Judge Col. James Pohl called a halt for three hours after testimony of a witness called by Lynndie England appeared to undermine her acceptance of guilt. England's smiling face on pictures of naked and humiliated Iraqis is a lasting image of the scandal. "There is evidence being presented that you are not guilty," Pohl told England.
The defense called England's ex-boyfriend and chief abuser Charles Graner as a witness this morning.
The witness, England's former boyfriend Charles Graner, had said from the stand that one of the central acts of the case -- in which England, now 22, appeared holding a naked prisoner on a leash -- was a legitimate prison procedure.
"If you don't believe you are guilty, if you honestly believe you were doing what Graner told you to do, then you can't plead guilty," the judge said. England had agreed to plead guilty in return for a shorter sentence.
The defense has been trying to show that England is mentally challenged and that she was manipulated by Graner.
Update: Understatement of the year from the Agence France-Presse and China's The Standard:
US investigations categorized the abuse as the isolated acts of a handful of bad apples. But many critics have raised suspicions that the Bush administration has protected the upper ranks.
More on Lynndie England's sentencing phase defense here.
