McCampbell: Behenna Should Get New Trial

Former U. S. Attorney Robert McCampbell said today that Army Lt. Michael Behenna, convicted of murder in the death of an Al Qaida operative in Iraq, should, at the least, be given a new trial due to prosecutorial misconduct.

McCampbell appeared on The Verdict with Oklahoma County District Attorney David Prater to discuss the conviction of Behenna, an Edmond native who is the son of federal prosecutor Vicki Behenna and retired OSBI agent Scott Behenna.

Prater said information in the possession of the military prosecutors in the Behenna case favorable to Behenna should have been "immediately" disclosed to Behenna's defense attorneys. Instead, the information was not disclosed until Behenna had been convicted. An appeal to the judge based on the withholding of the information was dismissed.

That information came from the proseuction's own forensics expert, who agreed with Behenna's account of how the death occurred. The expert was not called to testify and was sent home by the prosecutors after he told them of his opinion.

The Behenna case has drawn the attention of Senator Jim Inhofe and Congresswoman Mary Fallin, who have directed questions about the verdict and withheld information to Army officials.

Behenna is now in the federal prison at Ft. Leavenworth, Kansas, serving a 25-year sentence. The commanding general of his 101st Airborne unit at Ft. Campbell, Kentucky, has total control of the eventual outcome of the case. The general can set the verdict aside, dismiss it, order a new trial or reduce Behenna' sentence.

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