Two SEALs testified they saw Gallagher plunge his knife into his neck, including Special Operator Corey Scott, who stunned the court when he said he was the one who ultimately killed the teen by plugging his breathing tube with his thumb as an act of mercy. Seven SEALs said Gallagher unexpectedly stabbed the prisoner on May 3, 2017, moments after he and the other medics treated the 17-year-old boy. Most were granted immunity to protect them from being prosecuted for acts they described on the stand. Nearly a dozen SEALs have testified over the past two weeks. A jury of five Marines and two sailors, one a SEAL, will weigh whether Gallagher, on his eighth deployment, went off the rails and fatally stabbed the war prisoner as a kind of trophy kill, or if the boy died from wounds sustained in an airstrike and Gallagher is being falsely accused by junior SEALs trying to permanently oust a platoon chief they hate. The lead prosecutor was removed after allegedly tracking the defence team's emails to find a news leak, and the lead investigator acknowledged on the stand making mistakes.Ĭlosing arguments are expected Monday.
The trial also has shown the struggles of military courts in prosecuting alleged war crimes.
Jacob Portier, the officer in charge, has been charged separately for overseeing the ceremony and not reporting the alleged stabbing. During Gallagher's trial, it was revealed that nearly all his platoon members readily posed for photos with the dead militant and watched as Gallagher read his reenlistment oath near the body in an impromptu ceremony. The scandals have prompted a review by the Navy's top commanders into the behaviour of the special warfare teams. A US Navy SEAL last month pleaded guilty to hazing and assault charges for his role in the 2017 strangulation of a US Army Green Beret in Africa. The case has laid bare challenges among US special forces as the United States increasingly relies on such troops, which make up only 2% of the military yet carry out most of its battles around the globe.Ī number of special forces members are on trial this year.
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