An American soldier convicted of abusing prisoners in an Iraqi jail has been sentenced to one year in prison in Washington, DC, Wednesday, May 19, 2004. Jeremy Sivits admitted abusing inmates and photographing them in humiliating poses at Baghdad's Abu Ghraib jail. "I'd like to apologize to the Iraqi people and those detainees", Sivits said, breaking down in tears. He added, "I should have protected those detainees, not taken the photos." Earlier, three other soldiers charged with mistreating Iraqi detainees declined to enter pleas at their pre-trial hearing.