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U.S. Soldier Acquitted in Iraqi's Death
By ANGELA K. BROWN
Associated Press Writer

FORT HOOD, Texas - An Army staff sergeant was acquitted of murder Thursday in the death of an unarmed Iraqi he said he shot to save a fellow soldier.
A jury of four soldiers and two officers deliberated for less than three hours before finding Staff Sgt. Shane Werst not guilty of premeditated murder. He had faced a maximum of life in prison without parole.

Before the jury announced the verdict, the judge, Col. Theodore Dixon, found Werst not guilty of obstruction of justice. Dixon said he decided to rule on that count, but did not give an explanation.

Werst's family shrieked, cried and hugged after the verdict was read.

"Soldiers have to be able to know that they're not being second-guessed in the battlefield and in close-quarters combat," defense attorney David Sheldon said.

Prosecutors said the killing of Naser Ismail, a suspected insurgent, was in retaliation for an Army captain's death earlier that day. Werst, 32, said he only shot Ismail because he was lunging for an unsuspecting soldier's weapon during house raids in Iraq.

Werst testified Thursday that he doesn't regret gunning down Ismail, but admitted his actions afterward in making the slaying look like self-defense were wrong.

"I would still to this day fire on that man, sir," said Werst.

Werst said he and a fellow soldier went into a house with Ismail because he thought the Iraqi would turn over more weapons.
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8th Army Korea 68-69

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