US soldier jailed for rape and murder

A former soldier has received five consecutive life sentences for his role in the rape and murder of an Iraqi teenager and the…

A former soldier has received five consecutive life sentences for his role in the rape and murder of an Iraqi teenager and the slaying of three of her family members.

Barring a successful appeal or presidential pardon, 24-year-old Steven Dale Green of Midland, Texas, will not be eligible for release from prison.

US District Judge Thomas Russell handed down the sentence Friday in federal court in western Kentucky.

A civilian jury convicted Green in May of conspiracy, rape and multiple counts of murder for the deaths of the al-Janabi family on March 12, 2006, at their rural home outside Mahmoudiya, Iraq, about 20 miles south of Baghdad.

The panel couldn't reach a unanimous decision about whether Green should get a death sentence, automatically making Green's sentence life in prison.