If there was photographic evidence “missing” that Briones took, and it’s related to Grayson’s charges, then why wouldn’t Briones be called to testify? Brione’s testimony isn’t looking to trustworthy at this point. But they still have the other guy. Weren’t there pictures also taken by intelligence officers? I’m still wondering if either guy was an “official” photographer at the scene. Could be some CYA at this point. I read somewhere where Briones (I think) was questioned in Iraq by NCIS on whether he had “staged” or “modified”, or something to that effect, his photos. Huh?
Getting back to looking into the photos taken by two Marines, the day of Haditha. This article has some interesting info on the two from their families. “Families Discuss Haditha Deaths”, dated May 30, 2006.
http://www.military.com/NewsContent/0,13319,98981,00.html?ESRC=eb.nl
Summarizing, the families say the 2 Marines, Lance Cpl. Andrew Wright, 20, and Lance Cpl. Roel Ryan Briones, 21, were ordered to photograph the corpses, they’ve been traumatized ever since, and the events remain seared in their memories. Brione’s mom, Susie, said NCIS had confiscated his camera; Wright’s parents wouldn’t say what happened to Andrew’s photos (wonder why?), but that he turned over all info to the Navy. Wright’s parents go on to say Andrew is “the Forrest Gump of the military” and that he “ended up in the spotlight through no fault of his own”.
“Ryan Briones told the Los Angeles Times that Navy investigators had interrogated him twice in Iraq and they wanted to know whether bodies had been tampered with. He turned over his digital camera but did not know what happened to it after that.” Tampered with?
In this second link from WaPo, “Marines’ Photos Provide Graphic Evidence in Haditha Probe”, dated Jan. 7, 2007
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/01/06/AR2007010601359.html
...”The images — which investigators tracked down on several laptop computers and digital media drives, some in the United States — provide visual evidence of a series of shootings outside a taxi and inside three homes”...
...”the Haditha images were discovered months after the shootings as more than 60 Naval Criminal Investigative Service agents scoured the globe for them.”.....
Investigators allegedly found images on laptops shipped back to the US, deleted from a memory drive, and e-mailed back to a civilian in the US. It doesn’s say how many Marines were involved in having these photos. But now Andrew White says he “decided to hold onto the photographs to make it certain that officials would have a clearer view of what happened that day..... Wright, who arrived on the scene after the violence to care for the bodies, took photographs of the dead and kept a full set.”
“”I decided that it was in my best interest to obtain the photos I had taken that night,” Wright told investigators. “Even though there was no investigation at the time, I felt that the photographs would be evidence if anything came up in the future. In my opinion, the people that I photographed had been murdered.”
Hmmmmm. So was White ordered to take photos or not? Who e-mailed the photos to a civilian in the US? Did Wright ever turn these photos over to the intelligence officers at the time, or did he just take and keep them for his own personal reasons? The prosecution isn’t calling Briones to testify; wonder if they’ll call White to testify?