A U.S. soldier has been convicted in the May 2006 shooting deaths of three Iraqi detainees.
A military jury found Army Sergeant Raymond Girouard guilty of three counts of negligent homicide (unintentional death through inaction). They also convicted the 24-year-old of obstruction of justice and conspiracy charges.
The jury, however, acquitted Girouard of premeditated murder, which carried the possibility of life in prison.
Prosecutors had accused Girouard of allowing the Iraqi detainees to flee, then ordering his men to shoot them as they ran.
Three other soldiers under his command reached plea agreements with prosecutors in the case in exchange for testifying against Girouard. Two of them were sentenced to 18 years in prison, while the third received a nine-month jail term.
The sentencing phase of Girouard's trial takes place Monday.
Some information for this report was provided by AP and Reuters.
