Jeremy Sivits
Template:Short description Template:Infobox military person Jeremy Charles Sivits (December 10, 1979 – January 16, 2022) was a United States Army reservist. He was one of several soldiers charged and convicted by the U.S. Army in connection with the 2003–2004 Abu Ghraib prisoner abuse scandal in Baghdad, Iraq, during and after the 2003 invasion of Iraq. Sivits was a member of the 372nd Military Police Company during this time.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>
Sivits took photographs at the Abu Ghraib prison which became notorious after being aired on 60 Minutes II.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> His father, Daniel Sivits, a former serviceman, said that he was trained as a mechanic, not a prison guard,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> and that he "was just doing what he was told to do".<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Sivits was the first soldier convicted in connection with the Abu Ghraib incidents.<ref name=wapo>Template:Cite news</ref>
He died from COVID-19 in Roaring Spring, Pennsylvania, on January 16, 2022, at age 42, during the COVID-19 pandemic in Pennsylvania.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Court martial
On May 5, 2004, Sivits was charged under Uniform Code of Military Justice with conspiracy to maltreat detainees, maltreatment of detainees, and dereliction of duty for negligently failing to protect detainees from abuse, cruelty and maltreatment.<ref name=bbc>Template:Cite web</ref> His special court-martial was held on May 19, 2004, in Baghdad.
Sivits pleaded guilty and testified against some of his fellow soldiers.<ref name=nyt1>Template:Cite news</ref> Sivits' testimony included reporting seeing Charles Graner punching a naked detainee "with a closed fist so hard in the temple that it knocked the detainee unconscious".<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Sivits also testified seeing Lynndie England stomping on the feet and hands of detainees with her boots.<ref name=nyt1/> Human Rights Watch and other human rights groups were not permitted to attend the trial.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
The court martial sentenced Sivits to the maximum sentence, one year of confinement, in addition to being discharged for bad conduct and demoted from specialist to private.<ref name=bbc/>
After the Army, although a mechanic by trade, Sivits worked as substance abuse counselor. In a 2018 interview, Sivits showed remorse for his actions, saying that he "hate[s] himself".<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>