‘Not guilty’

A military jury has found Capt. Robert Semrau not guilty of murdering a wounded Taliban fighter on the battlefields of Afghanistan. He has, however, been convicted of one count of disgraceful conduct. Numerous eyewitnesses testified that Semrau, a married father of two young daughters, fired a pair of bullets into the chest of a severely injured enemy fighter in Afghanistan in October 2008, telling his comrades later that it was a “mercy kill.” But with no dead body and no forensic evidence proving exactly how the man died, a military jury did not believe beyond a reasonable doubt that prosecutors proved their case. The court is expected to reconvene at 3:00 pm EST to discuss sentencing on the disgraceful conduct charge.

Source: macleans.ca