Midland soldier on trial

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) - A federal judge will allow jurors to hear statements made by a former soldier after his arrest on charges that he raped and killed an Iraqi teenager and killed her family during a tour of duty in Iraq.

U.S. District Judge Thomas B. Russell said Steven Dale Green, 22, of Midland, Texas, willingly made such statements to FBI agents as "Guess I'm looking at spending the rest of my life in jail," and "You probably think I'm a monster," after his arrest June 30, 2006.

Russell said the agents didn't question the former soldier with the 101st Airborne Division, or force him to talk, making the comments admissible in court.

"There is no evidence that the FBI agents' actions were objectively coercive," Russell wrote to lawyers in a decision released Tuesday.

Federal agents arrested Green at his grandmother's home in North Carolina on June 30, 2006. His attorney challenged statements Green made to the FBI after his arrest and while he was being transported three days later to a federal court appearance in Charlotte, N.C.

Trial is scheduled to begin April 27 in Paducah.

Green faces a possible death sentence if convicted on 16 charges, including conspiracy, premeditated murder and aggravated sexual assault. He has pleaded not guilty and his attorneys plan to argue Green was insane at the time of the alleged assault.

Green was deployed to Iraq with the 101st Airborne Division. Because he was discharged from the military before being charged, Green is being prosecuted in federal court. The 101st Airborne Division is based at Fort Campbell, an Army post on the Kentucky-Tennessee border.

Four other soldiers pleaded guilty or have been convicted for their roles in targeting the girl from a checkpoint near Mahmoudiya, a village 20 miles south of Baghdad, and helping rape and kill her.

Two of the soldiers testified they took turns raping the girl while Green shot and killed her mother, father and younger sister. They also testified that Green raped the girl and shot her.

Ahead of trial, Green's attorneys have asked Russell to order the U.S. government to provide them with a military escort in Iraq so they can visit the scene.

Mahmoudiyah is in an area of Iraq dubbed the "Triangle of Death," where some of the worst fighting of the war has taken place.

Green's attorneys - Scott Wendelsdorf, Patrick Bouldin and Darren Wolff - said they want to interview witnesses, neighbors and collect insights about its people and culture.

"This area is still extremely dangerous," the attorneys wrote. "The defense merely asks for similar access to this area as has been made available to the government, including the security measures afforded to the government's agents."

Federal prosecutors may not have personally visited the scene, but have worked with military prosecutors in investigating the case and will likely use evidence from the courts martial proceedings of other soldiers in Green's platoon, the defense lawyers wrote.

Separately, prosecutors filed a motion asking that Green undergo a mental examination by two doctors of the government's choosing. The motions relate to Green's insanity defense.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Marisa Ford wrote that the prosecutors won't use anything gleaned from the exams unless Green's attorneys introduce mental health evidence first.

Russell asked the attorneys to have responses to both motions filed by the middle of next week. Russell also asked the attorneys to file proposed jury instructions under seal directly with his office.