FORT HOOD, Texas -- An Army reservist who appeared in several of the most infamous abuse photos taken by guards at Abu Ghraib prison was sentenced Tuesday to six months in prison for her role in the scandal that rocked the U.S. military's image at home and abroad.
The sentence for Spc. Sabrina Harman came a day after she was convicted of six of the seven counts she faced for mistreating detainees at the Baghdad lockup in late 2003. She faced up to five years in prison; prosecutors asked the jury to give her three years.
With credit for time served, Harman's actual sentence will be just more than four months.
Harman, 27, of Lorton, Va., was the second U.S. soldier tried and convicted in the scandal.
During Tuesday's sentencing hearing, she tearfully apologized for mistreating Iraqi prisoners at Abu Ghraib.
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"As a soldier and military police officer, I failed my duties and failed my mission to protect and defend," Harman said, her voice cracking. "I not only let down the people in Iraq, but I let down every single soldier that serves today.
"My actions potentially caused an increased hatred and insurgency towards the United States, putting soldiers and civilians at greater risk," she continued. "I take full responsibility for my actions. . . . The decisions I made were mine and mine alone."
Harman's defense lawyer Frank Spinner said his client was offered the chance to plead guilty last year with a two-year sentencing cap, but Harman turned down the proposal.
Prosecutors said in a written statement that they were pleased to bring Harman's case to its conclusion "as we strive to air all the facts regarding Abu Ghraib."
Earlier in the day, witnesses testified that the former pizza shop manager was kindhearted and helpful while serving in an Iraqi city.
When other U.S. soldiers wanted to sit in the shade after a long workday, Harman ran around in the hot sun, playing games with Iraqi children, witnesses said.
Two Iraqi prisoners at Abu Ghraib, whose testimony was read into the record, said Harman's gentle treatment was unique among the guards in the part of the prison reserved mostly for detainees believed to have intelligence value.
"She has no cruelty in her," Amjad Ismail Khalil al-Taie said through an interpreter. "Even though she is an American woman, she was just like a sister."