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 FORT STEWART, Ga. (AP) - The court-martial of an Army mechanic who refused to deploy to Iraq came to a sudden halt Wednesday when a military judge ordered a new investigative hearing for the soldier.
Sgt. Kevin Benderman was to stand trial Thursday on charges of desertion and missing movement, but the judge, Col. Stephen Henley, ruled that the investigating officer who recommended trying him in a general court-martial had compromised her impartiality in an e-mail to a military prosecutor.
Fort Stewart commanders decided to press ahead immediately with the new Article 32 hearing to determine whether to send Benderman's case back to a general court-martial. Benderman said he had been ordered to report to the hearing Thursday morning.
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