Pfc. Lynndie England pleaded guilty yesterday to her role in the abuse at Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq. Her plea resulted in seven charges--two counts of conspiracy to mistreat prisoners, four counts of abusing detainees, and one count of committing an indecent act; charges of dereliction of duty and committing an indecent act were dropped. Her sentence will be decided by a jury which could sentence her to as little as two years under terms of the plea agreement set by prosecutors. Yesterday England admitted that she "knew it [the abuse] was wrong", a turnaround from statements last year in which she claimed the abuse was acceptable.
England is among the few soldiers who will serve prison time for the abuse of prisoners in Iraq. Four other guards and two intelligence officers have plead guilty, while last week the military cleared its top ranking officers of any responsibility for the abuse.
