A U.S. Army sergeant was sentenced on Friday to five years in prison for crimes that included beating a subordinate whose whistle-blowing led to an investigation of rogue soldiers murdering unarmed Afghan civilians. Staff Sergeant David Bram was found guilty by court-martial of most of the charges against him, becoming the 11th soldier convicted in connection with the widest-ranging prosecution of U.S. military atrocities and other misconduct during 10 years of war in Afghanistan.
The jury panel consisting of two officers and three enlisted men deliberated for 90 minutes before rendering its guilty verdict on all but two of the nine counts against Bram. It took the panel a further hour to decide his sentence. Addressing the court before sentencing, Bram apologized to “the people of Afghanistan” and said, “I pray I have not deterred any young Americans from serving their nation. “I truly do understand the weight of what I’ve done,” he added, choking back tears.
“I understand I must be punished for my actions. I ask for mercy, not for myself but for my beautiful children.” Bram, 27, the father of a young son and daughter, will be eligible for parole after serving about three years and four months of his five-year sentence. Prosecutors had recommended a prison term of seven years.
