Dustin Berg Dustin Berg ( February 19 , 1983 ) is a former member of the Indiana National Guard . In July 2005 , he pled guilty to shooting Hussein Kamel Hadi Dawood al - Zubeidi , who had been his partner during the U . S . Occupation of Iraq . He was sentenced to serve 18 months . Berg ' s original claim of self - defense was initially believed , and he was awarded a Purple Heart for the event that later earned him detention , demotion and a Bad Conduct Discharge . Investigation . Berg initially told investigators that he had been shot by the Iraqi police officer and then returned fire , killing him . Capt . Dan Stigall , who prosecuted the case , said Berg stuck with that story until 2004 , when he admitted killing the Iraqi policeman . Berg later claimed that , while on patrol with his Iraqi partner , he had a sudden premonition that his partner represented a danger to him . So he shot him three times , killing him . Berg then shot himself in the stomach with his dead partner ' s weapon , so that he could claim he fired in self - defense . Berg ' s self - inflicted gunshot wound caused a relatively minor injury . Although Berg admitted shooting himself , his Purple Heart was never formally revoked . Court martial . Berg ' s court martial convened on July 25 , 2005 . On July 26 , 2005 , Berg pled guilty to negligent homicide , making false official statements , and self - injury in a hostile - fire zone . Berg was defended by Charles Gittins , an officer in the United States Marine Corps Reserve who defends American servicemen in his civilian practice . During his guilty plea , Berg noted , " I feel great remorse . As a result of my ignorance , the Iraqi police officer left behind a 2 - year - old daughter and a wife . I went to Iraq to make a better life for everyone else . By also shooting myself , I took away all the good I tried to do . " He received a six - year sentence and a Bad Conduct discharge from the U . S . Army . A plea agreement allowed him to be released after eighteen months . Reaction . In June 2006 the " Associated Press " distributed an article on pressure within the US military justice system to impose stiffer sentences on soldiers who kill outside of the context of battle — including re - introducing the death penalty . The article listed twenty past or pending cases , including Berg ' s , that contributed to the pressure to start using the death penalty again . In March 2008 , when Berg ' s unit returned to Iraq , the " Indianapolis Star " noted Berg ' s conviction , in the context of new , tighter , rules of engagement intended to prevent GIs killing Iraqis who weren ' t enemies . The paper quoted instructions the new commander of Berg ' s old battalion , Lieutenant Colonel Rodney Fogg , issued to the men in Berg ' s old battalion : In 2012 Alan F . Williams , a professor of law at Idaho University , who spent 20 years as a military lawyer , wrote an article entitled " ' Overcoming the Unfortunate Legacy of Haditha , the Stryker Brigade “ Kill Team ” , and Pantano : Establishing More Effective War Crimes Accountability by the United States " ' . " An appendix to that article , listed other cases " " with questionable handling of war crimes prosecutions by the United States " " . Berg ' s case was one of those described as questionably handled , in the appendix .