Charles Graner Charles A . Graner , Jr . , ( born 1968 ) is a former U . S . Army reservist who was convicted of prisoner abuse in connection with the 2003 – 2004 Abu Ghraib prisoner abuse scandal . Graner , with other soldiers from his unit , the 372nd Military Police Company , was accused of allowing and inflicting sexual , physical , and psychological abuse of Iraqi prisoners of war in Abu Ghraib Prison , a notorious prison in Baghdad during the United States ' occupation of Iraq . He was also convicted of conspiracy to maltreat detainees , failing to protect detainees from abuse , cruelty , and maltreatment , as well as charges of assault , indecency , and dereliction of duty . He was found guilty of all charges on January 14 , 2005 , and sentenced to 10 years in prison , demotion to private , dishonorable discharge and forfeiture of pay and allowances . Charges of adultery and obstruction of justice were dropped before trial . On August 6 , 2011 , Graner was released from the United States Disciplinary Barracks at Fort Leavenworth , Kansas after serving six and a half years of his ten - year sentence . Graner held the rank of specialist in the company during his tour of duty in Iraq . While in Iraq , Specialist Lynndie England , also implicated in the prisoner scandal , became pregnant , allegedly by him . In documentary film " Standard Operating Procedure " , England states that she became pregnant by Graner , although Graner later denied it . Birth and early life . Graner went to Baldwin High School in Baldwin , Allegheny County , Pennsylvania , a suburb of Pittsburgh . He was a member of the student council , student council executive board , drama club and math league . John Castaneda , a family friend for 30 years , was quoted as saying " I feel so bad . He was a real good guy . I have nothing but good things to say about Chuck . Never once did Chuck give anyone a problem . It was always ' Yes , sir ' or ' No , sir . ' He wouldn ' t even call my wife and me by our first names . It was always ' Mr . ' and ' Mrs . ' " After graduating in 1986 , Graner attended the University of Pittsburgh for two years before dropping out to join the Marine Corps Reserve in April 1988 . He had the Marine Corps emblem and the letters " USMC " tattoo ed on his upper right biceps . On June 15 , 1990 , Graner married Staci M . Dean , a 19 - year - old from Ohiopyle , Pennsylvania . The marriage took place in Farmington , Pennsylvania after she became pregnant with the first of their two children . On the marriage license application , Graner listed his occupation as " construction worker . " Trained as a military police man , he served in the Persian Gulf War in 1991 . He was in the Marines until May 1996 , when he left with the rank of lance corporal . Gulf War . Graner was deployed during the Gulf War , serving with the 2nd MP Co , originally of 4th FSSG , 4th Marine Division , a Marine Reserve unit based in Pittsburgh , Pennsylvania . On January 11 , 1991 , he arrived in Saudi Arabia , taking part in Operation Desert Storm . From there , he traveled to the largest prisoner - of - war camp near the Saudi - Kuwaiti border , where he worked for about six weeks . The " Los Angeles Times " interviewed Ross Guidotti , who served at the camp with Graner . Guidotti recalled the night he described as " scary as hell " for him , Graner and about 110 other Marines standing guard . Around 4 , 000 of the camp ' s 20 , 000 captured Iraqis had threatened to riot after " a fierce rain and wind storm blew apart a makeshift mess hall where they were being fed " . Panicked , Iraqi prisoners pushed other prisoners into the razor wire that surrounded the camp , and screaming in Arabic , " Kill us ! We ' re dogs ! We ' re going to die anyway ! " Guidotti remembered grabbing a loaded shotgun and thinking " I ' m dead . " Despite being what Guidotti described as " one of those moments when someone could have set off a massacre " , the crisis was brought to an end when more rations were found to feed the Iraqis : a simple solution that made it into the official Marine history of Desert Storm . Later , following President George H . W . Bush ' s order for a cease - fire by the end of February 1991 , several soldiers , including Guidotti and Graner , returned home on May 15 . Guidotti stated , " Before Chuck Graner ever became known as this sadistic criminal , I ' m going to tell you what I saw — the last image of Chuck Graner burned into my mind : I guess he ' s 22 , his eyes red with tears , crying , holding his little girl with his wife beside him . " Prison guard . After his marriage , he moved to Butler , Pennsylvania , a coal mining area of 12 , 500 people in southwestern Pennsylvania , where his wife ' s family resided . From 1990 to 1994 , he worked as a school custodian . In 1994 , he began working as a corrections officer at Fayette County Prison in a shift with a " no - nonsense reputation . " Once , Graner was accused of putting mace in a new guard ' s coffee as a joke , causing him to be sick . In May 1996 , he moved to the State Correctional Institution , Greene , a maximum - security prison in Greene County , Pennsylvania . Almost 70 percent of the inmates were black , many from large cities , but it was located in a rural part of the state and more than 90 percent of the guards were white . Guards at the prison were accused of beating and sexually assaulting prisoners and conducting cavity searches in view of other prisoners . There were also reports of racism , including reports of guards writing " KKK " in the blood of a beaten prisoner . In 1998 , two guards were fired and 20 others were suspended , demoted or reprimanded for prisoner abuse . In 1998 , a prisoner accused Graner and three other guards of planting a razor blade in his food , causing his mouth to bleed when he ate it . The prisoner accused the guards of first ignoring his cries for help and then punching and kicking him when they took him to the nurse . Graner was accused of telling him to " Shut up , nigger , before we kill you . " The allegations were denied ; although a federal magistrate judge ruled that the charges had " arguable merit in fact and law , " the case was dismissed when the prisoner disappeared after his release . Graner and four other guards were also accused of beating another prisoner who had deliberately flooded his cell , taunting anti - capital punishment protesters , using racial epithets and telling a Muslim inmate he had rubbed pork all over his tray of food . A second lawsuit involving Graner was brought by a prisoner who claimed that guards made him stand on one foot while they handcuffed and tripped him . This allegation , however , was ruled to have been made too late under the statute of limitations . Domestic abuse . In May 1997 , Graner ' s wife and mother of their two children filed for divorce and sought a protection order , saying Graner had threatened to kill her . A six - month order was granted , unopposed by Graner . Shortly after the first one expired , Staci Dean was granted a second protection order , saying Graner had come to her house , thrown her against some furniture , thrown her on the bed , grabbed her arm and hit her face with her arm . Three years later , Dean called police after Graner came to her house and attacked her . Dean said Graner had " yanked me out of bed by my hair , dragging me and all the covers into the hall and tried to throw me down the steps . " Afterwards , Graner called a friend of Dean ' s and allegedly said , " I have nothing if she ' s not my wife , she ' s dead . " Graner admitted the attack and a third order of protection was granted . Soon after , an order of protection was granted against Graner to protect his estranged wife . This resulted from Graner ' s comment to Dean that " she could keep his gun s , because he did not need them for what he was going to do to the plaintiff . " Abu Ghraib . In November 2003 , Graner was awarded a commendation from the Army for serving as a MP in Iraq . Allegations . Thirteen prisoners were interviewed by military investigators after the abuse allegations emerged . Eight of them named Graner as one of the abusers , and the other five described a person fitting his description . The investigation report named Graner as a ringleader of the abuse . One of the prisoners , Kasim Mehaddi Hilas , said that one day he asked Graner for the time so that he could pray . Graner handcuffed him to the bars of a cell window and left him there , feet dangling off the floor , for nearly five hours . On another occasion , Graner and other soldiers tied a prisoner to a bed and sodomized him with a phosphoric light while another soldier took photographs . Another prisoner , Abdou Hussain Saad Faleh , said Graner forced him to stand on a food box , naked except for a blanket . Another soldier then put a bag over his head and electrodes on his fingers , toes and penis . The picture of this incident was one of the first pictures whose publication prompted the investigation . A third prisoner , Mohanded Juma Juma , said Graner often threw food into the toilets and told the prisoners to eat it . Specialist Jeremy Sivits , a soldier who pleaded guilty to charges relating to the Abu Ghraib investigation , alleged that Graner once punched a prisoner in the head so hard that he lost consciousness . Court - martial . Article 39a hearing . Due to security problems with holding pre - trial hearings in Baghdad , the case was transferred to Germany . On August 23 , Graner appeared before military judge Colonel James Pohl at a high - security Army base in the city of Mannheim in southwest Germany . On that day , Article 39a hearings were held . These preliminary hearings usually function as an arraignment and allow the judge to hear and decide on motions made by the prosecutor and the defense . Graner appeared with Specialist Megan Ambuhl , along with his civilian attorneys and appointed military defense lawyers . During the Article 39a hearing , attorneys for Harman and Graner made discovery motions . Pohn set a deadline of September 10 for the government to provide the defense team with the documents requested , and ordered the release of a U . S . Army report performed by the Criminal Investigational Division on investigative procedures , as well as the Schlesinger panel report . Graner ' s attorney ( as well as attorneys for several others charged ) also moved to suppress evidence of statements made to Army investigators during interrogation s , as well as seizure of a computer . Also requested was a change of venue , because some witnesses could not be compelled to come to Iraq to testify . In addition , the defense sought immunity from prosecution for several people so they may testify for the defense . The judge denied all three motions , and also ruled that video testimony and depositions could be used as evidence . October 22 hearing . Another pre - trial hearing was held on October 22 , at Camp Victory in Baghdad , with Pohl again presiding as judge . Pohl set January 7 , 2005 , as the trial date and again denied a defense motion to grant immunity to several witnesses so they could testify without fear of incrimination . On November 11 , Lieutenant Colonel Fred Taylor , a judge advocate in the regional defense counsel ' s office at Camp Victory , ordered that all further hearings in the case will be held at Fort Hood , Texas . Not guilty plea and court - martial member selection . The trial officially began on January 7 , at the Williams Judicial Center in Fort Hood , with Colonel James Pohl presiding . A ten - member , all - male court - martial was seated , consisting of four officers and six enlisted men — all of whom had served in either Iraq or Afghanistan . Under military law , three fourths of the members must vote guilty to convict a person of each charge . Graner entered a not - guilty plea to each of the five charges . Two officers detailed as members of the court were not seated — Colonel Allen Batschelet for saying he was embarrassed as an Army officer after seeing the photos and had strong views about the case , and Lieutenant Colonel Mark Kormos by the prosecutors for no reason given . During the session a list of potential witnesses was also made public . It included three other soldiers in Graner ' s unit from western Pennsylvania : Captain Donald Reese of New Stanton , Specialist Jeremy Sivits of Bedford County , and Sergeant Joseph Darby of Somerset County . Reese was the unit commander and had been reprimanded in connection with Abu Ghraib ; Sivits had already pled guilty in a plea bargain ; Darby was the soldier who first reported the situation at Abu Ghraib . At the hearing several other possible witnesses were listed , including the prerecorded video depositions of three Iraqi prisoners — two for the prosecution and one for the defense . Graner ' s lawyer , Guy Womack , said he was not sure whether Graner would testify for himself . After the hearing journalists interviewed Graner outside the courtroom , where Graner expressed a positive attitude , saying " Whatever happens here is going to happen . I still try to stay positive . " Testimony . Opening statement s began on January 10 . During this hearing , witness testimony began . Three soldiers in Graner ' s unit testified ; the first was Specialist Matthew Wisdom , who first reported the situation at Abu Ghraib . Wisdom said that Graner had enjoyed beating inmates ( saying that he had laughed , whistled , and sung ) and was the one who first thought of arranging the prisoners in naked human pyramids and other positions . On this day the Military Judge , Michael Hunter , banned any further reporting of the hearing . Testimony continued the next day , as Syrian foreign fighter Ameed al - Sheikh told the court in video testimony that Graner had beaten him while he was recovering from a bullet wound . Al - Sheikh described Graner as the " primary torturer " and said that he had forced him to eat pork , drink alcohol , and thank Jesus for keeping him alive . Another detainee , Hussein Mutar , testified that Graner had forced him , like al - Sheikh , to eat pork , drink alcohol , and curse Islam . He was also forced to masturbate in public and was one of the men stacked into a pyramid naked . On January 11 , military prosecutors also presented evidence not publicly released , including a video of forced group masturbation and a picture of a female prisoner being forced to show her breasts . Following orders . The main defense was that Graner was following orders from , and supervised by , intelligence officers . Graner and others testified that many senior officers were aware of the activities and actively supported them . This is why he was not worried about taking and distributing the photographs which were later used against him . Referring to military intelligence , Graner testified " I nearly beat an MI detainee to death with MI there " before Pohl cut him off . A formal complaint about the abuse was filed by Specialist Matthew Wisdom in November 2003 but was ignored by the military . Private Ivan Frederick ( previously convicted of abuse ) said he had consulted six senior officers , ranging from captains to lieutenant - colonels , about the guards ' actions but was never told to stop . Despite this , the prosecution did not call any senior officers to testify . Womack suggests that this was not because they " just forgot " to do so . White House Counsel Alberto Gonzales had issued a memo which defined torture very narrowly as " intentionally causing permanent damage to vital organs or permanent emotional trauma " . This would have excluded Graner ' s acts of intimidation . However the prosecution argued that even if he was following orders from senior officers , he should have known that the orders were illegal . Verdict . On January 15 , 2005 , Graner was found guilty of assault , battery , conspiracy , maltreatment of detainees , committing indecent acts and dereliction of duty and sentenced to 10 years ' imprisonment , reduction in rank to private , a dishonorable discharge , and the loss of all pay and benefits . Defense lawyer Guy Womack contended that Graner and the six other Abu Ghraib guards charged with abuses were being scapegoated . For example , the Washington Post reported in 2004 that a torture position known as a " Palestinian hanging " , where a prisoner is suspended by their hands behind their back , was approved by the Bush administration for use in CIA interrogations ( termed an " enhanced interrogation technique " by the CIA ) . Graner ' s mother , Irma Graner said , " You know it ' s the higher - ups that should be on trial . . . they let the little guys take the fall for them . But the truth will come out eventually . " Life post - trial . Graner was imprisoned in the United States Disciplinary Barracks in Leavenworth , Kansas . In 2005 , while serving time for his role in the Abu Ghraib scandal , Graner married fellow Abu Ghraib guard Megan Ambuhl . Because she was not permitted to see him for the first 2 . 5 years of his incarceration , a friend stood in for him during the wedding . Ambuhl previously pled guilty to two minor charges but served no jail time and was discharged . Upon his release from prison after serving six and one half years of a ten - year sentence , Graner and his wife have declined interview requests . Graner will remain on parole until December 2014 .