Posted on 07/20/2007 4:36:13 AM PDT by RedRover
According to at least one attorney who's observing the hearing, the government's case is strong enough for referal to a court martial, but too weak to bring a conviction.
For more on this hearing, see here for starters.
my guess is if they could’ve examined the bodies they wouldve found ak rounds in them, which is why they the bodies were not reveiwed.
Hope this is grounds for appeal.
Yeah. I’m just a civilian, but it sure seems to me that it would be important to the case to know whether that victim was an enemy or an innocent.
This case is precisely why I have soured on the war. I believe in what our soldiers are trying to do but I cannot stand the way they are being second guessed. My gosh, a toddler could figure out how to use this kind of nonsense to their advantage and our government is playing right into the hands of the terrorists. What where these guys supposed to do? Excuse me Sir, are you an insurgent? Give me a effin break. I am sickened by the idea that our soldiers need to be sitting ducks. If the future of our military is going to be killing the enemy with kindness, then quit training them with weapons and teach them to write Hallmark cards so they can pass them out along with a box of candy. Don’t train them to fight back if they will be prosecuted for it. I am disgusted.
Humberto Mendoza, 21, of Aurora, California, was a private first class at the time of the incident. He admits to shooting two Iraqis but was granted immunity in exchange for signing testimony prepared by NCIS agents.
The NCIS practice of making up testimony has come under increased scrutiny in recent hearings. But Secretary of the Navy Winters has blocked any probes, apparently believing that NCIS' freedom to lie, distort, and falsify is essential to desirable outcomes at trials.
Mendoza is not a US citizen. Suspicion is high that he was threatened with deportation back to the land of Hugo Chavez if he didn't play ball with NCIS.
Mendoza's testimony against LCpl Tatum is not particularly convincing but will likely result in the case going to court martial.
The Tatum family's legal bills could run as high as a million dollars.
Then Sec Winters needs to be removed from his position. He is killing our soldiers for the sake of politically expedient convictions. If this was a civilian court the prosecution would be laughed out of the courtroom with such heresay and un-validated testimony. Serial killers have gotten off with better evidence than this.
“Strong enough for a referal to a court martial, but too weak to bring a conviction.” Could you elaborate on that? It sounds to me like he might go to court (trial?) but not to worry?
noooooooo! I know they don't pay attention to other cases, when making their rulings...
But somewhere along the line someone has to have figured out this whole mess should never have taken place.
No bodies to examine, no case. This whole damn thing is a fraud.
Who’s testimony is missing from this hearing? Salinas? He was in the first house with Tatum, Wuterich, and Mendoza. Why hasn’t Salinas been called for his report of what happened in House #1?
An Article 32 hearing is like a civilian Grand Jury.
A Grand Jury may send a case to trial even though the evidence is sketchy. Same thing in an Article 32 except the Investigationg Officier makes the recommendation to go to trial rather than a jury.
The IO may think a witness is lying (and will address that in his report) but still recommend a case to court martial because innocence of the accused is not clear-cut.
That is the assumption in the LCpl Tatum hearing based on all the testimony and evidence so far.
The testimony from Mendoza is not all that compelling because a) he didn’t witness the actual shooting, and b) he has a clear motive to lie.
Has the defense provided any witnesses yet? Or is that what they’re doing today? Shouldn’t they get a reasonable amount of time to present their case? That Mendoza is a real piece of sh#t. It sounds like he’s the one who charged in and shot civilians and is now blaming someone else for his crimes. The Marines and the US doesn’t need people like this.
Cindie
I haven’t heard about any defense witnesses yet though I’m assuming they’ll call at least senior Marine who served with LCpl Tatum in Fallujah to testify to his character as a Marine under fire.
More importantly, I believe the defense has their own forensic experts to counter NCIS interpretation.
"I see", said the blind man.
I'm not a Mattis-basher, but failing to provide immunity for Salinas is blow to the defense delivered by the Convening Authority.
BTW, I finally found this photo. Salinas does not look like someone who could be pushed around by a NCIS agent, does he?
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