Good question. I hope Mark Walker is back on the job tomorrow to give a detailed account of the first day.
Actually, though, tomorrow will be busy at Camp Pen. Justin’s hearing is starting, the Chessani hearing is ending, and there will be a motion hearing for Sgt Hutchins in the Hamdania case.
On Monday, another case begins when a hearing gets under way for Lance Cpl. Justin Sharratt, one of the men accused of murder for his role in the death of 24 Iraqis in Haditha in 2005....
Sharratt, who attended high school in Indiana and whose family now lives in the Pennsylvania congressional district of U.S. Rep. John Murtha, is charged with three counts of unpremeditated murder and could face life imprisonment if ordered to trial and convicted.
It was Murtha who last year sparked controversy when he said the Marines in the Haditha incident had killed in "cold blood" as a result of frequent deployments and combat stress. Murtha has been a leading voice among congressional Democrats who want U.S. troops withdrawn from Iraq.
Sharratt's lead attorney, Gary Myers, said Friday that his client is a seasoned Marine whose Iraq service includes participating in one of the major battles of the war, the 2004 fight for the city of Fallujah.
Myers said that in Haditha, Sharratt did nothing to warrant the charges he faces.
"We have always said that what was done with respect to our client was appropriate," the attorney said during a telephone interview from his offices in Washington, D.C. "He is an experienced Marine who knew how to conduct house-to-house operations."
Sharratt's hearing is expected to last most if not all of the week.
(Hat tip to ma!)