October 5, 2007
BAGHDAD, Oct. 4 - A military investigator has recommended dropping murder charges against a Marine infantryman charged with killing 17 apparently unarmed Iraqis in the volatile city of Haditha nearly two years ago, a defense lawyer in the case said Thursday.
Instead, the investigator recommended that if the case proceeded to court-martial, the marine, Staff Sgt. Frank D. Wuterich, be charged only with negligent homicide for the deaths of seven women and children killed in a home assaulted by a Marine squad after a roadside bomb struck its convoy, said Mark Zaid, a lawyer for Sergeant Wuterich.
The investigator recommended that no charges be filed against Sergeant Wuterich in the deaths of the other 10 Iraqis he was originally accused of killing. The investigator, Lt. Col. Paul J. Ware, a Marine lawyer, has sent his recommendation to the commanding general of the First Marine Expeditionary Force, who will decide whether to try the case by court-martial. Colonel Ware has presided over hearings for all three enlisted men charged with murder in the Haditha episode and last summer recommended dropping all charges against the previous two, Lance Cpls. Justin L. Sharratt and Stephen B. Tatum, citing a lack of evidence. Colonel Ware said those killings should be viewed in the context of combat against an enemy that ruthlessly employs civilians as cover. He also warned that murder charges against marines could harm the morale of troops still in Iraq.
The commanding general, James N. Mattis, has dismissed the charges against one of the lance corporals but has not yet ruled on the other case. In his 37-page report on Sergeant Wuterich’s case, Colonel Ware again struck a skeptical tone about the evidence presented by prosecutors, said someone who had reviewed the document, and seemed inclined to give the accused infantryman the benefit of the doubt.
Colonel Ware found testimony from the main prosecution witness, Sgt. Sanick Dela Cruz, to be "wholly incredible." "The case against Staff Sergeant Wuterich, that he committed murder, is simply not strong enough to prove beyond a reasonable doubt" Colonel Ware wrote, according to a person who read the report and quoted portions of it to a reporter.
Prosecuting the Haditha case has posed special challenges because the killings were not comprehensively investigated when they first occurred. Months later, when details came to light, there were no bodies to examine and no Iraqi witnesses to testify.
On Nov. 17, 2005, Sergeant Wuterich, then a 25-year-old squad leader, was the senior enlisted man in a group of marines that attacked four homes after the roadside bombing of their convoy. Over several hours, the marines killed 24 people, including five men in a car that pulled up near the scene of the explosion, and about 10 women and children in the nearby homes.
In an interview with "60 Minutes" broadcast this year, Sergeant Wuterich, of Meriden, Conn., acknowledged killing the five men from the car because, he said, they had run away, disobeying shouted orders to stand still. Sergeant Dela Cruz had testified that he saw Sergeant Wuterich kill the five men while their hands were up.
Inside the homes where many Iraqis were killed, including the seven women and children Sergeant Wuterich was accused of killing, marines used grenades and rifles to clear the structures of enemy fighters. No weapons were found in the homes.
In the report, Colonel Ware said he believed that a jury would probably decline to convict Sergeant Wuterich of any crime other than dereliction of duty, for failing to ensure that his men followed the rules of engagement when they fired their weapons, according to a person who has read the document. "I believe after reviewing all the evidence no trier of fact can conclude that Staff Sgt. Wuterich formed the criminal intent to kill," Colonel Ware wrote, the person who reviewed the report said. "The evidence is contradictory, the forensic analysis is limited, and almost all the witnesses have an obvious bias or prejudice."
Several officers were earlier charged with dereliction of duty for failing to properly investigate the episode. Investigators recommended dropping all charges against a battalion lawyer and the company commander.
The case against a battalion commander was recommended to proceed to court-martial.
Investigator Said to Find Case Against Marine Weak
By PAUL von ZIELBAUER NY TimesBAGHDAD, Oct. 4 - A military investigator has recommended dropping murder charges against a Marine infantryman charged with killing 17 apparently unarmed Iraqis in the volatile city of Haditha nearly two years ago, a defense lawyer in the case said Thursday.
Instead, the investigator recommended that if the case proceeded to court-martial, the marine, Staff Sgt. Frank D. Wuterich, be charged only with negligent homicide for the deaths of seven women and children killed in a home assaulted by a Marine squad after a roadside bomb struck its convoy, said Mark Zaid, a lawyer for Sergeant Wuterich.
The investigator recommended that no charges be filed against Sergeant Wuterich in the deaths of the other 10 Iraqis he was originally accused of killing. The investigator, Lt. Col. Paul J. Ware, a Marine lawyer, has sent his recommendation to the commanding general of the First Marine Expeditionary Force, who will decide whether to try the case by court-martial. Colonel Ware has presided over hearings for all three enlisted men charged with murder in the Haditha episode and last summer recommended dropping all charges against the previous two, Lance Cpls. Justin L. Sharratt and Stephen B. Tatum, citing a lack of evidence. Colonel Ware said those killings should be viewed in the context of combat against an enemy that ruthlessly employs civilians as cover. He also warned that murder charges against marines could harm the morale of troops still in Iraq.
The commanding general, James N. Mattis, has dismissed the charges against one of the lance corporals but has not yet ruled on the other case. In his 37-page report on Sergeant Wuterich’s case, Colonel Ware again struck a skeptical tone about the evidence presented by prosecutors, said someone who had reviewed the document, and seemed inclined to give the accused infantryman the benefit of the doubt.
Colonel Ware found testimony from the main prosecution witness, Sgt. Sanick Dela Cruz, to be "wholly incredible." "The case against Staff Sergeant Wuterich, that he committed murder, is simply not strong enough to prove beyond a reasonable doubt" Colonel Ware wrote, according to a person who read the report and quoted portions of it to a reporter.
Prosecuting the Haditha case has posed special challenges because the killings were not comprehensively investigated when they first occurred. Months later, when details came to light, there were no bodies to examine and no Iraqi witnesses to testify.
On Nov. 17, 2005, Sergeant Wuterich, then a 25-year-old squad leader, was the senior enlisted man in a group of marines that attacked four homes after the roadside bombing of their convoy. Over several hours, the marines killed 24 people, including five men in a car that pulled up near the scene of the explosion, and about 10 women and children in the nearby homes.
In an interview with "60 Minutes" broadcast this year, Sergeant Wuterich, of Meriden, Conn., acknowledged killing the five men from the car because, he said, they had run away, disobeying shouted orders to stand still. Sergeant Dela Cruz had testified that he saw Sergeant Wuterich kill the five men while their hands were up.
Inside the homes where many Iraqis were killed, including the seven women and children Sergeant Wuterich was accused of killing, marines used grenades and rifles to clear the structures of enemy fighters. No weapons were found in the homes.
In the report, Colonel Ware said he believed that a jury would probably decline to convict Sergeant Wuterich of any crime other than dereliction of duty, for failing to ensure that his men followed the rules of engagement when they fired their weapons, according to a person who has read the document. "I believe after reviewing all the evidence no trier of fact can conclude that Staff Sgt. Wuterich formed the criminal intent to kill," Colonel Ware wrote, the person who reviewed the report said. "The evidence is contradictory, the forensic analysis is limited, and almost all the witnesses have an obvious bias or prejudice."
Several officers were earlier charged with dereliction of duty for failing to properly investigate the episode. Investigators recommended dropping all charges against a battalion lawyer and the company commander.
The case against a battalion commander was recommended to proceed to court-martial.