Posted on 04/24/2007 8:31:32 AM PDT by RedRover
ANN ARBOR, MI – The Thomas More Law Center today announced that it will request the Secretary of Navy to investigate allegations of improper and unconstitutional interrogation methods employed by Naval Criminal Investigative Service (NCIS) agents against Marine witnesses. Law Center attorneys obtained the information during interviews of several key Haditha witnesses.
The Thomas More Law Center, a Christian legal advocacy group based in Ann Arbor, Michigan, is representing Marine Lieutenant Colonel Jeffrey Chessani, who is charged with failing to investigate and report 15 Iraqi civilian deaths in connection with a Marine response to a terrorist ambush that occurred in Haditha, Iraq on November 19, 2005.
Richard Thompson, President and Chief Counsel of the Law Center, commented, "There are disturbing reports that American servicemen were treated like POWs by their own government. In fact, more concern has been shown toward the treatment of Iraqi prisoners than towards our Marines. An investigation of these allegations is in order."
According to Marine witnesses, in some cases interrogations lasted up to 18 hours. During prolonged questioning sessions, Marines were not allowed to eat, drink, or use the bathroom. In some cases, Marines were kept in segregated rooms of an old Iraqi dam that were damp, dark, and "dungeon like." These interrogation sessions occurred while the Marines were still involved in combat operations in Haditha, a hostile insurgent city.
Many witnesses reported that the questioning was accusatorial, confrontational, and at times insulting. One officer stated that agents yelled and threw things at him during his questioning. Witnesses believed that the agents had already concluded that there was wrongdoing and were not interested in information that would tend to exonerate the Marines. One witness stated that it was his perception that the NCIS agents had an agenda—they were going after the officers in the battalion.
Witness interviews revealed that Marines in Iraq raised concerns about the NCIS interrogation techniques immediately upon receiving reports from the Marines who were questioned. One senior officer from the battalion stated that when he brought these allegations to the attention of the senior NCIS agent in Iraq at the time, the agent "blew him off completely."
Recent news stories corroborate the allegations of mistreatment on the part of NCIS agents. According to a North County Times article, in some cases NCIS agents refused to provide attorneys for suspects who asked for them. The article reported that "[s]ome of the interrogations that took place in Iraq before the regiment returned to Camp Pendleton in April took place over as long as 12 hours . . . and the suspects were not allowed to take bathroom breaks. Instead, they were given bottles to use to relieve themselves." The article noted that "[t]he treatment of the suspects was so bad that at least two officers who were not a direct part of the investigation complained to their superiors."
These latest revelations add to the increasing difficulties facing prosecutors. From the beginning, the case has been fraught with legal problems and inappropriate pre-trial publicity, which has prejudiced the ability of the charged Marines to obtain a fair trial. In fact, Air Force Lt. General Thomas McInerney, a 35-year veteran of the Air Force and former Joint Force Commander, has already publicly stated that all charges against the Marines should be dismissed because the Marines could not get a fair trial as a result of undue command influence. McInerney was referring to the outrageous statements of Pennsylvania Congressman John Murtha—statements that were made before the investigation even concluded. Murtha declared that the Marines had committed "cold-blooded" murder of civilians in Haditha on November 19, 2005 and that the officers were covering it up.
Thompson concluded, "This entire investigation has been nothing but a political witchhunt instigated by insurgent propaganda operatives, anti-war media, and anti-war politicians. The government has spared no expense seeking to find wrongdoing on the part of our hard-fighting Marines. They should spend like resources investigating these serious allegations of investigatory misconduct. Our servicemen deserve as much."
The Thomas More Law Center defends and promotes the religious freedom of Christians, time-honored family values, and the sanctity of human life through education, litigation, and related activities. It does not charge for its services. The Law Center is supported by contributions from individuals, corporations and foundations, and is recognized by the IRS as a section 501(c)(3) organization. You may reach the Thomas More Law Center at (734) 827-2001 or visit our website at www.thomasmore.org.
I must be missing something here. It appears that your take on this press release, is negative - that it’s a PR stunt. My view is that this case has been tried for far too long in the court of public opinion with many allegations left unanswered (or not answered very loudly) by the defense attorneys. I view the Thomas More Law Center as going on the offensive and setting their own ground rules. Let the prosecution try to answer and defend some allegations for once (or let them go unanswered for a while).
Red, jude - I would assume jude24 IS an honorable person.(did I miss something else, here?) My apologies if anyone took my statements as rude.
North County Times has picked up the info from the Thomas More Law Center, here - http://www.nctimes.com/articles/2007/04/24/news/breaking/4240780440.txt
“Attorneys for the highest-ranking man charged with wrongdoing arising out of the slaying of 24 Iraqi civilians in 2005 are asking Navy Secretary Donald Winter to conduct an investigation of how his agents treated Marine witnesses and suspects.”.....
...”The complaint contends that Naval Criminal Investigative Service agents engaged in what Chessani’s attorneys say were improper and unconstitutional interrogation methods.”....
...”A spokesman for the criminal investigative service in Washington was reviewing the complaint and had no immediate response.
Brian Rooney, an attorney for Chessani, said a letter was sent to Winter today asking for the investigation.”....
To me, an interesting consideration is the risk a "Man of Honor" runs of becoming a "Boy in a Bubble". The bubble being the insular world of military law within the already insular world of the military.
For instance, not a single Marine spokesman denounced the leaks described in this thread. As I've said, I understand the world of honorable men, but sometimes "no comment" doesn't cut it. If the Corps leave helpless families outside the walls to be devoured by the wolves, there's no honor there.
The way the civilian law enforcement agents conducted the probe was like "having the verdict first and the trial second," Rooney said during a telephone interview Tuesday morning.
I’m reminded of Jonathan Turley’s statements at the conclusion of the Petty Officer Daniel King case back in Spring 2001.
What happened to Petty Officer King is alien and antithetical to our system. For that reason, it is essential for the transcript of the proceedings in this case to be completed and for the unclassified evidence to be made public. This evidence and testimony shows high-level government officials admitting to the commission of unlawful acts in the case, including admissions of prior false statements under oath and serious national security violations. The Navy would prefer to have the dismissal of this case portrayed as merely bad lawyering but the truth is far more serious and unsettling. In the name of protecting our constitutional system, the Navy violated the most basic guarantees of that system. It became the very thing that it was created to protect against. Unfortunately, such violations are not uncommon in the military and particularly in the Navy. While politicians often speak of wanting the very best for our men and women in uniform, service personnel are treated as second-class citizens when it comes to their constitutional rights. Some of this disparate treatment is due to archaic and unequitable rules governing military prosecution. However, the greatest single contributor is the consistent and notorious violations of the Naval Criminal Investigative Service (NCIS). I am not alone in my appraisal of the Navy or the NCIS. In my opinion, the NCIS is the most abusive police organization in this country. After numerous scandals and congressional inquiries, the NCIS continues to routinely violate the rights of sailors and Marines and continues to operate outside of the restrictions of either constitutional or professional standards. This case is perhaps the most egregious example of the NCIS culture and practices. However, it is not unique.
Ironically, the unconstitutional and abusive tactics used by the NCIS in this case not only undermined any legal case but defeated any legitimate search for the truth. After triggering an espionage investigation, NCIS agents found that they had no evidence and no spy. Rather than admit to a colossal blunder, these agents continued to interrogate a sailor for 19 and 20 hour sessions for 29 days. When no evidence was available to support their catastrophic misjudgment, they sought to create evidence. The NCIS manufactured a theory of espionage without foundation and then took steps to compel statements to support that theory. The tapes and evidence secured by the defense in this case reveal agents seeking a trophy not the truth.
This thing is a mess. Prayers for the Marines dealing with this petty political B.S. My son will be back from the field this week. I wonder what the scuttlebutt on base at Pendleton is on this.
Here’s another eye-opener from the NCIS investigation of Daniel King. From a statement given by Lt. Bailey’s in defense of Daniel King, Lt. Bailey describes that some of the problems with NCIS interrogations come directly from their training. http://warchronicle.com/TheyAreNotKillers/NCISKingCaseDoc3BaileyStatement.htm
...”Indeed, such conduct is predictable based on the training and guidance manual published by the NCIS. According to the NCIS Manual, Chapter 14 - Interrogations, any person who adamantly denies any wrongdoing and points to his clean record is “subconsciously confessing.” If a confused suspect asks what is going to happen to him, the NCIS believes this is an indication that he “is beginning a confession.” Additionally, agents are to convey the idea that they will “persist as long as required to resolve the issue under investigation” and that they “will not give up the interrogation.” “...
I wonder if NCIS has updated their training manuals lately?
Iraqis??? Really? Has the nationality of all 24 been identified?
That could be the reason they are referred to as 24 “innocent civilians” as opposed to "innocent unarmed Iraqis".
LOL...back at ya {{{Red}}}
Not only updated, but how about reading it?
If you re-read my original post, I noted the command influence question is not a distraction. This press release is, however.
It is not a distraction when one is asked for a lawyer and the lawyer is not provided.
When did they ask for one (and under what circumstances), and did questioning continue? In that case, I'd be very interested and need a cite.
And finally, if it is provable that accused were not permitted to relieve themselves
They were. They just weren't permitted to leave. Look, I've read pro se habeas corpus petitions claiming most of the same allegations as this. They're almost always denied.
Quickly, and I can't stay long (a lot coming down right now), I think that's what he's trying too. It's not going to go anywhere (this isn't coercion even in the civilian world), but it looks like they're gonna try anyway.
Regarding the Haditha Marines’ interrogations where, ...” in some cases interrogations lasted up to 18 hours. During prolonged questioning sessions, Marines were not allowed to eat, drink, or use the bathroom.”...
I found this review interesting - http://people.howstuffworks.com/police-interrogation.htm
...”Until the early 1900s in the United States, physical abuse was an acceptable (if not legal) method of getting a confession. Confessions obtained by “third degree” techniques — deprivation of food and water, bright lights, physical discomfort and long isolation, beating with rubber hoses and other instruments that don’t leave marks — were usually admissible in court”....
....”By the 1950s, confessions were considered involuntary not only if police beat the suspect, but also if they held a suspect for an unnecessarily extended period of time, deprived him of sleep, food, water or bathroom facilities, promised some benefit if the suspect confessed or threatened some harm if he didn’t.”....
The interrogation tactics allegedly used by NCIS sound like a potential problem to me.
I didn’t ask your opinion. If you’re going to be profane, I don’t care what you think.
Send him a kiss and a hug from me!
You thunk right! I’m glad to see someone fighting for these guys. The Corps is in a terrible position, it can do nothing at present without giving the appearance of partiality and thereby contaminating this process further.
Now, freema, don’t you know a good housewife from the fifties wouldn’t talk like that. Here’s a few tips for THE GOOD WIFE, printed in the 50’s, FYI.
THE GOOD WIFE’S GUIDE
Housekeeping Monthly, 1955
Have dinner ready. Plan ahead, even the night before, to have a delicious meal ready, on time for his return. Most men are hungry when they come home and the prospect of a good meal is part of the warm welcome needed.
Prepare yourself. Take 15 minutes to rest so you’ll be refreshed when he arrives. Touch up your make-up, put a ribbon in your hair and be fresh-looking.
Be a little gay (huh?) and a little more interesting for him. His boring day may need a lift and one of your duties is to provide it.
My favorite....
....Don’t complain if he’s late home for dinner or even if he stays out all night. Count this as minor compared to what he might have gone through that day..... :-)
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/1822199/posts?page=42#42
You mean like calling our Marines Cold-Blooded Murderers?
Fundamentally, that's irrelevant to the case. It might be relevant if you can demonstrate unlawful command influence (but that will be tricky!). The only purpose that this press release exists, however, is to stir up outrage that the Marines were interrogated.
Fundamentally, it's not in the least irrelevant to the case. The only purpose that Marines were called Cold-Blooded Murderers by a member of the United States House of Representatives was WHAT?
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