IV 

109TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. RES. 502 

Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives with respect to the 

senseless and unwarranted criminal prosecution of 2nd Lt. Erick J. 

Anderson, United States Army. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

OCTOBER 19, 2005 

Mr. LATOURETTE (for himself and Mr. RYAN of Ohio) submitted the following 

resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Armed Services 

RESOLUTION 

Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives with 

respect to the senseless and unwarranted criminal prosecution of 2nd Lt. Erick J. Anderson, United States 

Army. 

Whereas Erick J. Anderson grew up in Twinsburg, Ohio, and 

earned an engineering degree in 2002 from Youngstown 

State University, where he also played football under 

Coach Jim Tressel; 

Whereas following the attack on our Nation on September 

11, 2001, Anderson felt a call to duty and selflessly enlisted in the United States Army so he could serve his 

country after one of the darkest moments in America’s 

history; 
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•HRES 502 IH 

Whereas in June 2004, 2nd Lt. Anderson and the 41st Infantry of Fort Riley, Kansas, were sent to Iraq to participate in Operation Iraqi Freedom; 

Whereas in the early morning hours of August 18, 2004, 2nd 

Lt. Erick J. Anderson led a platoon in Sadr City, Iraq, 

and came upon a garbage truck that appeared to be 

dropping roadside bombs; a firefight ensued and several 

Iraqi citizens were killed or injured, including a gravely 

injured 16-year-old Iraqi teen who witnesses described as 

badly burned with his intestines hanging out; 

Whereas 2 members of Anderson’s platoon, Staff Sgts. Johnny Horne and Cardenas Alban, each shot the Iraqi teen 

to put him out of his misery and termed it a mercy killing; the United States did not take possession of the 

body or perform an autopsy; Horne and Alban were 

charged on September 27, 2004, with premeditated murder, and their Article 32 hearings began in late October 

2004; 

Whereas on November 15, 2004, platoon leader Anderson 

was charged with premeditated murder and conspiracy to 

commit premeditated murder for the death of the Iraqi 

teen who was shot by Anderson’s subordinates; no allegation was made that 2nd Lt. Anderson fired his own rifle 

into the victim and 2nd Lt. Anderson was never incarcerated; 

Whereas 2nd Lt. Anderson asserted his total innocence and 

stated that he did not witness, authorize, or order the 

shooting of the Iraqi teen; a vigorous legal defense was 

mounted for his Article 32 hearing at Camp Liberty in 

Baghdad, which was scheduled for December 14, 2004, 

and later continued until January 19, 2005; 
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•HRES 502 IH 

Whereas on December 10, 2004, Horne, who had admitted 

shooting the Iraqi teen, pleaded guilty to one count of 

murder and one count of conspiracy to commit murder 

in a plea bargain; he was sentenced to three years in 

prison (two years suspended), and given a dishonorable 

discharge; 

Whereas on January 4, 2005, all charges were quietly 

dropped against 2nd Lt. Anderson without prejudice, 

meaning they could be refiled at a later date, and 2nd 

Lt. Anderson returned to combat in Iraq in command of 

a mortar platoon with full patrol and raid duties; 

Whereas on January 14, 2005, Alban, who also admitted 

shooting the Iraqi teen, became the second person convicted of murder; he was convicted by court-martial of 

one count of murder and one count of conspiracy to commit murder; he was sentenced to one year in prison and 

given a dishonorable discharge; 

Whereas on January 18, 2005, there was a public announcement of the dismissal of murder charges against 2nd Lt. 

Anderson; 

Whereas on January 27, 2005, Mr. LaTourette of Ohio wrote 

to Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld and questioned 

the decision to put Anderson back in combat with the 

legal proceedings still hanging over his head, and urged 

the military to charge Anderson or fully dismiss the 

charges; 

Whereas in February 2005, 2nd Lt. Anderson remained in 

combat in Iraq in command of a mortar platoon with full 

patrol and raid duties and no charges were filed or 

refiled; 
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•HRES 502 IH 

Whereas on March 9, 2005, Mr. John W. Miller, II, Sr. Legislative Counsel at the Pentagon, responded to Mr. 

LaTourette of Ohio and wrote ‘‘. . . a Soldier’s commander determines the duty responsibilities of his subordinates’’ and that Anderson was ‘‘presently performing 

duties as directed, and in accordance with the presumption of innocence’’; 

Whereas in March, April, and May of 2005, 2nd Lt. Anderson remained in combat in Iraq in command of a mortar 

platoon with full patrol and raid duties and no charges 

were filed or refiled; 

Whereas on May 5, 2005, Spec. Brent May of the 41st Infantry was convicted by court-martial of one count of premeditated murder for the shooting death on August 28, 

2005, of an Iraqi civilian in Sadr City, Baghdad; May 

was sentenced to five years in prison and given a dishonorable discharge; the United States did not take possession of the victim’s body or perform an autopsy; 

Whereas on May 13, 2005, Sgt. Michael Williams of the 41st 

Infantry was convicted by court-martial of one count of 

premeditated murder and one count of unpremeditated 

murder for the shooting death on August 28, 2005, of an 

Iraqi civilian in Sadr City, Baghdad; he was sentenced to 

life in prison and given a dishonorable discharge; the 

United States did not take possession of the victim’s 

body or perform an autopsy; 

Whereas on June 13, 2005, 2nd Lt. Anderson and the 41st 

Infantry were redeployed to Fort Riley, Kansas, after 

completing a one-year tour of duty in Iraq and participating in Operation Iraqi Freedom; 
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•HRES 502 IH 

Whereas in June, July, and August 2005, no charges were 

filed or refiled against 2nd Lt. Anderson; 

Whereas in September 2005, prosecutors at Fort Riley, Kansas, ‘‘hinted’’ to Anderson that his legal problems would 

go away if he agreed to plead guilty to one count of dereliction of duty; no formal plea bargain was offered and 

2nd Lt. Anderson told prosecutors he had done nothing 

wrong and would not plead guilty to any charges; 2nd Lt. 

Anderson was told by prosecutors they would ‘‘charge 

him with everything they can think of’’ and ‘‘see if anything sticks’’; 

Whereas on October 3, 2005, nearly nine months to the day 

after murder charges were quietly dismissed, murder 

charges were refiled against 2nd Lt. Anderson and additional charges were also levied; 2nd Lt. Anderson was 

charged with two murders of Iraqi citizens, one on August 18, 2004, and one on August 28, 2004, and prosecutors alleged that he shot the victims with his own 

rifle; 2nd Lt. Anderson was also charged with conspiracy 

to commit the two murders, dereliction of duty, conduct 

unbecoming an officer, and making a false statement by 

telling investigators in September 2004 that he heard no 

third shot fired in the death of an Iraqi civilian on August 28, 2004; 

Whereas 2nd Lt. Erick J. Anderson, who faces life in prison 

or the death penalty, has again professed his total innocence and states emphatically that he did not murder, 

witness the murder, conspire to murder, or order the 

murder of the Iraqi civilians on August 18, 2004, or on 

August 28, 2004; he also has denied making a false 

statement, engaging in conduct unbecoming an officer, or 

being derelict in his duties; he plans a vigorous defense 
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•HRES 502 IH 

of the senseless and false charges that have been brought 

against him; 

Whereas in his annual Officer Evaluation Report that covers 

the period of the offenses detailed above, 2nd Lt. Erick 

J. Anderson’s superior officers evaluated his performance 

from October 30, 2003, to October 29, 2004; they suggested that he ‘‘needs to be in a position of greater responsibility now,’’ should be promoted to 1st Lieutenant 

‘‘now’’ and should be promoted ‘‘ahead of peers’’; they 

stated that— 

(1) ‘‘2LT Anderson’s performance has been outstanding. As my newest Platoon Leader, 2LT Anderson’s 

ability to quickly learn his role as a key leader in the 

Charlie Company has been refreshing.’’; 

(2) ‘‘As the junior lieutenant in the company, 2LT 

Anderson was tasked as the Unit Movement Officer for 

the company. Under his leadership the planning, preparation, and packaging of all company equipment was executed flawlessly and set the standard for the battalion. 

His ruthless attention to details left the company 100% 

ready to deploy to Iraq.’’; 

(3) ‘‘While in Sadr City, Iraq, 2LT Anderson led his 

platoon on numerous major combat operations, i.e. Iron 

Fury, Stalwart Fury II, Stalwart Swarm, and Stalwart 

Flood. Also he led his platoon on numerous mounted and 

dismounted patrols without a KIA (killed in action). This 

is truly a testament to his ability to lead troops in combat.’’; 

(4) ‘‘2LT Anderson has quickly learned what it 

means to be a leader in combat. He needs to be in a position of greater responsibility now. 2LT Anderson would 

make an outstanding Company Executive Officer. Promote to 1LT now.’’; and 
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•HRES 502 IH 

(5) ‘‘Mentally tough and physically fit, 2LT Anderson is in the top 50% of all lieutenants that I senior rate. 

Erick has operated in one of the toughest areas in the 

Baghdad Area of Operations and has led his platoon well. 

He is one of my top picks for a specialty platoon. 2LT 

Anderson will be a great Company Commander in the 

near future. Promote ahead of peers.’’; and 

Whereas 2nd Lt. Erick J. Anderson continues to love his 

country, loves the Army, and wants to return to Iraq to 

participate in Operation Iraqi Freedom: Now, therefore, 

be it 

1 Resolved, That it is the sense of the House of Rep2 resentatives that— 

3 (1) 2nd Lt. Erick J. Anderson was defending 

4 the cause of freedom, democracy, and liberty and his 

5 actions of August 18, 2004, and August 28, 2004, 

6 did not cause the deaths of Iraqi civilians; he did not 

7 order the deaths of Iraqi citizens, did not witness 

8 the deaths of Iraqi civilians, is not derelict in his du9 ties, and did not make false statements; 

10 (2) the United States Government has already 

11 secured four murder convictions for the deaths of 

12 the two Iraqi civilians on August 18, 2004, and Au13 gust 28, 2004, and the United States Government 

14 knows definitively that at least three of the convicted 

15 defendants shot the victims; 

16 (3) there should be the highest standard of 

17 proof before the United States takes seriously any 
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1 allegation that an outstanding, respected, and well2 trained Army officer would allow or condone the in3 tentional killing of unarmed or incapacitated persons 

4 in combat; 

5 (4) 2nd Lt. Erick J. Anderson should be com6 mended for refusing to cave under enormous pres7 sure or admit guilt when he knows he is innocent of 

8 all charges; and 

9 (5) the United States Government should dis10 miss all charges against 2nd Lt. Erick J. Anderson 

11 relating to the deaths referred to in paragraph (1). 

Æ