Michael Behenna
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Michael Chase Behenna (born 1983) is an American former soldier turned farmhand and convicted war criminal who fought in the Iraq War.
Biography edit
Michael Behenna was born on May 18, 1983, to Scott Behenna, an FBI agent, and Vicki Behenna, a prosecutor. He graduated from Edmond North High School in 2002 and, after witnessing the September 11th attacks, expressed interest in enlisting in the U.S. Army, wanting to "fight terrorists" and "work his way up from the bottom".
After graduating college, Behenna was commissioned as a Second Lieutenant and deployed to Iraq.
On April 21, 2008, two men in Behenna's counterinsurgency unit were killed by an IED. Behenna was deeply affected by this, and when he received intelligence that Al-Qaeda was responsible he raided a farmhouse and captured a suspected terrorist named Ali Mansur Mohamed, who was allegedly the attacker.
Less than two weeks later, Behenna was ordered to release Mohamed due to insufficient evidence. Behenna, an interpreter and one other soldier tried to interrogate Mohamed while taking him to be released, but Behenna executed Mohamed on the way. According to the interpreter, "Ali Mansur said I will talk to you but Lieutenant Behenna pulled trigger and killed him." Behenna and the other soldier then destroyed the body with a grenade and told the other members of the group to file reports that he was released.
The next day, locals found Ali Mansur's dead body. On July 31, 2008, Behenna was relieved of his command and charged with the premeditated murder of Ali Mansur Mohamed. In November 2008, Behenna was returned to Fort Campbell and assigned to security duties pending a court-martial.
The trial began on February 3, 2009. The other soldier involved, a Sergeant Warner, pleaded guilty to maltreatment of a subordinate and making a false statement and testified against Behenna in return for murder charges being dropped. The jury found Behenna guilty of unpremeditated murder and sentenced him to 25 years in prison. After a series of appeals, this was reduced to 15.
On February 12, 2014, a request for clemency was denied, but Behenna was granted parole and released on March 14, 2014, after serving less than 5 years of his sentence. He now works as a farmhand.
In 2019, American president Donald Trump granted him a full pardon.