A woman trying to help is set on fire and now has to heal. A veteran trying to help as a contractor charged with killing the man who set the woman on fire. The troops, who saw it all, have to heal from what they saw. Pray for all of them and then pray the right blend of justice is found.
Killing in Afghanistan hits very close to home.
New Orleans man is accused of cold-blooded crime.
Wednesday, December 17, 2008
By Bruce Alpert
WASHINGTON -- Paula Loyd, a social scientist helping U.S. troops adjust to the cultural and political landscape of war-ravaged Afghanistan, was talking to residents of a village near Kandihar last month when, without warning, one of the men ignited a container of flammable liquid and tossed it at her, setting her on fire.
With Loyd, 36, engulfed in flames, the attacker fled, running about 50 yards in the direction of Don Ayala, a New Orleans man working as a private security contractor to protect Loyd and other members of her Army Human Terrain System team. Ayala, according to an affidavit from an Army special agent, drew his pistol but did not fire, instead extending his arm to knock the attacker, Abdul Salam, to the ground.
Assisted by soldiers from C Company, 2-2 Infantry Battalion, Ayala subdued Salam, and handcuffed him with plastic restraints, although the man continued to resist, according to the affidavit. About 10 minutes later, a soldier passed word to Ayala and the U.S. soldiers that Loyd's condition was very bad.
At the news, Ayala pushed his pistol against Salam's head and shot him once, killing him instantly, according to the affidavit prepared by Army Criminal Investigation Division Special Agent Jennifer Bryan.
Now, more than a month after the Nov. 4 incident, Ayala, a decorated former member of the Army Rangers and Special Forces, stands accused of second-degree murder. He is the first military contractor charged under the 8-year-old Military Extraterritorial Jurisdiction Act that allows prosecution of civilian contractors accused of crimes while working for the United States in a foreign country.
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Paula Loyd, the woman who received second and third degree burns over 60% of her body died today after a couple of months of suffering.
ReplyDeleteDon Ayala deserves a medal, not a trial.
After reading this story, I tend to think the same thing. I doubt may people could blame him.
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