Case study – crown prosecution of a British citizen for the extraterritorial murder of Sergeant First Class Randy Johnson, United States 2nd Cavalry Regiment

ABSTRACT

‘Make me comfortable’ were the last words of Sergeant First Class Randy Johnson of the United States 2nd Stryker Cavalry Regiment. The investigation into his murder would take seven years, span three countries, and involve forensic and technical exploitation analysis in the United States and the United Kingdom. The purpose of this case study is to discuss the unique aspects of battlefield forensic science and key factors that can lead to the prosecution of foreign terrorist fighters to meet obligations under United Nations Security Council Resolution 2396 (2017) and 2322 (2016) for member states to investigate foreign terrorist fighters.

KEYWORDS:

• Foreign terrorist fighter
• biometrics
• forensic science
• military
• battlefield
• improvised explosive device

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by a Secretary of Defence Fellowship, Australian Government Department of Defence.