[News] SCI Greene Prison Guard / Iraq Torture Scandal/ Domestic Violence at hom

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http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/tribune-review/trib/fayette/s_192620.html


Fayette reservist implicated in scandal

Paul Peirce can be reached at ppeirce at tribweb.com or (724) 850-2860.

By Paul Peirce
TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Wednesday, May 5, 2004


A local Army reservist facing potential court-martial on charges that he
abused and humiliated Iraqi prisoners under his watch previously faced
allegations of making physical threats against his own family.
Charles A. Graner Jr., 35, of 52 Johnson Ave., Uniontown, who works as a
state prison guard in civilian life, since 1997 has been accused three
times of abusing his former wife, Staci, and their two children,
according to Fayette County Court records.

Graner didn't show up for his last court appearance in March 2001,
records show.

As a result of that hearing, Fayette County Judge Ralph Warman issued a
protection from abuse order against Graner stemming from allegations
made by his wife. She claimed her husband yanked her from her daughter's
bed by her hair, dragged her into a hallway, and "banged" her head
against the floor during a domestic argument.

In court papers, Staci M. Graner said her husband has an extensive
history of abusing her and his two children. She said he threatened to
kill her and their children, installed a video camera in their home
without her knowledge and repeatedly broke into the home.

Her lawyer, Nicholas Timperio, of Uniontown, said he was impressed at
the time with Charles Graner's apparent concern for his children.

"Before all of his problems, I thought he was a decent guy. Obviously, I
was wrong," Timperio said Tuesday.

The couple divorced in 2000. There was no record that Graner violated
his PFA orders, and he was never charged with a crime.

Yesterday, Graner's Uniontown residence appeared vacant. Neighbors said
his former wife and their children, now 11 and 13, have moved away.

Graner, a corporal, is among six soldiers of the 372nd Military Police
Co., based in Cumberland, Md., facing courts-martial in Iraq on criminal
charges of dereliction of duty, cruelty and maltreatment, assault and
indecent acts with another person for allegedly abusing prisoners at the
Abu Ghraib Prison near Baghdad late last year.

He is the third western Pennsylvania soldier with the unit who is linked
to the prison scandal. Spc. Jeremy C. Sivits, 24, a mechanic from
Hyndman, Bedford County, also faces criminal charges. Their commander,
Capt. Donald J. Reese, of New Stanton, faces administrative discipline,
according to his wife, Sue, who said her husband was not aware of the
abuse but is being disciplined because he's an officer.

Others charged are Lynndie England, of West Virginia; Staff Sgt. Ivan
"Chip" Frederick, of Virginia, also a prison guard in civilian life;
Sgt. Javal S. Davis, 26, of Mississippi; and Spc. Meghan M. Ambuhl and
Spc. Sabrina D. Harman, both of Maryland.

Meanwhile, Graner's military attorney, Guy L. Womack, of Houston, Tex.,
yesterday defended his client. Womack, a retired Marine lieutenant
colonel and a nationally recognized specialist in military law, said
Graner was only following orders from his superiors.

"If the military officers involved here are only receiving letters of
reprimand, I would hope the soldiers involved, who were only following
orders, would not receive harsher punishments," Womack said.

Among photographs made public last week on the television show "60
Minutes II" was one showing Graner and England posing and smiling behind
a pyramid of naked Iraqi prisoners. According to published reports,
Graner and England are romantically involved, and England has been
reassigned to Fort Bragg, N.C., because she is pregnant.

"From all the information I've seen and heard on television, including
statements from Brig. Gen. Janis Karpinski, it's obvious these soldiers
were acting on orders from intelligence officers over there. One
technique to break down prisoners being interrogated is through
psychological manipulation ... by demeaning and degrading them," Womack
said.

"That's exactly what was going on here. The soldiers would take these
photographs at the request of their officers which would be shown later
to other prisoners by military intelligence, and they would tell these
prisoners, 'Do you want to be treated like this, too?'"

Womack said he believes the photographs, including one of his client and
England, "were clearly staged." He added that he believes members of the
372nd were "not properly trained for this duty."

In civilian life, Graner works as a guard at the State Correctional
Institution in Greene County, a maximum security prison that is home to
most of Pennsylvania's death row inmates. He was hired by the prison
system on May 20, 1996, after he worked six years as a prison guard at
the Fayette County prison, according to records.

Womack said guarding POWs in Iraq "is entirely different."

"These military police officers were trained basically to be traffic
cops. At his civilian job, there was never any incident that indicates
he's ever done anything like this before," Womack said. "In civilian
life here, they are never subjected to anything like guarding Iraqi
prisoners. They are never subject to orders here, where they have to
follow them to break someone down."

Fayette County Prison Warden Larry Medlock declined to release any
information about Graner's employment record there.

"Was I glad he went to the state? Yes," Medlock said.

Sharon D'Eletto, public information officer at SCI Greene, said she
could not discuss Graner's employment history. However, family
acquaintances said he was disciplined once for refusing to work
mandatory overtime, but eventually was reinstated to his job -- with
back pay -- after an arbitrator's decision.

D'Eletto was unsure how his current status will impact his future at the
prison.

"We're just waiting for the military's actions, but as far as I know,
when he is released from military service, he will return to this
institution," D'Eletto said.

Womack said Graner "is doing fine," although he has been reassigned
duties.

"As far as I know, he's still marching with his command over there,"
Womack said.

Womack intends to travel to Iraq within the next month to review the
charges with U.S. military officials there and meet with Graner.

While Graner's attorney spoke to the Tribune-Review yesterday, Sivits'
father, Daniel, said a lawyer for his son advised him not to give
interviews. The Sivits' home in Hyndman, Bedford County, was decorated
with a yellow ribbon around each of the five posts on the front patio
and two signs that read, "We Support Our Troops."

Joe Dwire Sr., president of the Hyndman Volunteer Fire Department, said
he doesn't know how much he should believe about the accusations.

"They're pretty quiet," Dwire said of the Sivits' reputation in Hyndman,
a borough that is about 10 miles north of the Maryland border. "You
don't hear much out of them. They pretty much stay to themselves."

The criminal charges against the soldiers came after a blistering
53-page military report that disclosed prisoners had been subjected to
numerous abuses at the Abu Ghraib Prison between October and December.

The report prepared by Maj. Gen. Antonio M. Taguba concluded a massive
failure in leadership contributed to the torture of prisoners by U.S.
soldiers.

The report outlined instances of soldiers pouring phosphoric liquid and
cold water on prisoners, beating detainees with broom handles,
sodomizing a detainee with a chemical light and possibly a broomstick,
and using military work dogs to frighten and intimidate detainees.

Taguba found the "Army's prison command structure had confused lines of
authority, with scant oversight of subordinate units, and a wide
variation in prisoner handling procedures."

"Riots, shootings and multiple escapes were poorly documented, and
commanders rarely visited the prison to check conditions for themselves.
There was no clear oversight of the two cell blocks where military
intelligence units and the CIA questioned prisoners, and where the worst
abuses occurred," the report said.

Reese was among officers singled out for criticism in the report. Family
members of the officers in the 372nd said the unit had little support
and oversight from their commanding officers.

Taguba recommended that Reese be relieved of his command. The report
accused Reese of "failing to properly supervise his soldiers" and
"failing to properly establish and enforce basic soldier standards."

Repeated attempts to reach Sue Reese yesterday to comment on Taguba's
findings were unsuccessful.

Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld said yesterday the inquiry started
Jan. 13. He vowed that the military is continuing its probe.

"The actions of the soldiers in those photographs are totally
unacceptable and un-American," Rumsfeld said during a Pentagon news
conference. "Any who engaged in such actions let down their comrades who
serve honorably each day."

A former Pennsylvania man is credited as a whistleblower in the scandal.


On the day the inquiry started, Army Spc. Joseph M. Darby, 24, of
Cumberland, Md., and formerly from Somerset County, slipped an anonymous
note to the Army's Criminal Investigation Division that said he had seen
photographs of naked detainees.

Darby and his wife, Bernadette, lived in Somerset County before moving
to Maryland about three years ago, according to acquaintances. Nobody
answered the door yesterday afternoon at a Cumberland address listed for
Bernadette.

Dennis Lehman, superintendent of North Star High School in Boswell,
recalled Darby as "a hard-nosed kid, who always stood up for things he
believed in." Darby graduated from the high school in 1997.

Lehman was Darby's wrestling coach in the 9th grade. He said Darby left
the squad as a sophomore "to devote more time to his education."

As a sophomore, Darby began attending the vocational-technical school,
where he eventually met his future wife, who lived in Central City, and
he felt time constraints attending vocational school did not permit him
to continue wrestling or football, according to Lehman.

"I remember he studied forestry at the vo-tech school, and as a senior
won an award," Lehman said.

Lehman praised his former student.

"We're really proud here of what he did. It's nice to see he's still
standing up for things he really believes in," he said.

Staff writers Matt Junker and Chris Foreman contributed to this story.


Paul Peirce can be reached at ppeirce at tribweb.com or (724) 850-2860.



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