Soldier’s dad to travel
to Iraq for son’s court-martial
NEW ORLEANS >> The father of a Schofield Barracks-based soldier charged with murdering an Iraqi civilian will travel to Iraq for the soldier's court-martial.
Army Pfc. Edward Richmond Jr. is accused of shooting Muhamad Husain Kadir, who was handcuffed and unarmed. Richmond is originally from Gonzales, about 60 miles west of New Orleans.
"Our understanding is that our son, Pfc. Edward Richmond, was attached to the 25th Infantry Division and was engaged in a military operation somewhere in the areas of Tikrit, Kirkuk and Mosul when the incident occurred," said a statement from Edward Richmond Sr., the soldier's father. "Pfc. Richmond considered himself to be acting in self-defense of himself and another soldier under the military rules of engagement, training he had received and orders he had been given."
Richmond's father, who lives in Gonzales and operates Richmond Heating & Cooling in Baton Rouge, declined to comment further. He said yesterday that his attorney told him not to discuss his son or the charges.
The statement went on to say Pfc. Richmond would appear before a military board in early August and that his father would travel to Iraq late this month to attend the proceedings.
Richmond is accused of shooting the civilian on Feb. 28 while members of his platoon attempted to arrest the man during a roundup of suspected terrorists in al-Hawijah, a city southeast of Kirkuk.
He is the third U.S. soldier to face a court-martial on a murder charge in the Iraq war.
Army spokesman Maj. Neal O'Brien declined comment, citing the pending legal proceedings.
Richmond's court-martial is to start Aug. 1 in Tikrit. If convicted, he faces a mandatory life term in prison.