Posted on 11/08/2007 8:13:01 AM PST by RedRover
Trial Date Set for Highest Ranking Marine Charged in the "Haditha Massacre"
Iraqi Insurgents Handed a Victory
ANN ARBOR, MI ─ The Thomas More Law Center announced today that the trial of Marine Lieutenant Colonel Jeffrey Chessani, one of America’s most effective combat commanders in Iraq, is preliminarily scheduled to begin on April 28, 2008. LtCol Chessani is charged with failing to accurately report and investigate an incident that occurred in Haditha, Iraq on November 19, 2005, dubbed "the Haditha massacre."
If convicted – this 20 year veteran and father of 5 young children (and a sixth expected shortly) who served 3 tours of duty in Iraq (in addition to Panama and the Persian Gulf War) – will be dismissed from the Marine Corps, lose all of his retirement benefits, and face 2 ½ years in prison.
Lawyers with the Thomas More Law Center, a national public interest law firm based in Ann Arbor, Michigan, are representing LtCol Chessani alongside his detailed military attorneys.
Richard Thompson, President and Chief Counsel of the Law Center, commented, "The Marines defended themselves from hostile fire as they were trained and authorized. That Lt. Colonel Chessani must now face a trial for their actions is both tragic and absurd. He is being tried for not investigating a crime that we now know never occurred."
Continued Thompson, "Our own government has handed the insurgents a victory by removing one of our most effective combat leaders from the battle. This investigation has imperiled the lives of our troops who, in making split-second decisions whether to defend themselves, now have to consider that lawyers with the benefit of 20/20 hindsight will examine their actions under a legal microscope."
The charges against Chessani were incited by an inflammatory Time magazine headline accusing Marine enlisted men of “massacring innocent civilians.” The story was planted by known terrorist propaganda operatives, and has since been discredited. Anti-war Congressman John Murtha, with influence over military appropriations, in an unprecedented action, publicly accused Marine officers of a “cover-up” and enlisted men of killing civilians in “cold blood.”
Two separate investigations by U.S. Army officers, one by a Colonel and another by a General, found no evidence of “a massacre” or that officers “covered-up” the incident. A subsequent Article 32 Investigation by a Marine Investigating Officer, LtCol Ware, also found no evidence of a “massacre” or “cover-up.”
The charges against LtCol Chessani stem from the actions of four Marines who came under fire from a coordinated al Qaeda-led ambush in Haditha, Iraq, on November 19, 2005. Shortly after 7 a.m., an improvised explosive device detonated under one of the 4 Humvees accompanying a supply convoy, immediately killing one Marine and injuring two others. At the same time, the Marines came under fire from nearby homes. A four-man Marine fire team was ordered to clear the houses occupied by the insurgents. In the ensuing house-to-house firefight, the Marines tragically killed 15 civilians.
As Battalion commander of the Third Battalion, First Marines – one of the most decorated Units in the Marine Corps – LtCol Chessani had over 2,000 men in his command with an area of responsibility just under the size of South Carolina. LtCol Chessani was not at the scene of the firefight that prompted the charges against him. LtCol Chessani later traveled to the various battle scenes to investigate.
The incident was immediately reported to every echelon of LtCol Chessani’s chain of command. In the following three months not one of his superiors suspected a law of war violation or asked that an investigation be conducted. In fact, both his immediate superior – Col Davis – and his superior – MajGen Huck – commended LtCol Chessani on a job well done. However, as soon as the Time magazine article appeared, the government focused on LtCol Chesani as its sacrificial lamb to the “blame-America-first media.”
Two of the Law Center attorneys assigned to his case are former Marine officers themselves. Robert Muise served in the First Persian Gulf war as an infantry officer, and Brian Rooney was a Judge Advocate officer who just returned from a tour of duty in Iraq last year. Brandon Bolling, a third Law Center attorney assisting in the case, is also a former Marine Judge Advocate officer, having recently returned from a tour of duty in Africa and Afghanistan.
LtCol Chessani’s official 2006 Combat Fitness Report declared him “a superb leader, who knows his men, knows the enemy, knows his business,” and recommended him for promotion. The reviewing Major General added, Lt. Colonel Chessani has “unlimited potential and value to the Marine Corps,” and also recommended him for promotion.
The following quotes are excerpts from Lt. Colonel Chessani’s Combat Fitness Report (a required annual evaluation of a Marine officer’s performance) prepared by his superiors for the reporting period of September 2005 to February 2006 (This time period includes the date of the incident for which Lt. Colonel Chessani is facing criminal charges):
The Reviewing Officer, Major General Huck added his comments: “Top notch officer with outstanding potential. Promote and select for TLS [Top Level School]. Post TLS slate for Regimental command and subsequent joint tour. Unlimited potential and value to the Marine Corps. Capable of the most challenging assignments.”
The Thomas More Law Center defends and promotes the religious freedom of Christians, time-honored family values, and the sanctity of human life through education, litigation, and related activities. It does not charge for its services. The Law Center is supported by contributions from individuals, corporations and foundations, and is recognized by the IRS as a section 501(c)(3) organization. You may reach the Thomas More Law Center at (734) 827-2001 or visit our website at www.thomasmore.org.
My brother is reporting that Michael Hensley has been found NOT GUILTY on all 3 murder counts but has been found guilty of lesser charges.
Sorry to bust in on this thread.
This text of an email from Baghdad:
I case you have not heard yet. Hensley has been found not guilty of all three counts of murder. Guilty on some of the little shit. What does this mean to us. If the ruthless bastards hang all of this sh23 on Evan, Hell hath no fury to measure against what shall be rained upon there heads by me. I believe we end this fu23432 nightmare on 11 Nov. at the article 32. How can it be any other way? All plans to alter flights are on hold. I knew this would be the verdict based on how Evan’s testimony went with the Hensley matter. Once again, as in Sandoval, I have been informed that Hensley’s verdict was reached due to Evan’s testimony. They have completely used my son up and he is very nearly broken. Though I am told his spirits are up today. What a relief it must be to him to see his fellows get acquitals.
Post 21
FANTASTIC NEWS!!!!!!
If two of three have now been exonerated, it’s almost certain that Evan is coming home, too.
Nothing yet in the news. I’m curious what the “little shit” Hensley was found guilty of amounts to.
Probably filing a false report, planting evidence.
Bro said he would call later, will let you know.
Oh that is great news!
Thanks for sharing!
This is great news, bhf!!
Thanks for posting and pinging us.
Great, and I’ll keep an eye out on Google for news.
So, here we go again - WAIT, WAIT, WAIT. Put your lives on hold! Spend more sleepless nights wondering what the outcome will be, spend more money defending yourself against false allegations and somehow try to live a NORMAL life! I, for one, cannot understand why Gen. Mattis left all of the Haditha Marines and their families hanging. It would have behooved him to put an end to all of this once and for all. I AM TERRIBLY DISAPPOINTED!
I would give General Mattis a piece of my mind if I didn’t need it.
I am sorry you are in the hurry up and wait game. All of your hearing dates were postponed, the word never coming out (back from Labor Day Weekend)!
We are all here for you and the Haditha families.
I am about to send you the whole WTF home collection. Perhaps a door mat????
I don’t know why Mattis didn’t drop this charade when it was in his power to do so. The scuttlebutt is he wanted to be sure all the charges were fully aired so there could be no allegation of a Marine Corps cover-up. So, people are saying, even though Mattis knew the Marines will be exonerated, he wanted court martials “for the good of the Corps.”
If that’s his motive, I can’t believe that tearing apart the lives of Marines, especially during a time of war, is for the good of anybody or anything.
The new CA, LtGen Helland, has a great reputation. He’s said to be a non-political general officer. I pray he lives up to that, and that he deserves the regard in which he’s held.
“My prayers for Lt. Colonel Chessani and his family.” Mine, too! This whole mess is so horrible for our Marines. And brought about by Murtha, it’s unbelievable!
This is ridiculous and a travesty of justice. It’s basically ben proven that there was no “massacre” so why is this trial even taking place. It’s also pretty much in evidence that the Old Corps is dead and gone and a new generation of PC Morons have now taken over. Thanks Clinton and Bush!
5 more months of sleep deprivation, for one.
I can't think of any of these prosecutions that didn't heavily rely on anticipation of coercion, as threat induced coercion has been the prosecution's only friend, other than absolutley no fear of repercussions thanks to Secretary Winter.
Every single day brings the certainty - and accompanying anticipation - that NCIS or some REMF is trying to make a deal such as the one they tried with no success with Lt. Grayson, yet managed to break Sgt Dela Cruz and Lcpl Mendoza with.
That's 150 MORE days of waking up wondering if a Marine has succumbed to extortion by his country.
That's bound to mess with anyone's head. That's what they're counting on. I don"t think they're gonna get it.
BAGHDAD -- A U.S. Army sergeant who testified in September that he executed an Iraqi on orders from his platoon's senior sniper told the soldier's court-martial Wednesday that he now remembers little about the incident.
The witness, Sgt. Evan Vela, and the defendant, Staff Sgt. Michael A. Hensley, stand at the center of the controversy over the killing of three Iraqis south of Baghdad in the spring.
Testifying Sept. 27 at another colleague's court-martial, Vela gave a chilling account of how he had shot two bullets into the head of the Iraqi man, saying he was following Hensley's direct order.
The testimony helped the defendant in that case, Spc. Jorge G. Sandoval Jr., win acquittal on murder charges, though he is serving 44 days in detention for planting bomb wiring on an Iraqi he had slain. However, those earlier statements are not admissible in Hensley's court-martial or in Vela's upcoming trial.
It was not immediately clear Wednesday why Vela changed his account. One observer at the trial said Vela had pulled off badges from his army uniform outside the courthouse before taking the stand. He described Vela's demeanor as angry and confused.
There's more at the link. Nothing yet about SSgt Hensley's exoneration.
I have some of the transcript of the Hensley hearing, Evan’s testimony. I know for a fact that after letting it all hang out testifying that you have no interest in going at it again, and again. Evan didn’t want to testify, don’t understand why his defense team made him do it. Like it was stated earlier, they have completely used him up.
Thinking of you, Semper Fi Mom. I cannot understand, either, why Gen. Mattis left some of the Haditha Marines hanging before he left. Maybe the new Lt. Gen. will bring a breath of fresh air into this long process.
Are you saying that Hensley HAS been exhonerated and that we're just waiting for the report, or are you saying that we're awaiting the verdict of the trial?
Bro sent me an email saying Hensley HAS BEEN FOUND NOT GUILTY OF THE 3 MURDER CHARGES. Guilty of lesser charges.
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