OK AG Asking Trump To Pardon Court-Martialed Soldier

Oklahoma Attorney General Mike Hunter has asked President Donald Trump to pardon Michael Behenna.

In 2009, a military court convicted the former Army Ranger Platoon Leader of the execution-style gunshot murder of a suspected Iraqi informant in Iraq. Behanna, a 2002 Edmond Memorial graduate, claimed the man he shot had lunged at him, and it was self-defense. Behenna served five years of a 25- year sentence at Leavenworth Prison before he was released on parole in 2014.

3/26/14 Related Story: Behenna Explains Iraq Experience, Why Actions Were Misunderstood

In the letter the Attorney General’s Office released Thursday, Hunter said Behenna had served his time, was an outstanding soldier, and pointed out holes in his prosecution.

Behenna’s mother Vicki spent 25 years as a federal prosecutor and says she was humbled by the attorney general’s letter to the president.

“I cried a little bit,” she said, "but I am just eternally grateful to Mike Hunter to have the letter written and issuing it to the president."

Vicki says her son is living quietly, working on a ranch in Logan County. She says a presidential pardon could benefit her son in the future.

“I pray that it does,” she said. "I can’t see how it can hurt."

Also, for the past two years, Vicki has headed up the Oklahoma Innocence Project at Oklahoma City University’s School of Law.