Lynndie England Says “Prisoners Got Better End Of The Deal”

Former U.S. Army Reserve prison guard Lynndie England, convicted of abusing detainees in the 2004 Abu Ghraib scandal, doesn’t feel sorry for the Iraqi prisoners she was accused of abusing.

England told the Daily’s M.L. Nestel in an interview:

“They got the better end of the deal.”

England served nearly two years in a military prison after she and 10 other soldiers were convicted of the inhumane treatment of Iraqi detainees.

An international uproar was created when photographs of the various mistreatment of the detainees at Abu Ghraib were released. One such photo shows England smiling with a thumbs up in front of a pointing at blindfolded naked Iraqi detainees, another shows her pulling one of the detainees on a leash.

England stated of the prisoners:

“They weren’t innocent. They’re trying to kill us, and you want me to apologize to them? It’s like saying sorry to the enemy.”

Lynndie says she has lost sleep over whether the uproar concerning the released photos cost the lives of fellow American troops.

“I think about it all the time—indirect deaths that were my fault. Losing people on our side because of me coming out on a picture.”

She was dishonorably discharged from the military last year after being convicted in 2005 of “conspiracy, maltreating detainees and committing an indecent act.”

England says she is virtually unemployable, not even McDonald’s and Burger King will accept her application:

“It’s the felony they can’t get past.”

She also is finding it hard to date, stating:

“It’s gone on eight years now since I left Iraq, since I’ve really been out with a guy.”

What are your thoughts? Should she be expecting anything less? Or should the almost two years she spent in military prison be punishment enough?