Posted on 06/17/2006 6:23:45 AM PDT by oxcart
CAMP PENDLETON ---- Seven Marines and a Navy corpsman in the brig for the alleged murder of an Iraqi civilian will no longer be forced to wear shackles when visiting with relatives, meeting with attorneys or using the exercise yard, base officials announced Friday.
Attorneys and family members of the troops had complained that there was no reason for the men to be shackled when leaving their cells, and one lawyer even called the practice "cruel and unusual punishment."
The unshackling came on the same day lawyers for two of the men said Pentagon investigators threatened the death penalty and used other coercive techniques to obtain statements from the troops.
Attorney Jane Siegel, who represents Encinitas Marine Pfc. John Jodka, 20, said Naval Criminal Investigative Service officials questioned Jodka 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 and was threatened with the death penalty.
Jeremiah Sullivan III, the attorney representing the unidentified Navy medic, said his client was treated similarly.
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.
A public debate has been brewing over how the eight men, who have not been charged, have been treated in the brig. Family members complained that the men were being held in solitary confinement and were shackled when they left their cells for visits.
The base responded earlier this week be saying the men have been in single-person cells but have not been in solitary confinement.
On Friday, the men were reclassified from maximum- to medium-custody inmates after a review of their behavior by Marine Corps officials, according to a statement by 2nd Lt. Lawton King, a spokesman at Pendleton. Being in medium custody, the men no longer have to be shackled when outside their cells.
One of the men in custody notified his parents of the change Thursday evening, several attorneys and family members said.
"This is a very good thing," Siegel said. "I think the Marine Corps did it in response to the outcry from the public, media and defense attorneys."
But Maj. Jeff Nyhart at Pendleton said the change had nothing to do with the complaints from attorneys and family members.
The brig classification and assignment board reviews the confinement of the troops every 20 to 30 days, according to the Pendleton statement.
The eight members of the 3rd Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment's Kilo Company have been held in the brig since May 24. The men are under investigation for the alleged kidnapping and slaying of 52-year-old Hashim Ibrahim Awad al-Zobaie in the Iraqi town of Hamdania on April 26.
On Thursday, Pendleton officials released a statement that, "due to the preliminary findings of the ongoing investigation into the Hamdania incident, the decision was made that the eight service members in pretrial confinement be given the maximum level of restraint."
Before Friday's announcement, when the men visited with family members, they were separated by a thick pane of glass, but Nyhart said they now will be able to meet in a dining hall.
Parents can now hug the men, and one of the troops' mothers said Friday she was excited to see her son this weekend, the only time relatives are allowed to visit.
"When he called me last night, his spirits were lifted (because the shackles were no more)," said the mother, who didn't want her name to be published to protect the identity of her son. "It's a milestone for us as parents, but it is a small step (in the overall situation)."
Vista attorney Thomas Watt, a retired Marine lieutenant colonel, is representing the woman's son, said Thursday that the men should be held in medium custody.
"I think it was very restrictive on everybody, especially the parents' spirits and their sons' spirits," Watt said Friday. "And it was also restrictive on me effectively communicating with him."
The change will also allow the men to roam free in the recreation yard for an hour each day. Before, a guard holding onto their belt would have to escort them everywhere.
Attorneys said this will give the troops a chance to get exercise.
"Now they will get to run outside, play basketball and lift weights," Siegel said. "It's good to be able to run around a little bit, and you can't do push-ups in a cell forever."
The men are kept in individual cells furnished with a bed, mattress, toilet, sink, desk and storage locker.
Political-inspired persecution (er,prosecution) to avoid being "dupes of the Pentegon-Military-Industrial-Haliburton cabal."
Stibks to high heaven. Politcally corrupt.
Send them to Gitmo. It's much better to be a known terrorist than a Marine.
Well, military courts have always been different from civilian courts, and there are lots of different rules. Lots of people would be surprised at just how different it is if you're in the military.
That said, I can't help but notice how different justice is for congress-critters than it is for our brave military (who, by the way, volunteered for service). All a terrorist has to do is make an accusation, and a whole bunch of guys are suddenly in shackles and solitary confinement. Ultimately, it is lots easier to make phony charges than it is to confront our military in battle.
On the other hand where they're at the marines will either be set free, if the charges are found to be groundless, or given a trial.
These men are under investigation for taking an unarmed civilian out, shooting him, and then trying to cover it up. If these charges are true then what exactly about them makes these marines heroes? The kidnapping? The shooting of an unarmed man? Or the lying about it?
Thanx for the info.Restriction to base sounds more appropriate.Where are they going to run too?I find it ironic that terrorists in Gitmo are treated better.
I second that. I remember the program, like a week ago, when Savage found out this was going on and had an attorney of one of the Marines on. Good stuff.
The Marines are facing some very serious charges which, if true, could lead to a trial where the penalty could be death. Even in the civlian world it's not uncommon to deny bail to people facing charges that serious.
Prayers are being answered.
I popped in to see what was going on with the soldiers missing in Iraq and found this.
Cobra, can you ping?
The military is notoriously strict when handling servicepersons suspected of a crime. This is nothing new, it's just new to people that aren't familiar with military justice. I've seen people stripped of their weapons and all sensitive items and treated like Hannibal Lecter when charged with non-violent and relatively harmeless infractions. It's just how it is. The military will go over the top to make sure that no one escapes punishment, and that they present an image of toughness when policing their own.
(Assuming that they're enlisted, of course.)
Once the investigation is complete and if the charges are found to be baseless.
Why are you so quick to take their freedom away on uncredible charges brought by people who routinely cut the heads, tongues, and noses off of their prisoners?
In the first place I didn't take their freedom away, the Marine Corps did. I'm familiar with the process because I spent quite a few years in the military. Because you, in your wisdom, proclaim the charges to be uncredible doesn't mean that the Marines shouldn't investigate. In case you haven't noticed recently other charges against other marines have been investigated and were ruled unfounded. Why are you opposed to the Marines taking the same route here and investigating the situation?
I guess Savage is Hannity's show-prep!!
If the military didn't investigate accusations of crimes, crimes would proliferate, as would more accusations. If there is a perception that a crime took place, it will be investigated, both as a message to the outside world, and to the military itself. That's good PR, and it's good for maintaining discipline.
It sucks if you're wrongfully accused of a crime, and have to sit in lockdown until the investigation is over, and you're released. Still, the military is looking at the big picture. So, have patience. If they're innocent, they'll be free soon enough. In this war, the enemy isn't the pathetic band of miscreants who set roadside IEDs; it's the global media that amplifies their power a thousand fold. If we hand them propaganda victories like allowing accusations of atrocities to go uninvestigated, then we're slitting our own throats.
Handling our own like this is unfair, but we jeopardize our chances of victory by doing anything less.
Where in the heck did you hear this? Sounds like another slime ball MSM piece of lying crap.
I'm with you...was sitting here thinking the same thing myself. The Army is really no different, "over re-action is better than no action" seems to be the new military creed.
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