U.S. Soldier Accused of Deliberately Killing Unarmed Afghan Civilians Sentenced to 24 Years in Prison

Army Specialist Jeremy Morlock, the first of five U.S. soldiers accused of deliberately killing three unarmed civilians in southern Kandahar in 2010, pleaded guilty to three counts of premeditated murder and was sentenced to 24 years in prison during a court martial held at Washington’s Joint Base Lewis-McChord.

Morlock, 22, is expected to testify against the four other soldiers as part of his plea deal. The Wasilla, Alaska native admitted to Lieutenant Colonel Kwasi Hawks, the military judge presiding over the case, “The plan was to kill people.”

Judge Hawks stated that his intention was to sentence the defendant to life in prison with the possibility of parole, but he was bound by the plea agreement that was struck with prosecutors, VOA News reports.

Morlock was accused of taking a lead role as part of a U.S. Stryker “kill team” that killed Afghan civilians for sport. Five soldiers and seven others who stand accused of attempting to cover up the alleged murders have been charged, according to ABC Online.

Graphic photographs showing the soldiers posing with the civilians they allegedly killed were published by Germany’s Der Spiegel news magazine earlier this week.

“[The images depict] actions repugnant to us as human beings and contrary to the standards and values of the United States Army,” U.S. military officials wrote in an apologetic statement issued Tuesday.