Mother still proud of Iraq soldier facing death penalty

Juston Graber faces death penalty in Iraqi man's killing

Banners and flags of the Army and 101st Airborne Division fly from the front porch of Lori Graber's Buffalo home just as they have since her son joined the Army three years ago.

She is no less proud of him and his service to the country than she was then, even though the Army has accused Juston R. Graber of murdering an Iraqi man.

"It never occurred to me to bring the flags in," she said Friday. "I just want him home and to know that I love him and feel like I'm facing the death penalty with him. The truth will set him free."

She received some good news late Thursday: Juston Graber is back at his home base of Fort Campbell, Ky., after more than a year in Iraq.

However, he is confined to the base and can't come home.

His mother hopes to visit him as soon as possible. She said she can't talk about his case but views the fact that he is not behind bars as a good sign.

But an Army prosecutor has recommended the death penalty if Graber is found guilty, saying the slaying he is accused of and three others allegedly committed by other members of his unit were premeditated.

Graber, 21, is accused of shooting to death a severely wounded Iraqi combatant during a May 9 attack outside Samarra, about 60 miles north of Baghdad.

A defense attorney involved in the case said Graber was following orders when he shot the man as a mercy killing. Three other soldiers are charged with murdering three other men during the same attack.

Graber joined the Army two weeks after his 2003 graduation from Riverside High School, where he was an honor student.

"He wanted to join the Army ever since he was 15," his mother said in her Niagara Street home.

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