Jeremy Charles Sivits (December 10, 1979 – January 16, 2022) was a

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...

reservist A reservist is a person who is a member of a military reserve force. They are otherwise civilians, and in peacetime have careers outside the military. Reservists usually go for training on an annual basis to refresh their skills. This person is ...

. He was one of several

soldier A soldier is a person who is a member of an army. A soldier can be a conscripted or volunteer enlisted person, a non-commissioned officer, or an officer. Etymology The word ''soldier'' derives from the Middle English word , from Old French ...

s charged and convicted by the U.S. Army in connection with the 2003–2004

Abu Ghraib prisoner abuse Abu or ABU may refer to: Places * Abu (volcano), a volcano on the island of Honshū in Japan * Abu, Yamaguchi is a town located in Abu District, Yamaguchi Prefecture, Japan. The town had a population of 3,372 in 2016. In April 2022, the town ...

scandal in

Baghdad Baghdad (; ar, بَغْدَاد , ) is the capital of Iraq and the second-largest city in the Arab world after Cairo. It is located on the Tigris near the ruins of the ancient city of Babylon and the Sassanid Persian capital of Ctesiphon ...

, Iraq, during and after the

2003 invasion of Iraq The 2003 invasion of Iraq was a United States-led invasion of the Republic of Iraq and the first stage of the Iraq War. The invasion phase began on 19 March 2003 (air) and 20 March 2003 (ground) and lasted just over one month, including 26 ...

. Sivits was a member of the 372nd Military Police Company during this time. Sivits took photographs at the Abu Ghraib prison which became notorious after being aired on '' 60 Minutes II''. His father, Daniel Sivits, a former serviceman, said that he was trained as a

mechanic A mechanic is an artisan, skilled tradesperson, or technician who uses tools to build, maintain, or repair machinery, especially cars. Duties Most mechanics specialize in a particular field, such as auto body mechanics, air conditioning and r ...

, not a prison

guard Guard or guards may refer to: Professional occupations * Bodyguard, who protects an individual from personal assault * Crossing guard, who stops traffic so pedestrians can cross the street * Lifeguard, who rescues people from drowning * Prison ...

, and that he "was just doing what he was told to do." Sivits was the first soldier convicted in connection with the Abu Ghraib incidents. He died from

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was COVID-19 pandemic in Hubei, identified in Wuhan, China, in December ...

Roaring Spring, Pennsylvania Roaring Spring is a borough in Blair County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 2,392 at the 2020 census. It is part of the Altoona, PA Metropolitan Statistical Area History Roaring Spring was established around the Big Spri ...

, on January 16, 2022, at age 42, during the

COVID-19 pandemic in Pennsylvania The COVID-19 pandemic was confirmed to have reached the U.S. state of Pennsylvania in March 2020. , the Pennsylvania Department of Health has confirmed 1,464,264 cumulative cases and 29,814 deaths in the state. , Pennsylvania has administered 6 ...

Court martial

On May 5, 2004, Sivits was charged under

Uniform Code of Military Justice The Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ, 10 U.S.C. §§ 801–946 is the foundation of military law in the United States. It was established by the United States Congress in accordance with the authority given by the United States Constitution ...

with

conspiracy A conspiracy, also known as a plot, is a secret plan or agreement between persons (called conspirers or conspirators) for an unlawful or harmful purpose, such as murder or treason, especially with political motivation, while keeping their agree ...

to maltreat

detainee Detention is the process whereby a state or private citizen lawfully holds a person by removing their freedom or liberty at that time. This can be due to (pending) criminal charges preferred against the individual pursuant to a prosecution or t ...

s, maltreatment of detainees, and

dereliction of duty Dereliction of duty is a specific offense under United States Code Title 10, Section 892, Article 92 and applies to all branches of the US military. A service member who is derelict has willfully refused to perform his duties (or follow a given o ...

for negligently failing to protect detainees from

abuse Abuse is the improper usage or treatment of a thing, often to unfairly or improperly gain benefit. Abuse can come in many forms, such as: physical or verbal maltreatment, injury, assault, violation, rape, unjust practices, crimes, or other t ...

cruelty Cruelty is the pleasure in inflicting suffering or inaction towards another's suffering when a clear remedy is readily available. Sadism can also be related to this form of action or concept. Cruel ways of inflicting suffering may involve viol ...

and maltreatment. His special

court-martial A court-martial or court martial (plural ''courts-martial'' or ''courts martial'', as "martial" is a postpositive adjective) is a military court or a trial conducted in such a court. A court-martial is empowered to determine the guilt of memb ...

was held on May 19, 2004, in

. Sivits pleaded guilty and testified against some of his fellow soldiers. Sivits' testimony included reporting seeing

Charles Graner Charles A. Graner Jr. (born 1968) is an American former soldier who was court-martialed for prisoner abuse after the 2003–2004 Abu Ghraib prisoner abuse scandal. Along with other soldiers of his Army Reserve unit, the 372nd Military Police Com ...

punching a naked detainee "with a closed fist so hard in the

temple A temple (from the Latin ) is a building reserved for spiritual rituals and activities such as prayer and sacrifice. Religions which erect temples include Christianity (whose temples are typically called churches), Hinduism (whose temples ...

that it knocked the detainee unconscious." Sivits also testified seeing

Lynndie England Lynndie Rana England (born November 8, 1982) is a former United States Army Reserve soldier who was prosecuted for mistreating detainees during the Abu Ghraib torture and prisoner abuse that occurred at the Abu Ghraib prison in Baghdad during the ...

stomping on the feet and hands of detainees with her boots.

Human Rights Watch Human Rights Watch (HRW) is an international non-governmental organization, headquartered in New York City, that conducts research and advocacy on human rights. The group pressures governments, policy makers, companies, and individual human r ...

and other human rights groups were not permitted to attend the trial. The court martial sentenced Sivits to the maximum sentence, one year of confinement, in addition to being

discharged Discharge may refer to Expel or let go * Discharge, the act of firing a gun * Discharge, or termination of employment, the end of an employee's duration with an employer * Military discharge, the release of a member of the armed forces from serv ...

for bad conduct and demoted from specialist to

private Private or privates may refer to: Music * " In Private", by Dusty Springfield from the 1990 album ''Reputation'' * Private (band), a Denmark-based band * "Private" (Ryōko Hirosue song), from the 1999 album ''Private'', written and also recorde ...

. In a 2018 interview, he had shown remorse for his actions, claiming "to hate himself".

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sivits, Jeremy 1979 births 2022 deaths Deaths from the COVID-19 pandemic in Pennsylvania American male criminals United States Army personnel of the Iraq War Photography in Iraq United States Army personnel who were court-martialed United States Army soldiers United States military personnel at the Abu Ghraib prison American people convicted of torture American people convicted of assault American people convicted of war crimes People from Jonesboro, Arkansas Military personnel from Arkansas

Court martial

See also

References