Haditha case officer doubts prosecution claims of execution, San Diego Union Tribune, June 16, 2007
CAMP PENDLETON – The Marine officer who will help decide whether Lance Cpl. Justin Sharratt should face trial expressed doubt yesterday about the prosecution's assertions that Sharratt killed defenseless Iraqis execution-style.
Lt. Col. Paul Ware said he was having “a great deal of difficulty understanding the prosecution's theory” that Sharratt and another Marine led four Iraqi men into a house, then executed them Nov. 19, 2005, in the city of Haditha. Ware is scheduled to make his recommendation on whether to court-martial Sharratt by the beginning of next month.
The prosecution's arguments aren't supported by forensic and other evidence, Ware said during the final day of Sharratt's preliminary hearing at Camp Pendleton.
His comments came a day after Sharratt – a member of Kilo Company, 3rd Battalion, 1st Marine Regiment – testified that he and Staff Sgt. Frank Wuterich shot the Iraqis in self-defense after at least one of them pointed an AK-47 rifle in their direction.
Forensic evidence suggests that one of the Iraqis was shot while crouching behind a closet door, according to testimony given Thursday by a special agent with the Naval Criminal Investigative Service.
Also yesterday, the lead prosecutor, Maj. Daren Erikson, said he was unsure whether any Iraqi witnesses would be able or willing to come to the United States to testify should Sharratt be court-martialed.
In interviews last year with military investigators, relatives of the four dead Iraqis said Marines separated those men from the women and children, marched the men into a bedroom and killed them.
The deaths are part of an alleged massacre. Prosecutors contend that during the Haditha incident, members of Kilo Company killed 24 Iraqi civilians as an act of revenge after a fellow Marine was killed in a roadside bomb blast.
In addition to Sharratt and Wuterich, five other Marines face charges ranging from murder to dereliction of duty.
During closing arguments yesterday, one of Sharratt's lawyers said his client killed the Iraqis because they tried to kill him first. Sharratt “doesn't deserve a court-martial, but rather he deserves a medal,” attorney James Culp told Ware.
In contrast, the prosecution cited testimony from several Marines who said Sharratt admitted lying to investigators about what happened that day. Erikson said the evidence reveals that Sharratt and Wuterich took the four men “into a back room, took their weapons under control, then after that they were killed.”
Once Ware makes his recommendation concerning a trial, the final decision rests with Lt. Gen. James Mattis, commander of the Camp Pendleton-based 1st Marine Expeditionary Force.
If Sharratt is court-martialed and convicted of murder, he faces life in prison and a dishonorable discharge.