120-day jail sentence until he decides on clemency.

The commander, Brig. Gen. Mick Bednarek, has the authority to overturn all or parts of the jury’s findings. He is expected to announce a ruling in the next few weeks, said Maj. Tage Rainsford, spokesman for the 25th Infantry Division.

Rainsford said Shore could return to the brig to finish out his sentence or he could be freed and have his rank restored. Shore was demoted from specialist to private.