Court correction
Behenna says pardon based on misconduct by prosecutors
Former U.S. Army 1st Lt. Michael Behenna said Wednesday that he received a pardon from President Donald Trump because his 2009 trial for killing an Iraqi prisoner was unfair.
“There have been reports out there that I was pardoned because I killed an Iraqi or killed an Arab or killed a Muslim,” Behenna said at a news conference in Oklahoma City.
“This isn't the reason that I received a pardon. What I was told by President Trump was — and what came out in his press release — was I received a pardon because of the prosecutorial misconduct that happened during my trial.”
Behenna, who was convicted in 2009 of unpremeditated murder in a combat zone, received a pardon on Monday from Trump.
The White House said in a statement that “the U.S. Army's highest appellate court noted concern about how the trial court had handled Mr. Behenna's claim of self-defense. Additionally, the Army Clemency and Parole Board reduced his sentence to 15 years and paroled him as soon as he was eligible in 2014 — just 5 years into his sentence.”
Behenna said Wednesday, “If you believe trials are a search for justice and the truth, in my case, the prosecutorial misconduct that happened was not corrected by appellate courts. They ended up protecting
the prosecutorial misconduct that happened during my trial. So President Trump corrected — this is his way of correcting what happened during my trial.”
Behenna spoke personally to the president on Monday afternoon.
Behenna, 35, was accompanied at the news conference by his parents, Vicki and Scott Behenna, and brother Brett. All three worked for years on Behenna's appeals and on getting him paroled and pardoned. They thanked former Gov. Mary Fallin, Oklahoma Attorney General Mike Hunter, U.S. Sens. Jim Inhofe and James Lankford, and lawyers who worked on the case at various levels.
Vicki Behenna said the family asked for a pardon “primarily because he was serving his country in a combat zone at the time this incident occurred.”
She said they will now seek to have his Army discharge status upgraded from “dismissal,'' which, they said was the equivalent of a dishonorable discharge, to honorable discharge or general discharge.
Michael Behenna was a platoon leader in Iraq when he killed Ali Mansur in 2008. Behenna suspected Mansur had been involved in an attack that killed two of his platoon members and wounded two others. He and members of his platoon took Mansur to a remote area, where Behenna cut off his clothes, had him sit on a rock and threatened him with a pistol.
At trial, Behenna conceded that he didn't have the legal authority to question Mansur, but said he shot him in selfdefense after Mansur jumped up and reached for his gun.
A forensic expert witness for the government was never called to testify, but told Behenna's attorney — near the trial's conclusion — that he would have made a good witness for them. Both sides learned on the last day of the trial that the expert would have testified that Behenna's story was supported by crime scene evidence.
Behenna said Wednesday that the theory advanced by military prosecutors “was that I took Mansur out to execute him. This was their theory during trial. The prosecutors never put on any forensics experts. They never proved their theory during trial.
“Their own forensic expert supported me.”
After losing appeals in military courts, Behenna sought review by the U.S. Supreme Court, which declined to hear the case.
The U.S. Justice Department urged the court not to hear the case, saying a ruling against Behenna by the top military appeals court was correct.
“In light of the totality of circumstances, the court correctly held that (Behenna) forfeited his right to self-defense when he became the aggressor against his prisoner,” the Justice Department's solicitor general's office said in its brief.
Behenna was first sentenced to 25 years, though that was reduced twice by a total of 10 years. He was released on parole in 2014 and has been living in a rural area of Oklahoma since.
Behenna, who grew up in Edmond, said Wednesday that his parole and pardon were “both happy occasions.”
“When I came home (in 2014), I just wanted to be left alone and wanted family close. I think that's the result of where I came from, just spending five years in Leavenworth.
“Five years later, I like talking to people and going out. So there's a difference … I enjoy what I'm doing right now. I work on a cattle ranch in Guthrie, I have 20 acres of my own, horses and chickens and goats and cattle.”