Lynndie England Interview: Personal Life Of An Abu Ghraib Felon, 8 Years Later

People best know Lynndie England from the damning photographs of her that surfaced eight years ago, when she and some military colleagues tortured and humiliated Iraqi prisoners at Abu Ghraib.

These days, she looks nothing like she used to.

In the most famous picture of England, she is standing in a hallway of the prison next to a row of naked Iraqis with bags over their heads. A cigarette is dangling from her mouth and she is pointing to one of the prisoners while giving a thumbs-up.

In that photo, her hair is short and dark. She seems young and physically fit. And despite the barbarism of the scene around her, the expression on her face looks amused and a little smug.

Today, the dishonorably discharged England is an underemployed single mother. She has put on weight and grown her hair long; there are patches of gray at her temple and on one eyebrow.

In an interview with The Daily on Monday, England said that she doesn't feel bad for the Iraqis that were humiliated at Abu Ghraib.

Their lives are better, she said. They got the better end of the deal. They weren't innocent. They're trying to kill us, and you want me to apologize to them? It's like saying sorry to the enemy.

In 2004, England was 20-year-old Army specialist serving in the 372nd Military Police Company in Iraq. She was a newlywed; her then-husband, James Fike, was back home in Fort Ashby, West Virginia. But England was falling in love a fellow troop stationed at Abu Ghraib whom she had first met at Fort Lee: Specialist Charles Graner, who was later accused of being the ringleader in the abuse and torture of Iraqi prisoners.

England's son Carter is now 7 years old; Graner is the father. But he wants nothing to do with raising the child.

At Abu Ghraib, England often spent her free hours hanging out with Graner. Meanwhile, he was carrying on his own affair with Specialist Megan Ambuhl; the two later married. England says Graner manipulated her psychologically. Now, she can't stand the thought of him.

Her life has gone downhill since the photos of Abu Ghraib surfaced. She spent 521 days locked up in a military prison, and eventually went home to the small town that she'd hoped the army would help her escape. England has been diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder, but told The Daily she had recently come off her medication. She reports anxiety and trouble sleeping. Nobody will employ her, except for one accountant who knew England when she was young and hires her for seasonal assistance.

England can't pursue her favorite pastime, hunting, because she is no longer allowed to operate a gun. Today, her son is the only source of solace. If I say I regret getting with Graner then I say that I regret Carter. And I don't. I wouldn't give up Carter for anything, she said.

I thought maybe I would meet some guy and then get married and he'll adopt him and then he'll be his daddy. It's gone on eight years now since I left Iraq, since I've really been out with a guy.

Although England says she doesn't feel bad for the Iraqi prisoners she mocked eight years ago, she does regret other repercussions of her actions, like the American casualties that may have resulted from the debacle.

That's something that falls on my head, she said. I think about it all the time -- indirect deaths that were my fault. Losing people on our side because of me coming out on a picture.