U.S. Soldier Found Guilty in Beating

A military jury convicted an Army Reserve private Wednesday of beating one of two Afghanistan detainees who later died.

The jury found Pfc. Willie Brand guilty of assault, maltreatment, false official swearing and maiming. It acquitted him of similar charges involving the second man.

Brand’s sentencing hearing begins today, and he faces anything from no punishment to as many as 16 years in military prison.

As the verdict was read, Brand, 26, wiped tears from his face. His lawyer, John P. Galligan, said the conviction would be appealed.

Military prosecutors did not comment.

Brand, an Ohio reservist with the 337th Military Police Company, was accused of repeatedly beating two detainees while working as a guard at a detention center at Bagram air base in Afghanistan in December 2002 and then lying about it. The detainees died later that month.

The conviction was for abuse of a prisoner known as Dilawar. An Air Force medical examiner had testified the man was injured so severely that his leg muscles were split.

Defense lawyers argued that the reservist was poorly trained and not ready for war when he was deployed to Afghanistan.