Soldier Details Abuse, Offers to Plead Guilty

At another point, he said, a detainee with gunshot wounds to his leg was handcuffed to a bed. Graner then apparently picked up an object and struck the man's wounds "with a half baseball swing," Sivits said. The detainee begged Graner to stop, saying, " 'Mister, Mister please stop,' or words to that effect."

Sivits said Graner responded by saying, "in a baby-type voice, 'Ah, does that hurt?' "

Sivits said he thought Graner hit the captive because "he was still angry because this detainee had tried to kill one of our soldiers."

Paul Bergrin, a Newark lawyer who is representing Davis, said Sivits's statement was "fabricated" and "self-serving."

"This is in order to cover up for his own misdeeds and mischievous behavior," he said.

Guy Womack, an attorney for Graner, said Sivits's statement " is of dubious value because he's trading information to try to help himself."

He also said he is not convinced that the person identified in Sivits's statement is his client. Throughout the statement, Graner's name is spelled "Grainer" and his rank is given as corporal, not specialist.

Sivits said he saw two other soldiers, Specs. Lynndie R. England and Sabrina D. Harman, posing for photos with naked detainees.

Sivits told investigators that the abuse would not have happened had higher-ranking members been present. "Our command would have slammed us," he said. "They believe in doing the right thing. If they saw what was going on, there would be hell to pay."

That statement echoes testimony given by one of the initial investigators on the case. During Ambuhl's Article 32 hearing, a session similar to a grand jury proceeding, Tyler Pieron, an Army criminal investigator, said the abuses occurred "after the chain of command had changed shifts and gone home."

Both Sivits and Pieron said that a sergeant first class at one point witnessed an incident and ordered the soldiers to stop. Pieron said he thought the sergeant saw Davis stepping on a detainee.

"They were surprised at how angry he was when he told them to stop," Pieron said.

Sivits said he did not report the abuse to his commanders because Graner told him not to, "and I try to be friends with everyone. I see now where trying to be friends with everyone can cost you."