Trump's pardon of a soldier who murdered an Iraqi prisoner sparks outrage

Michael Behenna, a former first lieutenant in the United States Army, received a pardon from President Trump on Monday. Behenna was sentenced to prison in 2009 for the unpremeditated murder of an Iraqi detainee while he was on deployment in Iraq.

White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders highlighted the handling of Behenna's claim that the killing was done in self-defense, and called Behenna a "model prisoner" who is "entirely deserving" of the presidential pardon. Not everyone sees it that way — the American Civil Liberties Union, for example, argued Behenna had no justification for killing the unarmed prisoner. But for others, it's Trump's character and the possible political motivations that make the pardon questionable.

The Atlantic's Adam Serwer writes that the decision represents Trump's disregard for the rights of certain groups of people, particularly if those rights conflict with the will of his voting base.

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Trump has not shied away from this in the past, either. In fact, he has explicitly touted the idea of killing not just enemy soldiers, but even their non-combatant families.

Meanwhile, critics like Tony Karon, an editor at AJ+, believe the pardon has deeper roots that stretch beyond Trump, which could aid in building a dangerous precedent. Tim O'Donnell