Abu Ghraib lecture canceled after threats

updated 3:27 p.m. ET Aug. 14, 2009

WASHINGTON - Organizers canceled a lecture at the Library of Congress by the woman who became a symbol of the Abu Ghraib prisoner abuse scandal after threats caused concerns about staff safety.

Former Army reservist Lynndie England had been scheduled to discuss her biography Friday as part of a veterans forum on Capitol Hill. The book by author Gary S. Winkler is called "Tortured: Lynndie England, Abu Ghraib and the Photographs That Shocked the World."

In a notice to members, Angela Kinney, president of the Library of Congress Professional Association, said the event was canceled due to staff safety concerns.

David Moore, a Vietnam War veteran and German acquisitions specialist at the library who organized the event, said he had been receiving threats.

In an earlier interview with The Associated Press to promote her biography, the 26-year-old England said hoped the book and book tour would help rehabilitate an image indelibly associated with the plight of the mistreated prisoners. She said she's paid her dues and repeatedly apologized.

While admitting she made some bad decisions, England said it wasn't her place to question the "softening-up" treatments sanctioned long before she arrived.

"We were just pawns," said England. "People were just playing us."

A jury of five Army officers, however, rejected England's claims that she was only following orders and trying to please the father of her child, former Cpl. Charles Graner Jr., who's currently imprisoned for his role.

More on Abu Ghraib | Lynndie England

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