Posted on 06/15/2007 1:34:37 PM PDT by RedRover
CAMP PENDLETON ---- The officer in charge of a military hearing expressed serious doubts Friday about the government's prosecution of Lance Cpl. Justin Sharratt, one of three Marines charged in the November 2005 shooting deaths of Iraqi civilians in the city of Haditha.
Lt. Col. Paul Ware, who will recommend whether to send Sharratt to trial, challenged the prosecution, saying the government's theory of the case does not warrant the three counts of unpremeditated murder filed against Sharratt in December.
"The account you want me to believe does not support unpremeditated murder," Ware told the lead prosecutor, Maj. Daren Erickson. "Your theories don't match the reason you say we should go to trial."
Ware's comments came as the government and defense presented him with summations of the case on the fifth and final day of a hearing that will determine if the 22-year-old rifleman from Camp Pendleton's 3rd Battalion, 1st Marine Regiment will be ordered to stand trial.
Sharratt is accused of the civilian equivalent of second-degree murder for shooting three Iraqi brothers inside a home. A fourth man was shot by Staff Sgt. Frank Wuterich, who also faces murder charges.
Ware also suggested he is inclined to believe Sharratt, who maintains the first two men he shot were pointing AK-47 rifles at him, and that the killings were carried out in self-defense.
"To me it seems the most important issue is whether the Marines perceived a hostile threat," Ware said. "It comes down to credibility to determine if this case should go to trial."
Prosecutors filed charges against Sharratt based on interviews with relatives of the slain men, who contended they did not have any weapons and were herded into the room and shot in rapid succession.
In a statement he read to Ware on Thursday, Sharratt said that story is false and that the killings stemmed from his belief his life was in danger.
"I would not change any of the decisions I made that afternoon," Sharratt said.
Prosecutors agreed Friday that the case centers solely on the competing version of events. The discrepancy among accounts is enough to warrant the case going to trial, Erickson told Ware.
"The seminal issue in this case is did the Iraqis have AK-47s?" Erickson said. "The issues in this case are best resolved before a trier of fact."
Ware seemed disinclined to order a trial, however, questioning whether any Iraqis would be willing to come to the U.S. to testify at trial if one is ordered.
Even so, Ware said forensic evidence presented by agents from the Naval Criminal Investigative Service who found multiple bullet holes in the walls and curtains of the room does not suggest execution-style killings.
"What the evidence points to is that the version of the Iraqis isn't really supported," Ware said.
Defense attorney James Culp centered his summation, which is similar to a closing argument, on the forensic evidence, saying it fully supports Sharratt's account. The Marine told Ware on Thursday that he emptied his 9mm pistol in the process of shooting the three men. When his clip was emptied, Wuterich followed into the room, shooting a fourth man with his M-16 rifle.
"The most important element is the forensics," Culp said. "The evidence completely corroborates Lance Cpl. Sharratt's story."
Culp also suggested that the prosecution of his client is colored by politics surrounding the civilian deaths in Haditha, which generated worldwide condemnation when first reported by Time magazine in March 2006. Until then, the Marine Corps maintained the civilians died when caught up in a bombing and in crossfire from a small arms attack on the troops.
"This is a new kind of war, and this case is a result of the new kind of warfare," Culp said, referring to insurgents who do not wear uniforms and mix within the civilian population. "There's also politics involved here, and the politics of the war is tearing at this nation."
The 24 civilians who died that day included several women and children, and 19 of the slain were killed inside their homes. The killings took place as the Marines searched a series of homes for insurgents after a roadside bomb destroyed a Humvee, killing a lance corporal and injuring two other Marines.
Sharratt is accused of killing men in the last house the Marines assaulted that day. Fifteen others died inside three homes stormed by Wuterich and Marines other than Sharratt. Five unarmed men in a car that drove up moments after the bombing were the first to die.
Culp suggested Sharratt was unfairly lumped into the cases involving the other civilian deaths.
"He charged into that room at great risk to his own safety and killed those men before they killed him. He deserves a medal," the attorney said.
Ware said he will issue his recommendation about whether to send Sharratt to trial to Lt. Gen. James Mattis by July 1. Mattis is in charge of the case as head of Marine forces in the Middle East. Under the Uniform Code of Military Justice, the general can accept or reject the hearing officer's recommendation.
Wuterich, who is charged with 13 counts of murder and who attended most of Sharratt's hearing, is scheduled to go before a hearing officer in August.
The other accused shooter, Lance Cpl. Stephen Tatum, is scheduled to go before a hearing officer starting July 9.
A fourth Marine prosecutors charged with murder, Sgt. Sanick Dela Cruz, had charges against him dropped in exchange for his testimony in the case against Wuterich.
Four officers from the battalion were charged with dereliction of duty for failing to order an investigation into the civilian deaths. Hearings for two of those officers have taken place with no decision announced yet whether they will be ordered to trial.
YOU are painting with a very broad brush. I don’t think you realize what it takes to become a Marine. Marines ARE top performers, who had a good shot at DOING ANYTHING, but are GIVING their LIVES on behalf of their country.
If you have evidence of **actual** misconduct, I’m all ears. But at worst, I’ve seen in this is that the military took seriously some allegations for which there was NO evidence. There certainly isn’t enough evidence to suggest that this is an abuse of LIFE SAVING discretion.
As regards the NCIS agents - in case you haven’t been following this case, the CHARGES which apparently proved crucial in the life Corporal Sharratt were from an NCIS agent.
I’ve had it up to here with all these broad-brush attacks against MARINES and from people who don’t know jack-squat about WAR. They’re doing their job - they are duty-bound, and there WASN’T enough evidence to prosecute allegations like were made in Haditha.
You’ll tell us when we need to call you jude24 Esquire, won’t you?
Have a good night, jude!
No amount of training, skill, Superman genes, puts someone above the law, at least not the last time I looked at the Constitution.
These kinds of charges leading to this kind of investigation are also awfully rare. It is orders of magnitude more likely to die in battle than to find oneself on the wrong end of a case like this.
Let the system play out, without (as some have openly) wishing people to lie just for the purpose of mucking up the case.
Not even close to being true. There was certainly enough witness statements and forensic evidence to warrant an investigation, and probably enough to bring this to an Art. 32 hearing.
The critical difference between a soldier and a terrorist is the rules of discipline that soldiers must follow. Soldiers do not have carte blanche to just kill 'em all. To the extent that those were the allegations against the Haditha Marines, those charges had to be taken seriously and the legal process followed to the conclusion.
It appears that the Marines were vindicated. That's wonderful news - but let's not go overboard and start impugning the integrity of the officers who were duty-bound to investigate and prosecute based on these allegations.
I’ve had it up to here with all these broad-brush attacks against MARINES and from people who don’t know jack-squat about WAR.
Tell you what - once someone starts calling all Marines "war criminals" or "baby killers," then the analogy works. Until that point, however, there has not been a single broad-brush attack against the Marines by anyone here.
All I'm saying is that the JAGs are military officers who deserve respect too. I know too many of them to think anything different.
Eeesh. I always hated when people demanded to be called by professional titles.
Music to my ears!
Second that, and 4 woodenboats, I’ll raise you a Corona! Woo-hoo!
There you go again. “Soldiers do not have carte blanche to just kill ‘em all.” Do you think we’re all stupid and don’t know that? It’s obviously perfectly fine with you to impugn the integrity of Marines on the ground, but ‘we’ shouldn’t go overboard and impugned the integrity of JAGs, etc.
Well, we’ll just wait until all the evidence in in on the JAGs and NCIS.
Oh. Wait. How many JAG/NCIS actions, lives, careers, etc., etc., etc., put on hold or ruined. None. Can’t even get an investigation.
Damn glad you’re not a JAG, jude. Every freaken jihadi would run crying murder to you. And you’d listen.
Lord, please see that justice is done for all ofthese Marines.
Got a bit excited there.
That’s okay, excited is good in this case. I think we all are. :-)
Hey, Girl! Where have you bean, jelly? Isn’t this super?
Totally super! The IO has it figured out. Too bad the reporters weren’t in the same hearing room he was in! I think they missed the relevant testimony.
Darryl - I cannot begin to tell you how happy I am for you, Theresa and Justin. Your strength through all of this has been an inspiration for me and gave me even more incentive to keep writing about this. I knew all along that this was a travesty and our Marines were part of grand plan to discredit the Marines, the President and our Country. Get some rest because we are going to fight right along beside you to make those who set this horrendous action in motion!
Congratulations and God Bless You and Your Family!
Haven't done that at all. Not even close. Only thing I ever advocated was a full and fair inquiry to see if the allegations had any merit.
How many JAG/NCIS actions, lives, careers, etc., etc., etc., put on hold or ruined.
Well, actually, Capt. Stone, a JAG, was charged with dereliction of duty for not launching an investigation into the Haditha allegations.
OK everyone - it’s time to start paying back those that accused Justin and his brothers. I found a great place to start.
http://portland.indymedia.org/en/2007/06/361068.shtml
Scroll to #8 and leave a comment or two...
Even then, give it to them with both barrels - but civilly.
As I sat there listening to Capt Hurr and Major Ericksson, the prosecutors, present evidence that could have sent my son to jail for life, I couldn’t help but wonder what we are coming to. A system that has Marines trying to put Marines in jail. Those two men, men who have dedicated themselves to serve our great country, were my enemies. I have the utmost respect for all our military personnel. These two officers included. Why, why, why. If it is for the pursuit of truth, then the system is flawed. The truth was hidden by the NCIS, either on purpose or by mistake.
The only JAG officer I feel reproach for is the one who was advising General Mattis. As the evidence was presented in court I couldn’t help but wonder why someone didn’t step back and say there is something wrong here. If we step back in time we may want to ask why the NCIS withheld the evidence presented by Capt Jeffrey Dinsmore.I have to assume that General Mattis nor his JAG saw this evidence until sometime in March, 2007. That was when our attorneys,Puckett and Zimmerman were given a eight hour deposition by Capt Dinnsmore. That is when the prosecution asked for the evidence, Dinnsmore said the NCIS had it and he was ordered by the General to give it up.
Is the system repairable or are there individuals who don’t want it repaired.
I apologize for my ramblings, all I want to say is we cannot blame the Jag officers. As Jude said, they have a job to do. I just want to say the system is flawed and we will live with it until someone, somebody steps up and finds a way to repair it(the system.) Maybe it all falls onto the shoulders of the media and politicians who are trying to run the war. I thought we learned our lesson from Vietnam, it seems we haven’t.
Pray for Our Haditha Marines
Darryl Sharratt
Total Morons on that website!
Here’s a kudo’s for the IO - a refrain from Toby Keith, (you’ll get a kick out of this, lily)
Ain’t no right way,
To do the wrong thing,
You can justify,
It’s still black and white.
Paint it any shade of grey,
But it won’t change,
Ain’t no right way
To do the wrong thing.
I listened to this on my deck tonight, and thought of Justin Sharratt’s hearing. The IO will won’t do the wrong thing, here - There’s no right way to do it!
I LOVE Toby Keith! Great lyrics!
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