Hearing to begin Monday for Marine charged in Haditha killings

Associated Press ^ | July 16, 2007 | Thomas Watkins

[RedRover]

SAN DIEGO - Lance Cpl. Stephen B. Tatum acknowledges using grenades and gunfire to kill several Iraqis in two houses in Haditha, but the Marine told investigators he was responding to what he considered a legitimate threat.

"Knowing what I know now, I feel badly about killing Iraqi civilians who may have been innocent," Tatum told Navy investigators in March 2006. "But I stand fast in my decisions that day, as I reacted to the threats that I perceived at that time."

Tatum, 26, begins a preliminary hearing Monday to determine if he should be tried for murder. He is charged with the unpremeditated murder of two girls in one house and the negligent homicide of two men, a woman and a child in another home.

He is also charged with assaulting two men.

If convicted of murder, he faces life in prison.

The Edmond, Okla., native is the second of three enlisted Marines in the case to face a hearing to assess whether his charges should be referred to a court-martial.

The killings took place Nov. 19, 2005 after a roadside bomb killed a Marine. In the aftermath of the blast, a Marine squad went house to house looking for insurgents, but instead killed Iraqi civilians, including women and children in bed.

Tatum's attorney Jack Zimmerman said his client acted appropriately and raided the houses after taking enemy fire from the vicinity.

"Lance Corporal Tatum responded precisely like he was trained to respond to a hostile situation," Zimmerman said Friday. "He certainly didn't intend to commit any crime."

Last week, the investigating officer for a squad member charged with murder, Lance Cpl. Justin L. Sharratt, said the government's evidence was insufficient for a court-martial and recommended dropping charges against Sharratt.

Recommendations are nonbinding; the final decisions about whether charges should go to trial rests with Lt. Gen. James Mattis, the general overseeing the case.

According to investigative documents, Tatum went with several other Marines to a house, where he said he and Cpl. Hector Salinas threw grenades into a room after hearing what they thought was the metal-on-metal sound of an AK-47 being readied to fire. The squad leader, Staff Sgt. Frank Wuterich and another Marine, Lance Cpl. Humberto Manuel Mendoza, then fired into the room.

Tatum said he joined in the firing and shot at least four people at a distance of about 20 feet. He said he did not positively identify those he shot as insurgents because he considered the entire house to be hostile.

Mendoza has been given immunity from prosecution and may testify at Tatum's hearing.

The preliminary hearing for Wuterich, who is charged with murdering 18 Iraqis, is set for Aug. 22.

In another house, Tatum said he may have shot as many as five people. He determined the house was hostile because Wuterich began firing his weapon.

"I did not positively identify anyone in the room as I could only make out shapes kneeling down and I considered anyone to be hostile based on Sergeant Wuterich's engagements in the room," Tatum told investigators. "I did not shoot randomly with the intent to harm innocent Iraqi civilians."

Aside from the three enlisted Marines charged with murder, four officers are charged with dereliction of duty for failing to investigate the deaths. A hearing officer for Lt. Col. Jeffrey Chessani, the highest-ranking Marine charged, has recommended a court-martial.

[Gene Eric]

Thanks Red!

[4woodenboats]

Tatum is also charged with the negligent homicide of 2 men, a woman and a child, and with assaulting two men.

"Murdering two girls" does sound considerably more lurid than "2 males insurgents, suspected of triggering an IED during an ambush and then firing on marines from 3/1 Kilo while they tried to attend to the wounded, were killed during a firefight in one of the houses that small arm fire came from. 2 insurgents were wounded, and a woman, child, and 2 girls were found dead at the scene.

It is unknown whether they were alive before the ambush or not, as other townspeople claiming to be their relatives, thereby making themselves available for "Solatia" (Iraqi for blood) payments, refused to let the bodies be autopsied, or if they were used as human shields against the Marine's grenades, a common practice amongst Jihadis."

[brityank]

Thanks, Red.

I see you found it crawling out of its hole in the rock.
;^)

[Brandie]

Thank you, you do a lot of work to keep us informed and it is really appreciated. I read my pings every day from you and just wanted to thank you so much.

[RedRover]

You’re welcome, Brandie.

If I had never discovered Free Republic, I’d be doing the same thing, obsessing about this case on my own. It’s better to have the company!

[Marine_Uncle]

The *hit these Marines are having to go through after what they had to do for so long Iraq. It is sickening.

[4woodenboats]

Someone once said that a good friend will go sit with one who’s going through a rough time, while a great friend will bring the whole neighborhood..... ;~)

[RedRover]

Love it, man! FR is the best neighborhood I know.