FORT HOOD - Private Lynndie England was back in court Tuesday on fresh charges relating to the Abu Ghraib prison abuse scandal.
England, who became the public face of the scandal after a picture surfaced showing her holding a leashed tied to the neck of a naked Iraqi prisoner, had previously pleaded guilty to seven criminal charges.
But a judge threw out her guilty plea on May 4 after her former boyfriend and the ringleader of the abuse testified that he had taken that picture for training purposes.
Charles Graner's testimony invalidated England's assertions that she had been guilty of conspiring with him to abuse prisoners, forcing the military judge to declare a mistrial.
The mistrial meant England lost a plea agreement that was reported to have limited her sentence to 30 months.
England's appearance in court was brief Tuesday as she waived her right to a preliminary hearing.
Since England waived the right to challenge the evidence against her, her case has now been sent back to the general in charge of England's unit.
In the coming weeks, Lieutenant General Thomas Metz will decide whether he wants to retry England on the seven charges. He also has the option to reduce her charges to criminal misdemeanors, submit her for non-judicial punishment or withdraw the charges altogether.
England faces a maximum sentence of 11 years prison for the two counts of conspiracy, four counts of mistreatment and one count of committing an indecent act which she had previously been charged with.
Publication of the photos of England leading the prisoner on a leash and grinning as she posed with a pile of naked prisoners led to widespread condemnation of US practices in Iraq at a time when US forces were trying to bring the country under control after the 2003 invasion.
05/24/2005 16:31 GMT