Sgt. Evan Vela Carnahan

Sgt. Evan Vela Carnahan, 26, of Idaho, is serving a 10-year sentence for the death of Genei Nesir Khudair al-Janabi.

In 2004, Vela Carnahan joined the U.S. Army and was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 501st Infantry Regiment, 4th Brigade of the 25th Infantry Division. He deployed to Iraq, where he served as a member of a sniper squad.

In spring 2007, Staff Sgt. Michael A. Hensley became team leader of Vela Carnahan’s squad, which was serving behind enemy lines in a hostile Sunni Arab region south of Baghdad known as the Triangle of Death. Field commanders had been disappointed with the squad’s kill-rate; under Hensley those numbers increased. Hensley attributed the reversal to a change in the Rules of Engagement, saying his superiors told him that anyone deemed a threat was to be eliminated, whether they were armed or not.

On May 11, 2007, Janabi and his son, 17-year-old Mustafa, two unarmed Iraqi nationals, were detained for about 30 minutes after they found the squad’s hide out. The teenager was released. Janabi was shot in the head with a 9-millimeter pistol and killed.

Vela Carnahan does not deny shooting Janabi. Under a grant of immunity, Hensley testified at Vela Carnahan’s February 2009 court martial that he ordered Vela Carnahan to load his 9-millimeter pistol, then made four radio calls to his command post to support a cover story. The last call confirmed the death of Janabi, who at the time was still alive. Hensely said he ordered Vela Carnahan to fire, and Vela Carnahan complied. Janabi did not die immediately; Hensely testified that he ordered Vela Carnahan to fire again, then said ordered another of his men to place an AK-47 near the body.

Hensley and Spc. Jorge G. Sandoval Jr. were acquitted of murder charges in 2008. They were convicted of planting the AK-47 on Janabi’s body, sentenced to time served and were demoted. Vela Carnahan was convicted of murdering Janabi and planting a weapon near his body to mislead investigators, and sentenced to 10 years in prison.

Learn more about Evan Vela Carnahan and his case at freeevanvela.blogspot.com.

Write to him at:
Evan Vela Carnahan
Inmate #84486
1300 N. Warehouse Road
Fort Leavenworth, KS 66027