In a video shown Thursday during the military trial of SEAL Eddie Gallagher, a Marine near an ISIS detainee in Iraq can be heard saying, “Eddie is about to put him out.”
Gallagher, a special operations chief, is accused of stabbing a prisoner to death, posing for a photo next to a corpse, shooting at noncombatants and intimidating SEALs who could report his behavior.
He has pleaded not guilty. If convicted of murder, he faces life in prison.
The Marine in the video, Staff Sgt. Giorgio Kirylo, who was deployed in Mosul with Gallagher in 2017, testified that he did not see stab wounds on the ISIS detainee’s neck. Kirylo testified he moved the body, after medical efforts failed, to take a “trophy photo.” He said “everyone was happy about the day” and the success of the mission and wanted a photo, he said.
Last week, Special Operator First Class Corey Scott, a medic in Gallagher’s deployment, testified that he was the one who killed the ISIS prisoner, not Gallagher.
Ealier this week, Navy SEAL Special Operations Chief Craig Miller testified he saw Gallagher stab the wounded fighter “on the right side of his neck, toward the jugular vein.” Another witness said he saw Gallagher stab the prisoner under the collarbone but didn’t see any blood.
Kirylo on Friday called Miller a liar.
After the court-martial wrapped for the day, CNN asked defense attorney Tim Parlatore what Kirylo meant when he said, “Eddie is about to put him out.”‘
“It can mean a number of things. It could mean that they’re going to sedate him. It could mean, hey we’ve been spending all day trying to kill these guys, maybe he’s going to do that,” the attorney said. “Whatever the opinions were of people at that time, what the video shows is that he started providing medical treatment. And they tried to focus in on that one specific aspect.
“But if you listen to all of the other comments by the other two members in that video, when he’s walking up to provide medical care, hey wait, I didn’t get to punch him real quick, Eddie’s about to put him out. Yeah, I might help him. Everybody is sitting there saying here’s an enemy that’s within punching distance. So, is it humor? Who knows.”
Gallagher’s trial resumes Friday at 9 a.m. PT (noon ET). It is possible the defense will rest and the prosecution might then recall additional witnesses.
