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Pardon sought for sniper in Iraqi killing

IDAHO FALLS, Idaho — Rep. Mike Simpson says he will continue to seek a presidential pardon for an Idaho soldier convicted of killing an unarmed Iraqi and then planting an AK47 rifle on the dead man’s body.

Simpson, R-Idaho, said he will press President Barack Obama to pardon Vela just as he pressed former President George W. Bush.

“I really think [Vela] was kind of a scapegoat for higher-ups,” Simpson told the Post Register.

Vela, an Army sniper, was convicted in February 2008 and sentenced to 10 years in prison for killing an unarmed Iraqi civilian who stumbled upon him and five other soldiers sleeping May 11, 2007.

He also was convicted of planting an AK47 rifle on the dead man’s body and of lying to military investigators. Vela, 25, is serving his prison sentence at the U.S. Disciplinary Barracks in Leavenworth, Kan.

Curtis Carnahan, Vela’s father, began a campaign last year to get a presidential pardon for his son as Bush’s term in office came to a close.

Simpson and Sen. Mike Crapo, R-Idaho, also wrote letters to Bush asking him to pardon Vela.

The White House said it was considering the request, but the pardon wasn’t granted when Bush left office.

During his trial last year, Vela and several other Army snipers with his unit testified they were confused and exhausted after more than two days of trekking in high temperatures through the rough terrain near Iskandariyah, a mostly Sunni Arab city 30 miles south of Baghdad. A tearful Vela told the military court in Baghdad he couldn’t remember firing the pistol that killed Genei Nasir al-Janabi.

Prosecutors said the case was a clear-cut instance of a soldier lying to cover up the slaying of an unarmed man. Vela maintained he was ordered to shoot al-Janabi.

“We place these young men and women in incredibly difficult circumstances, and it’s easy to come back in hindsight and judge them,” Simpson said. “But, as far as I was concerned, [Vela] was following his commanding officer’s orders.”

Simpson did not say what specific actions he has taken in seeking the pardon since Obama became president.

Under the Constitution, the president’s power to issue pardons is absolute and cannot be overruled — meaning he can forgive anyone he wants, at any time.