Joe Darby

Sergeant Joseph M. Darby (born c. 1979), of Corriganville, Maryland, is best known as the whistleblower in the Abu Ghraib torture and prisoner abuse scandal. Darby is a graduate of North Star High School, near his hometown at the time, Jenners, Pennsylvania. ["One Soldier's Unlikely ActFamily Fears for Man Who Reported Iraqi Prisoner Abuse" Washington Post. May 6, 2004.]

At the time, Darby was a U.S. Army Reservist who served as an M.P. at the Abu Ghraib prison, in Abu Ghraib, Iraq. After learning of the abuse, Darby was the first person to take steps to alert the U.S. military command.

Disclosure of abuses at Abu Ghraib

In January 2004, Darby provided a compact disc of photographs and an anonymous note to Special Agent Tyler Pieron of the US Army Criminal Investigation Command, who was stationed at Abu Ghraib Prison, triggering an investigation which led to the implication of several soldiers violating the Geneva Convention. Darby initially wanted to remain anonymous, and had been assured of anonymity [ [http://www.motherjones.com/news/feature/2008/03/am-i-a-torturer.html Am I a Torturer? (Mother Jones)] ] — he and those implicated all served in the 372nd Military Police Company, but became known after Donald Rumsfeld publicly named him during a Senate hearing. [ [http://www.unbossed.com/index.php?itemid=1032 unbossed.com » Thank You, Joseph Darby ] ] Darby had agonized for a month beforehand, but finally decided to blow the whistle on his former friends explaining "It violated everything I personally believed in and all I'd been taught about the rules of war." He had known Lynndie England, one of the most well-known suspects, since basic training. He testified that he had received the photos from Charles Graner, another soldier in the photographs.

Reactions

The disclosure was not received well by the community in which Darby and his wife, Bernadette, were living in Maryland. [ [http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A32048-2004May16.html When Joseph Comes Marching Home (washingtonpost.com) ] ] They have been shunned by friends and neighbors, their property has been vandalized, and they now reside in protective military custody at an undisclosed location. Bernadette said, "We did not receive the response I thought we would. People were, they were mean, saying he was a walking dead man, he was walking around with a bull's-eye on his head. It was scary." [ [http://abcnews.go.com/sections/GMA/World/Darby_Prison_Abuse_040816-1.html] Dead link|date=March 2008]

On the other hand, CBS reports that former neighbors from one of his childhood homes in Pennsylvania were proud of him [ [http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2004/05/10/iraq/main616660.shtml Praise For Iraq Whistleblower, Neighbors Are Proud Of Spc. Joe Darby For Reporting Prison Abuse - CBS News ] ] Darby has also said that soldiers in his unit shook his hand afterward.cite news
url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/6930197.stm
title=The Abu Ghraib whistleblower's ordeal
author=Dawn Bryan
date=August 5 2007
publisher=BBC News
accessdate=2007-08-05]

Recognition

On May 7, 2004, Darby was profiled as the "Person of the Week" by anchor Peter Jennings on , and in December 2004, he was selected as one of three ABC News "People of the Year". He was profiled and interviewed by Anderson Cooper on the December 10, 2006 broadcast of "60 Minutes" (the segment was aired again on June 24, 2007).

Darby received a John F. Kennedy Profile in Courage Award on May 16, 2005, in recognition of his courage in exposing the abuses at Abu Ghraib. [ [http://www.cnn.com/2005/US/05/16/jfk.awards.ap/index.html] Dead link|date=March 2008]

Darby also received a personal letter from Donald Rumsfeld, asking him to stop talking about how his identity had been disclosed. [ [http://www.motherjones.com/news/feature/2008/03/am-i-a-torturer.html Am I a Torturer? (Mother Jones)] ]

References

ee also

*Nature of Abu Ghraib abuse
*Haditha massacre
*Con Son Island prison#"Tiger cages" (Vietnam War)
*Ronald Ridenhour (alerted authorities to My Lai Massacre)

External links

* [http://www.jfklibrary.org/Education+and+Public+Programs/Profile+in+Courage+Award/Award+Recipients/Joseph+Darby/Acceptance+Speech+by+Sergeant+Joseph+Darby.htm Acceptance speech by Sergeant Joseph Darby. 2005 Profile in Courage Award, John F. Kennedy Library Foundation.]
* [http://www.beliefnet.com/story/157/story_15721_1.html#cont Beliefnet.com - Most Inspiring Person of 2004]
* [http://www.thankyoujoedarby.com/ Photos and letters of support for Joseph Darby (also includes correspondence from Darby)]

News clips
* [http://abcnews.go.com/WNT/PersonOfWeek/story?id=131827&page=1 ABC News - Person of the Week Story - May 7, 2004]
* [http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A32048-2004May16.html Washington Post - When Joseph Comes Marching Home - May 16, 2004]
* [http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2006/12/07/60minutes/main2238188.shtml 60 Minutes - Exposing the Truth of Abu Ghraib]
* [http://men.style.com/gq/features/landing?id=content_4785 GQ - Prisoner of Conscience, interview of Joseph Darby]
* [http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=5651609 NPR - Abu Ghraib Whistleblower Speaks Out]
* [http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/6930197.stm BBC News - The Abu Ghraib whistleblower's ordeal]

Persondata
NAME=Darby, Joseph
ALTERNATIVE NAMES=
SHORT DESCRIPTION=U.S. Marine Sargeant and whistleblower
DATE OF BIRTH=circa 1979
PLACE OF BIRTH=Corriganville, Maryland
DATE OF DEATH=living
PLACE OF DEATH=