Home
Sergeant gets life sentence for killing fellow U.S. soldiers
2011-08-11
An Army sergeant based at Fort Stewart was sentenced Wednesday to life in a military prison without parole for shooting and killing his infantry squad leader and another U.S. soldier in Iraq after they criticized him for poor performance.
The military jury's sentence also calls for Sgt. Joseph Bozicevich, 41, of Minneapolis to be demoted in rank to private and to receive a dishonorable discharge. The same court-martial convicted him of premeditated murder May 25 in the slayings of Staff Sgt. Darris Dawson of Pensacola, Fla., and Sgt. Wesley Durbin of Dallas at a small patrol base outside Baghdad on Sept. 14, 2008.
The jury's sentence ended Bozicevich's court-martial 112 days after it began on April 20. The trial's final phase was delayed for more than two months after Bozicevich's lead defense attorney was injured in a skydiving accident during a weekend break.
"It allows us to turn the page finally. We've been stuck in this chapter for a long time," said Randy Durbin, father of one of the slain soldiers. "We miss our son and think about him all the time. Having to live our lives without him is very difficult, but that will never change."
[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]
2011-08-11
An Army sergeant based at Fort Stewart was sentenced Wednesday to life in a military prison without parole for shooting and killing his infantry squad leader and another U.S. soldier in Iraq after they criticized him for poor performance.
The military jury's sentence also calls for Sgt. Joseph Bozicevich, 41, of Minneapolis to be demoted in rank to private and to receive a dishonorable discharge. The same court-martial convicted him of premeditated murder May 25 in the slayings of Staff Sgt. Darris Dawson of Pensacola, Fla., and Sgt. Wesley Durbin of Dallas at a small patrol base outside Baghdad on Sept. 14, 2008.
The jury's sentence ended Bozicevich's court-martial 112 days after it began on April 20. The trial's final phase was delayed for more than two months after Bozicevich's lead defense attorney was injured in a skydiving accident during a weekend break.
"It allows us to turn the page finally. We've been stuck in this chapter for a long time," said Randy Durbin, father of one of the slain soldiers. "We miss our son and think about him all the time. Having to live our lives without him is very difficult, but that will never change."
[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]
