Posted on 09/25/2006 3:28:16 PM PDT by TexKat
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Three U.S. Marines will be tried on murder charges without the possibility of the death penalty in the April shooting of an Iraqi man in the town of Hamdania in central Iraq, the military said on Monday.
Lt. Gen. James Mattis, the top Marine general in the Middle East, decided that Pfc. John Jodka, Cpl. Marshall Magincalda and Lance Cpl. Jerry Shumate will face courts-martial in the shooting death on April 26 of Hashim Ibrahim Awad, the Marines said in a statement from Camp Pendleton, California.
The three were among seven Marines and a Navy medic accused of dragging the 52-year-old Iraqi from his home, shooting him dead and placing an assault rifle and a shovel next to his body to create the appearance that he was an insurgent planting a roadside bomb.
The Hamdania shooting is one of several in which U.S. troops are accused of killing civilians in Iraq, including the deaths of 24 people in Haditha in November last year.
Mattis threw out several lesser charges against the three Marines and dismissed an assault charge against a fourth in a separate incident in the same town, west of Baghdad.
He decided to take the cases to trial after the military held so-called Article 32 hearings to examine the allegations. No trial dates were announced.
Following the lead of military prosecutors, Mattis decided not to seek the death penalty, which was available because the murder was deemed premeditated.
Shumate also will be tried on an assault charge for a separate April 10 incident in the same town involving another Iraqi man, Khalid Hamad Daham.
In that incident, the Marines said, Mattis dismissed an assault charge against Lance Cpl. Henry Lever, who no longer faces any charges.
If its murder, they should pay. If not, they should be acquitted and given a clean record.
These Marines, if I'm not mistaken, had asked to skip the Article 32 hearing and go straight to trial. Thye have confidence in their position, from what I've read.
My only question is this: Was the guy they killed an insurgent/terrorist? If he was, then they should walk free. I don't care if they killed him in his nightgown at his dinner table.
I see that our military is moderating their position by culling out three of the Pendleton 8. IMO, all of our soldiers sent to that hell-hole should have blanket amnesty. Thanks to deep prejudice by the likes of Murtha, our children are suffering humilation and worse in a politically motivated activity by our own military. IMO our marines are heroes and should be given medals for what they do. At the least all of our military should have blanket amnesty when they are in a war zone. Instead we accept the word of the enemy to undermine our best and brightest volunteers.
No autopsy.
No conviction on murder charges.
Next case...
Just like Lt. Pantano, these Marines & Corpsman will be vindicated.
The day they start indicting Marines for fighting wars and taking the word of terrorists & America's enemies over the word of Marines is the day America needs to bring the Marines home.
Semper Fi,
Kelly
I want to see evidence this happened from non-Iraqis. Otherwise, I'll stick by our American Marines to the end. God Bless our military and God Bless America.
I want to see evidence this happened from non-Iraqis. For whatever reason, I believe the Iraqis will lie through their teeth. Otherwise, I'll stick by our American Marines to the end. God Bless our military and God Bless America.
Semper Fi, kellynla
Exactly! These Marines are political prisoners.
I agree totally. Turn them lose to fight the war or bring them home. Iam sick of hearing this crap about our warriors.
"I agree totally. Turn them lose to fight the war or bring them home."
_________________________________
Unfortunately none of our esteemed leaders are listening....and that's why the American people are disillusioned. It would have been over long ago if the troopes had been allowed to do their jobs. As it is.....shades of Viet Nam, second verse --- same as the first.
Yes, I know we cannot really have blanket amnesty. That could be a license for murder and mayhem. I just think that people like John Murtha have to be curbed somehow. He and other influential Democrats are intimidating our military into taking actions that seem to be politically motivated. We also probably have many operatives from the Clinton administration still carrying out their leftist agenda. Our policy should be closer to blanket amnesty than accusing every soldier of murder for doing his or her job!
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