JAG CENTRAL

SGT Akbar After Testimony Concluded (News 14 Carolina)

News from NBC-17 (Raleigh, NC) that SGT Akbar has been convicted of murder and attempted murder:

A military jury on Thursday afternoon convicted an Army sergeant of murder in a grenade and rifle attack on his comrades two years ago in Kuwait.

The 15-member panel deliberated for less than three hours before returning the unanimous first-degree murder and attempted murder verdicts against Sgt. Hasan Akbar. He now faces a possible death sentence when the sentencing phase of the court-martial takes place next Monday.

Akbar, who celebrated his 34th birthday on Thursday, showed no emotion when the verdicts were read. His parents were also in the courtroom and likewise displayed little emotion.

ANALYSIS: The sentencing phase begins tomorrow. Sentencing is much more formal in courts-martial than in civilian courts. The court holds a "mini-trial" to actually prove any mitigating, extenuating, or aggrevating circumstances. Both sides must follow the Military Rules of Evidence, with some liberalizations. Furthermore, the panel (military equivalent of a jury) deliberates as to the sentence in all trials, not just ones involving the death penalty. A sentence of death must be unanimous among all panel members (one of the only times unanymity is required, another difference between military panels and civilian juries).