Edmond Army officer gets sentence reduced

January 22, 2010

The Oklahoman

Chris Casteel

WASHINGTON - First Lt. Michael Behenna, the Edmond soldier convicted of killing a suspected terrorist in Iraq, had his sentence reduced to 15 years, the U.S. Army said Thursday.

It was the second five-year reduction in Behenna's sentence for unpremeditated murder and came two weeks after Behenna's parents argued their son's case before the Army Clemency and Parole Board. Catherine Mitrano, deputy assistant secretary of the Army for review boards, made the decision to reduce the sentence to 15 years.

Behenna's mother, Vicki, said Thursday, "I don't want to appear ungrateful. I'm grateful for the move downward.
"Unrealistically, maybe I believed they would just send him home."

Behenna, 26, was convicted last February of assaulting and murdering without premeditation Ali Mansur, who had been detained by Army officials in Iraq for his suspected role in planting a bomb that killed two members of Behenna's unit.

Behenna, who had investigated and arrested Mansur, had been told to take him home when he was released from detention. Behenna decided to question Mansur by gunpoint and shot him.

On a separate track, Behenna is appealing his conviction, arguing the military jury was not allowed to hear testimony from a forensic expert who supported Behenna's self-defense claim. Prominent attorneys in Oklahoma and elected officials have urged the Army to give Behenna a new trial.

One military judge already has rejected Behenna's argument, saying Behenna should not have been questioning Ali Mansur and should not have been pointing a loaded firearm at him.

Behenna originally was sentenced to 25 years, but that was reduced last summer to 20 years by the court-martial authority. He also was sentenced to be dismissed from the Army and forfeit all pay and allowances. He is serving his sentence in Fort Leavenworth, Kan.

An Army spokesman said Thursday the clemency board "will review his case annually to determine whether additional clemency and parole is appropriate."

Vicki Behenna said the two sentence reductions indicate to her the Army "knows there's something wrong with this case" and was trying to navigate its way through each step of the process.

At the hearing in Arlington, Va., two weeks ago, Vicki Behenna and her husband, Scott, argued the sentence given to their son was far longer than the sentences given other soldiers who had been convicted of unpremeditated murder in a combat zone.

Members of Oklahoma's congressional delegation, while striving not to air their judgments about the facts of the case, have pushed publicly to ensure it has been handled by the book. Staff members for U.S. Sen. Jim Inhofe, R-Tulsa, and Rep. Mary Fallin, R-Oklahoma City, were allowed to attend the clemency and parole board meeting Jan. 7.
Fallin said Thursday, "We owe nothing less to our brave men and women in uniform than to be certain due process is satisfied and justice is distributed in a fair and equitable manner."

Inhofe said Behenna "could not have had a stronger advocate than Vicki Behenna. She provided compelling arguments on her son's behalf ... I will continue to follow this case."

 

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