Army Jails Soldier for Abusing Troops

PLYMOUTH, Ohio -- A U.S. military court has demoted an Oklahoma Soldier to the rank of private and jailed him for mistreating troops in Iraq, behavior discovered during the investigation into the suicide of one Soldier, Pvt. Keiffer Wilhelm, 19.

Former Sgt. Jarrett Taylor, 23, of Edmond, was convicted at a special court-martial at Camp Arifjan, Kuwait, that ended on Friday. Wilhelm's father, Shane, his wife Shelly, both of Plymouth, and Shane's older brother Shawn, were there for the court proceedings.

"It took two full days. ... It was a jury-type of thing," Shane Wilhelm said.

There were about 10 hours of opening statements and testimony Thursday and another seven hours of court proceedings Friday. Wilhelm estimated the jury deliberated for four to five hours before finding Taylor guilty of making false official statements and cruelty and maltreatment of subordinates.

Prosecutors "stumbled" at the beginning of Taylor's trial, Wilhelm said, but "sent the message home" during closing arguments.

Taylor was sentenced to 180 days of confinement and ordered to forfeit $933 in pay for the next six months. Wilhelm said the forfeiture equates to Taylor losing about 2/3 of his pay, an amount that will be taken directly from his check.

"It's like an automatic deduction out of his check," the victim's father said.

Taylor's demotion to private means he now is one rank lower than his victim.

"He'd be one under what Keiffer was. Keiffer was an E-2," Shane Wilhelm said.

Regarding the confinement, Wilhelm said he thought the punishment was fair and has helped the family get some closure.

"We felt justice was served," he said.

Taylor was among four Multi-National Division South Soldiers who were charged with cruelty and maltreatment of Soldiers in their platoon, Lt. Col. Kevin Olson, MNF-South spokesman in Basra, told CNN.com in an e-mail Saturday. All were from the 13th Cavalry Regiment out of Fort Bliss, Texas.

The trial dates for Staff Sgts. Enoch Chatman, 30, of Eastland, Texas, and Bob Clements, 29, of West Covina, Calif., haven't been set yet. Wilhelm said the two defendants are supposed to be arraigned Friday.

"They should have a tentative (trial) date at that time," he said.

Their trials shouldn't be before Jan. 11, Wilhelm said, because of the "complexity of the case."

The three officers held supervisory positions over Keiffer Wilhelm. A fourth Soldier charged in connection with Wilhelm's death, Specialist Daniel Weber, 24, of Frankenmuth, Mich., was discharged in lieu of a court-martial.

The suspects are accused of engaging in "verbal abuse, physical punishment and ridicule of subordinates," including physical punishment that fell into the category of "undue calisthenics," the military said in August.

"They (Chatman and Clements) were the two who pushed Keiffer to his limits. ... Weber and Taylor apparently were just doing what they were told to do, but they still played a part in our son's death," Shane Wilhelm told the Reflector earlier.

Keiffer Wilhelm died Aug. 4 of a gunshot-related wound in an outhouse at Forward Operating Base Hunter near a swampy area in the Miaysan Province in Iraq. His father and stepmother have said the harassment by the four Soldiers led to the young man being pushed over the edge.

"It is unclear if Sgt. Taylor's actions contributed to Pvt. Wilhelm's decision to take his life," Olson told CNN.

Wilhelm, when asked today about the military spokesman's comment, said: "I think the end result speaks for itself."

Taylor "was immediately removed from his supervisory duties as soon as the allegations were discovered during the initial investigation in Pvt. Wilhelm's death," Olson said. "As for morale, we believe that Sgt. Taylor's behavior was isolated to a single platoon."