Posted on 06/16/2006 6:21:14 PM PDT by Tulsa Ramjet
Pentagon investigators threatened the death penalty and used other coercive techniques to obtain statements from some of the seven Marines and a Navy corpsman jailed for the shooting death of an Iraqi civilian, two defense lawyers say.
Attorney Jane Siegel, who represents Marine Pfc. John Jodka, 20, said Naval Criminal Investigative Service officials spoke to her client three times after he was taken into custody May 12. Jodka was questioned for up to eight hours at a time and was not offered water or toilet breaks, Siegel said.
"They used some really heavy-handed tactics to extract the information," Siegel said, adding that her client was not read his rights prior to questioning _ a fundamental right to which all accused troops are entitled _ and was threatened with the death penalty.
Jeremiah Sullivan III, the attorney representing the unidentified Navy medic, said his client was treated similarly.
Marine Lt. Col. Scott Fazekas, a Pentagon spokesman, referred questions to Camp Pendleton, where the troops are being held. Officials there declined to comment.
Gary D. Solis, a former Marine Corps prosecutor and judge advocate who teaches law of war at Georgetown University Law Center, said investigators were within their rights to threaten a suspect with the death penalty since it is the maximum sentence for premeditated murder.
If statements are to be used in a trial, a military judge must first decide that they were given voluntarily, Solis said. If the defense can argue this was not the case then the statements could be ruled inadmissible.
"To be questioned for eight hours does not necessarily make it an inadmissible statement," Solis said. "But you have to look at the circumstances that surrounded those eight hours."
The Pentagon began investigating shortly after an Iraqi man was killed on April 26 in Hamdania, west of Baghdad. Military officials have said little publicly about the man's death, but a senior Pentagon official with direct knowledge of the investigation said evidence so far indicates troops entered the town in search of an insurgent and, failing to find him, grabbed an unarmed man from his home and shot him.
After the killing, the troops planted a shovel and an AK-47 rifle at the scene to make it appear the man was trying to plant an explosive device, said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he is not authorized to discuss the matter publicly.
The Pentagon originally said the incident occurred in Hamandiyah but officials later acknowledged they had misidentified the town and that the incident happened in Hamdania.
The troops being held at Camp Pendleton served with the 3rd Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment, and are members of the battalion's Kilo Company. The highest-ranking among them is a staff sergeant.
More than two weeks ago, Sullivan said he expected murder and kidnapping charges would be brought soon, and a Pentagon official confirmed charges were imminent. But none has been filed and the delay has not been explained.
According to Marine spokesman Lt. Col. Sean Gibson, charges must be filed within 120 days of servicemembers being taken into custody. Gibson put that date at May 24, which would mean charges might not be filed until September.
Siegel and Sullivan said they do not know what exactly the troops told their interrogators, and they complained that the Pentagon has not shared information about the investigation. They declined to say what they have been told about the killing.
Until Thursday the Marines and Navy corpsman were held at a maximum level of security at Camp Pendleton and were shackled whenever they left their cells. Their security level now has been reclassified to a lower level and they are allowed one hour's recreation daily without shackles, Camp Pendleton spokesman Lt. Lawton King said.
Solis said even if the Marines are charged and convicted of murder it's highly unlikely they would actually be executed. The president must approve such a penalty and that hasn't happened in nearly 200 years, he said.
"Is it safe?"
Will the ACLU care?
I'm sure Teddy Kennedy will take to the floor of the Senate to announce that Saddam's torturers are back in business, this time victimizing our heroic fighting men.
Doesn't serve their needs.
Unless they can turn Pendleton into another Abu Graib. They are trying to turn Haditha into My Lai.
"Paging Michael Savage! Red phone on line 1!"
Somehow I have the feeling Savage is going to bust a blood vessel Monday.
And here's more interesting stuff for the Marine's lawyers:
"Other documents stressed the need to manipulate Moslem and Western media. This was to be done by starting rumors of American atrocities, and feeding the media plausible supporting material."
Found today at: www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1650842/posts/.
We treat the savages in Gitmo better than we are treating these Marines.
I really don't get any of this!
I'm taking this with a grain of salt. This is the word of defense attorneys we are relying on.
This was reported June 9th on the Savage show, when Jeremiah Sullivan was on his show, it may have even been the 8th.
Dr Savage spent much time on this tonight (Friday). He blasted the President, the Marine Corps and everyone who has tried and convicted these Marines already.
The still unanswered questions are why are they in solitary and why in chains when out of solitary? Are these monsters on the scale of the Gitmo prisoners?
Savage is now calling these men "POWs" I couldnt agree more.
Meanwhile, President Bush twiddles his thumbs and stands by doing nothing.
I'm not holding my breath.
Yes, I listened today. Monday should be a real rouser. We're going to lose our military if the libs/socialist/scum in this country go unchallenged.
The Rack in the Tower of London
Kinda reminds ya of the Scottsboro case, doesn't it?
That is why it is important to let Ann Coulters statements that are driving the Demons wild, stand or fall on the merits, not apologize for not being seeeeeeeeeeeeeeenstive enough.
True. Hey, you got that Savage sarcasm down pretty good! :>
Michael Savage is even dumber than Sean Hannity, a daunting accomplishment indeed.
"I'm taking this with a grain of salt. This is the word of defense attorneys we are relying on."
As opposed to the enemies word that resulted in their arrest and detention without charges.
While defense attorneys are habitual liars, I do hope the military is not pre judging our Marines. Those Marines were doing a tough job overseas and should be given all the rights any defendant in the criminal system is entitled to.
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