Jury to deliberate in Iraqi murder case - Army News | News from Afghanistan & Iraq - Army Times

Jury to deliberate in Iraqi murder case

FORT CAMPBELL, Ky. — A military jury will begin deliberating in the case of a Fort Campbell soldier charged in the murder of an Iraqi detainee.

Attorneys will make closing arguments Friday after four days of testimony in the trial of 1st Lt. Michael Behenna, of Edmond, Okla. He’s charged with premeditated murder, assault and making a false statement.

Behenna testified Thursday that he shot and killed Ali Mansour Mohammed in May 2008, but said he was trying to defend himself when the detainee reached for his gun during an interrogation.

Prosecutors argue that Behenna intended to kill the detainee and justified it to others by saying Mohammed was involved in a fatal roadside bombing.