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.
Okay, I'm late to this story, but I still don't understand much about it.
Who made these charges? Is there any evidence? Have the people making the charges a history that we know of? Or an agenda?
What reason would the marines have for kidnapping and killing this man? What did he do and what did they want from him?
Or is a there a good source for finding out more info.
Oh, and one other point --- Hannity specifically asked VP Cheney about their treatment on Thursday in a live radio interview. Cheney apparently wasn't aware of the situation.
[Curiously, on Friday, the men's status changed. Co-inkie-dink?]
Fifth Column Johnny and the anti-American media are going to have to do a lot of crow eating when the real story comes out.
There is a sufficient amount of evidence from a variety of sources to warrant an investigation by the Marine Corps brass. That investigation is apparently winding up. Based on their conclusions either charges will be filed or the Marines will be freed.
What reason would the marines have for kidnapping and killing this man? What did he do and what did they want from him?
I have no idea. If the Marine Corps believes that there is enough evidence to justify charges and a trial then I assume that information will come out during the course of it.
Or is a there a good source for finding out more info.
The media (chuckle, snort).
That is the jist of what they have been accused of.
There are levels of restriction, at least it was so when I was in the Army. Restricted to Base, Restricted to Quarters, Restricted to Compound.. etc etc.
IIRC, I believe that's the way the UCMJ works.
I like that one! Or in Dan Rather's words, "If a frog had side pockets, he'd carry a handgun".
----BTW, this whole thing smacks of some nut base commander or officer in charge of the brig going over the top. That is why someone up the chain of command changed their treatment relatively quickly.---
This is what I suspect as well...
Yep- we have to treat the terrorists we catch better than these service men are being treated - go figure....
Death Row inmates get better treatment. This is disgusting.
As Michael Savage pointed out, there is no evidence.
We cannot exhume the bodies because they are muslim and muslims do not want their dead defiled by "heathen".
No bodies, no evidence.
Free the marines and sailor!
Oh, and the accusation comes from a man who was recently arrested for being a terrorist! The enemy makes the accusation and our guys are immediately guilty.
What kind of war is this?!
Savage brought this to light.
I cannot believe the shabby treatment these heroes are getting...where is the evidence? All I've seen is hyperbole brought up in the media...and no sensible person believes that.
As citizens we deserve to see the evidence against these Marines! And while they are digging that up...let these men out!
While news on this entire episode is not forth-coming...if this does get to Marines deployed in Iraq and they realize what their leadership is doing...it'll have grave consequences. If ordered on a patrol....you might as well go out of the front gate of the compound and find a safe patch of desert and just sit there...so you won't find trouble and won't be possibly charged with a fake crime. I hate suggesting that but I don't care to be a pawn for a bunch of general's sitting at the pentagon or a bunch of politicans sitting in DC. If this is the state of our leadership...then this war is finished and we might as well pack up and go home...its not worth fighting over if innocent marines end up in shackles and treated like dirt by their own comrades.
Hannity receieved a phone call from one of these Marines father during his show.
FReepers are watching the status of this case closely.
I think Michael Savage is outraged at pretty much everything.
So when do the accusers get put in shackles?? Just to be fair!!
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