.Martinez, in his words
ALBANY -- In his first public statements since a 2005 double-murder arrest in Iraq, now-acquitted Staff Sgt. Alberto Martinez of Rensselaer County said Tuesday he was "very, very innocent" of the slayings -- yet expected a guilty verdict.
"When the jurors came out of the deliberating room, I thought I was going to be convicted," Martinez, 41, of Schaghticoke, told the Times Union in a series of e-mails late Tuesday, "and it felt like I was dropping into a bottomless pit."
A 14-member military jury acquitted Martinez on Thursday after a two-month court-martial at Fort Bragg, N.C. He faced a possible death penalty if convicted of murdering Capt. Phillip Esposito, 30, of Suffern, and 1st Lt. Louis Allen, 34, of Milford, Pa. ,on a military base in Tikrit, Iraq.
The verdict stunned victims' family members, some of whom relocated to North Carolina for the duration of the trial. The officers' June 8, 2005, deaths have left wives without husbands, parents without sons and children without fathers and, at trial's end, military prosecutors without a conviction many expected.
In e-mailed answers containing several misspellings, Martinez stated there were "many suspects out there" who could have committed the crime, considered one of the Iraq War's first examples of "fragging," or killing of superior officers.
When acquitted, "It felt good," Martinez wrote, adding, a "lot of pressure came out of my chest, but still scared on what (could) happen."
Asked to identify what he believes caused the June 7, 2005, incident, Martinez stated, "I don't know. Nobody knows what happened on that night."
Asked what he would tell those who disagree with the verdict, he replied, "They should h(ave) been there throughout the whole trial. If so, they would understand what is going on. Most of (these) people read the newspaper and convict somebody by hearsay on what they read."
Martinez's whereabouts have been kept secret by the Army. He would only say he was "somewhere in the United States" that did not include New York or North Carolina.
When asked if he expected to stay in the Army or National Guard, which he joined in 1990, Martinez said "no," adding, "Not too many people are happy with me."
When asked, he said he did not plan to remain around Albany, stating, "No, my name (has) been trashed in the capital area."
Asked if the verdict was, in fact, accurate, Martinez replied, "I am very, very, very innocent on (these) alleged charges, adding with an underline, "and that is fact."
Questioned why he did not take the stand in his own defense, Martinez answered, "There was no need for me to testify. All the witness were speaking on my behalf."
Prosecution witnesses testified that Martinez not only threatened to "burn" and "frag" Esposito, but that he received Claymore mines, a deadly explosive containing 700 steel ball-bearings that was used in the June 7, 2005 blasts. Esposito and Allen died the next day. Martinez was arrested days later, setting the stage for a three-and-a-half year legal battle that ended Thursday night.
Asked about allegedly incriminating statements he made about Esposito, Martinez said he made "good comment and bad comment," adding, "no matter what I said (it's) all bad for the prosecutor."
Martinez said he had not seen his wife, Tammy, more than 10 times, or his son and daughter more than three times, since his arrest. They went to a Friendly's restaurant down South after the verdict, he stated.
"It feel good kissing my wife, Tamara, and hugging my kids (without) somebody supervising me," he wrote.
Martinez's wife told the Times Union in an e-mail Tuesday her family is "greatly indebted" to his Army defense attorneys, saying, "We are truly happy that we had such a great team on our side ... and that our judicial system worked."
She added, "Our sympathies are with the Allen and Esposito families as this whole process was very hard on all of our families."
Infuriated family members of the victim still squarely blame Martinez for the crimes. The lieutenant's mother, Vivian Allen of Chester, Orange County, blasted the judge overseeing the case on Friday. She also said the jury's decision "murdered my son all over again."
Meanwhile, the slain officers' wives, Siobhan Esposito and Barbara Allen, have formed a blog together, called "Widows United for Justice" or http://widowsunited.blogspot.com.
"Our husbands were brutally murdered in Iraq by Alberto Martinez, a (soldier) under our husbands' command," the blog stated. "This is our personal testament to the injustice to which we have been forced to stand witness."
When asked what he would tell the families of the victims, Martinez said, "No matter what I say to them, in their heart I'm still the bad person."
On Tuesday, Fort Bragg officials issued a statement saying that "action is being taken to have (Martinez) released from active duty back to the National Guard, of which he is still a member." The chief prosecutor at Fort Bragg told reporters Thursday night that Martinez's time in the National Guard had concluded.
Eric Durr, a spokesman for the state Division of Military and Naval Affairs in New York, said Tuesday afternoon that Martinez has "not been released from active duty" and is not yet back in the National Guard.
TimesUnion
"When the jurors came out of the deliberating room, I thought I was going to be convicted," Martinez, 41, of Schaghticoke, told the Times Union in a series of e-mails late Tuesday, "and it felt like I was dropping into a bottomless pit."
A 14-member military jury acquitted Martinez on Thursday after a two-month court-martial at Fort Bragg, N.C. He faced a possible death penalty if convicted of murdering Capt. Phillip Esposito, 30, of Suffern, and 1st Lt. Louis Allen, 34, of Milford, Pa. ,on a military base in Tikrit, Iraq.
The verdict stunned victims' family members, some of whom relocated to North Carolina for the duration of the trial. The officers' June 8, 2005, deaths have left wives without husbands, parents without sons and children without fathers and, at trial's end, military prosecutors without a conviction many expected.
In e-mailed answers containing several misspellings, Martinez stated there were "many suspects out there" who could have committed the crime, considered one of the Iraq War's first examples of "fragging," or killing of superior officers.
When acquitted, "It felt good," Martinez wrote, adding, a "lot of pressure came out of my chest, but still scared on what (could) happen."
Asked to identify what he believes caused the June 7, 2005, incident, Martinez stated, "I don't know. Nobody knows what happened on that night."
Asked what he would tell those who disagree with the verdict, he replied, "They should h(ave) been there throughout the whole trial. If so, they would understand what is going on. Most of (these) people read the newspaper and convict somebody by hearsay on what they read."
Martinez's whereabouts have been kept secret by the Army. He would only say he was "somewhere in the United States" that did not include New York or North Carolina.
When asked if he expected to stay in the Army or National Guard, which he joined in 1990, Martinez said "no," adding, "Not too many people are happy with me."
When asked, he said he did not plan to remain around Albany, stating, "No, my name (has) been trashed in the capital area."
Asked if the verdict was, in fact, accurate, Martinez replied, "I am very, very, very innocent on (these) alleged charges, adding with an underline, "and that is fact."
Questioned why he did not take the stand in his own defense, Martinez answered, "There was no need for me to testify. All the witness were speaking on my behalf."
Prosecution witnesses testified that Martinez not only threatened to "burn" and "frag" Esposito, but that he received Claymore mines, a deadly explosive containing 700 steel ball-bearings that was used in the June 7, 2005 blasts. Esposito and Allen died the next day. Martinez was arrested days later, setting the stage for a three-and-a-half year legal battle that ended Thursday night.
Asked about allegedly incriminating statements he made about Esposito, Martinez said he made "good comment and bad comment," adding, "no matter what I said (it's) all bad for the prosecutor."
Martinez said he had not seen his wife, Tammy, more than 10 times, or his son and daughter more than three times, since his arrest. They went to a Friendly's restaurant down South after the verdict, he stated.
"It feel good kissing my wife, Tamara, and hugging my kids (without) somebody supervising me," he wrote.
Martinez's wife told the Times Union in an e-mail Tuesday her family is "greatly indebted" to his Army defense attorneys, saying, "We are truly happy that we had such a great team on our side ... and that our judicial system worked."
She added, "Our sympathies are with the Allen and Esposito families as this whole process was very hard on all of our families."
Infuriated family members of the victim still squarely blame Martinez for the crimes. The lieutenant's mother, Vivian Allen of Chester, Orange County, blasted the judge overseeing the case on Friday. She also said the jury's decision "murdered my son all over again."
Meanwhile, the slain officers' wives, Siobhan Esposito and Barbara Allen, have formed a blog together, called "Widows United for Justice" or http://widowsunited.blogspot.com.
"Our husbands were brutally murdered in Iraq by Alberto Martinez, a (soldier) under our husbands' command," the blog stated. "This is our personal testament to the injustice to which we have been forced to stand witness."
When asked what he would tell the families of the victims, Martinez said, "No matter what I say to them, in their heart I'm still the bad person."
On Tuesday, Fort Bragg officials issued a statement saying that "action is being taken to have (Martinez) released from active duty back to the National Guard, of which he is still a member." The chief prosecutor at Fort Bragg told reporters Thursday night that Martinez's time in the National Guard had concluded.
Eric Durr, a spokesman for the state Division of Military and Naval Affairs in New York, said Tuesday afternoon that Martinez has "not been released from active duty" and is not yet back in the National Guard.
TimesUnion
posted by madtom at 4:12 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home