Posted on 06/28/2006 9:00:27 PM PDT by NormsRevenge
CAMP PENDLETON -- Attorneys for the so-called "Pendleton Eight" are getting their first look at the government's evidence against their clients.
A 250-page Pentagon report shows maps, diagrams, photos, and statements about an alleged incident in Hamdania, Iraq, in which military investigators say seven Marines and a sailor took an Iraqi civilian from his home, shot him and then tried to cover it up.
Tuesday, the attorneys questioned the credibility of the Iraqi accusers, asking why it took the victim's family four days to report the death. Attorneys also said confessions were coerced, and that military members were not given bathroom breaks or offered water until after they signed statements.
Military defense experts say the approach is standard.
"If that is sufficient to convince a court that the evidence is less than trustworthy, less than believable, then perhaps that's enough for reasonable doubt," said Attorney Mike McCloskey.
Defense attorneys are expected to ask the government for more time, potentially delaying an initial hearing for weeks.
These Marines are going to win.
I hope the Marines asked for a lawyer at the start of their interviews with the investigators. The military stills has to follow the law and stop asking questions till the defense shows up.
It should be against the rules of engagement to allow incriminating FORIEGN testimony to indict soldiers in war....
if this becomes precedent or normal procedure , then urban combat will become impossible.....we will be forced to return to the Clinton/Bosnia proceedure of random bombing from 30,000 feet
i cant believe this scat.oh jee what side is the iraqi on hmm something smells real bad about this.screw this nonsense of trials this is a war even though nobody thinks it is,except the ones doing the fighting and the dying.
Military prosecutors are traitors.
No, they're not. They're individuals charged with prosecuting violaters of military law...which is more restrictive than civilian law. This ensures that we have an honorable, respected military. They don't usually resort to the same underhandedness of the Nifongs of the world. And, usually, the truth will carry the day.
Disclaimer: I am not, nor have I ever been, affiliated with the military judicial community.
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