The first sentence has come down in the Abu Ghraib abuse story—Jeremy Sivits gets a year in prison and a bad conduct discharge: Sivits Sentenced for Role in Iraq Abuse. The Army doesn’t waste time when it comes to courts martial.

Sivits pleaded guilty to four counts for taking pictures of naked Iraqi prisoners being humiliated, including some of the photographs that triggered the abuse scandal and sparked international outrage when they were broadcast and published last month.

“I’d like to apologize to the Iraqi people and those detainees,” Sivits said, breaking into tears. “I should have protected those detainees, not taken the photos.”

His hearing marked the start of American efforts to investigate who was responsible for the abuse and punish the guilty, a process expected to stretch to the highest levels of the military.

Within hours of Sivits’ court-martial, Lt. Gen. Ricardo Sanchez, the senior U.S. commander in Iraq, told the Senate Armed Services Committee in Washington that abuse of prisoners in Iraq will be investigated thoroughly up the chain of command, “and that includes me.” …

Sivits, 24, was the first of seven members of the 372nd Military Police Company, based in Cresaptown, Md., to stand trial in the scandal. While Sivits faced what the Army calls a special court-martial, similar to a misdemeanor trial, the six others will probably face general courts-martial, which can yield more severe punishments. …

Sivits cooperated with investigators and gave statements against fellow soldiers in exchange for reduced charges. He told the court he saw one soldier punch an Iraqi in the head and other guards stomp on the hands and feet of detainees. He also recounted that prisoners were stripped and forced to form a human pyramid.

His lawyer, 1st Lt. Stanley L. Martin, asked the court for leniency, saying Sivits had contributed to society in the past, including volunteer service with the peacekeeping force in Bosnia.

Sivits begged the judge to allow him to remain in the Army, which he said had been his life’s goal. “I have learned huge lessons, sir,” he said. “You can’t let people abuse people like they have done.”

The judge rejected their appeals, saying Sivits knew the prisoner treatment violated the Geneva Conventions. He pronounced Sivits guilty of two counts of mistreating detainees; one count of dereliction of duty for failing to protect them from abuse and cruelty; and one count for forcing a prisoner “to be positioned in a pile on the floor to be assaulted by other soldiers.”