Posted on 08/24/2007 7:08:07 AM PDT by radar101
CAMP PENDLETON ---- A hearing officer is recommending that murder and negligent homicide charges against a Marine lance corporal accused of killing six Iraqis, including three children, nearly two years ago be dismissed.
Lt. Col. Paul Ware made the recommendation in a report released Thursday by the attorney for Lance Cpl. Stephen Tatum, a 26-year-old Oklahoma native accused of killing civilians in the Iraqi city of Haditha.
"There is insufficient evidence to find reasonable ground for offenses charged," Ware wrote in the report, which will be sent to Camp Pendleton's Lt. Gen. James Mattis. "I believe (Lance Cpl.) Tatum's real-life experience and training on how to clear a room took over and his body instinctively began firing while his head tried to grasp at what and why he was firing.
"By the time he could recognize that he was shooting at children, his body had already acted," Ware wrote of Tatum's role in the events at Haditha on Nov. 19, 2005.
Ware's lengthy analysis concludes that Tatum was following the lead of the man in charge of his squad, Staff Sgt. Frank Wuterich.
The Iraqis were killed by Wuterich and members of his Kilo Company squad from Camp Pendleton's 3rd Battalion, 1st Marine Regiment after a roadside bomb took the life of a lance corporal and the unit was attacked by small-arms fire.
Five Iraqis who drove up after the bombing were killed first, followed by the slaying of 19 others inside three homes where the Marines have said that they believed insurgents were hiding. The Iraqis who Tatum was charged with killing were inside two of those homes.
If Ware's recommendation is upheld by Gen. Mattis, the convening authority over the case as head of Marine Corps forces in the Middle East, that would leave only Wuterich still facing murder charges in a case that attracted worldwide condemnation and accusations that the Marines had "killed in cold blood."
Charges against a third defendant, Lance Cpl. Justin Sharratt, who was accused of killing three Iraqis, were dropped earlier this month by Mattis.
Ware also presided over a hearing for Sharratt and determined that the case against him did not constitute murder, but was instead a legitimate response to a threat.
A hearing for Wuterich is scheduled to start at Camp Pendleton next Thursday with Ware also presiding over that case.
A fourth defendant originally charged by Marine prosecutors with murder in the deaths, Sgt. Sanick Dela Cruz, later had those charges dropped in exchange for his testimony.
Tatum's lead attorney, Jack Zimmerman, said in a written statement that he and Tatum were happy with Ware's findings.
"We are pleased with the report of the investigating officer and concur with his recommendation to withdraw and dismiss all charges," Zimmerman wrote, declining further comment.
Gary Solis, a former Marine Corps judge and attorney and now a recognized authority on the law of war, said after reading Ware's report that he concurs with the recommendation.
"I have said since the outset that this would be a difficult case to prove because all of this occurred in the course of a combat operation," said Solis, who teaches military law at Georgetown University.
Ware's references to Wuterich taking the lead in storming the houses suggest that the staff sergeant may have more difficulty explaining away the charges, Solis said.
"The ground has been laid in this report for a hard case against Wuterich," he said.
But Neal Puckett, Wuterich's lead attorney, disagreed with that assessment.
"We believe the report reflects favorably on our case," Puckett said, declining further comment.
Solis said he believes that Gen. Mattis will concur with the recommendation that Tatum's charges be dismissed.
"Lt. Gen. Mattis is unconcerned with public opinion when it comes to doing the right thing," he said. "I'd be extremely surprised if the recommendation is not followed."
Contact staff writer Mark Walker at (760) 740-3529 or mlwalker@nctimes.com
Oh boy, Murtha aint going to like this.
Murtha must have had access to secret evidence to convict these Marines before trial!
NOT
“There is insufficient evidence to find reasonable ground for offenses charged,”
When will a Responsible GOP Congressman call for Murtha’s resignation on national television...
Why does the GOP refuse to capitalize on these issue and show the American people the true nature of people like Murtha?
Why is this article quoting Ware's comments from nearly 2 years ago rather than his recent report.
That particular comment makes me uneasy and I was wondering if it was pulled out of the context of the report to make it sound more disturbing. Then I noticed it wasn't even part of the recent report and was pulled from an earlier report.
Can anyone provide me some good links to information on Cpl. Tatum's role in all this?
I suspect that he didn't think he had any reason to expect that there was any civilians in the room, but entering a room and firing on targets before identifying them doesn't sound that reasonable. Of course I don't have the background or experience to judge what is reasonable in such a situation. Ware does, and he has determined that his actions were not criminal.
I would however like to know more about what happened.
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