Posted on 12/04/2007 6:56:06 PM PST by RedRover
CAMP PENDLETON, Calif. (AP) — Witnesses described a tense scene in the pre-dawn hours after a Marine reservist killed an Iraqi soldier at a guard post, telling of angry Iraqi soldiers confronting American troops and moving the body.
The testimony came Tuesday in the court-martial of Lance Cpl. Delano Holmes, who is accused of stabbing Pvt. Munther Jasem Muhammed Hassin on Dec. 31, 2006, while the two stood together in Fallujah at a guard post frequently targeted by insurgents. Holmes has said he killed Hassin in self-defense.
"The (Iraqis) were trying to take the body. I said no," said Bryce Sobol, a former Marine reservist who was one of the first to respond to the guard post atop an abandoned building. Hassin's body, he said, already had been moved from the spot where he died.
Sobol was also one of the first to talk to Holmes, whom he described as fearful Iraqis would return in the minutes following the killing.
"He kept looking at the door," Sobol said, adding that he told the Marine to return to his watch. "I told him I would watch the door, and that's what I did. I stayed with him."
By all accounts, the guard post had been a target of insurgents in the days leading up to the killing. Witnesses testified about a rocket-propelled grenade being launched at the post, and pictures of the post's ballistic windows were presented to the three officers and five enlisted personnel who will decide the case.
During opening statements earlier in the day, a prosecutor said the case against Holmes was simple: It's about 17 stab wounds and 26 slashes.
"It's about murder and lies," Maj. Christopher Shaw told jurors.
But Holmes' defense attorney told jurors the case was about making a split-second decision in a war zone where snipers were targeting U.S. troops.
"He did exactly what he believed he had to do," civilian attorney Steve Cook said.
Shaw, though, told the jury that Holmes murdered Hassin and lied about it.
"The accused had no injuries whatsoever," Shaw said.
Holmes, 22, from Indianapolis, has pleaded not guilty to charges of unpremeditated murder and making a false statement. If convicted on all counts, Holmes faces life imprisonment with the possibility of parole.
The killing occurred in the pre-dawn darkness after Hassin allegedly opened his cell phone and then lit a cigarette at the post. The men were not supposed to display any illuminated objects because of the threat of sniper fire, and Holmes tried repeatedly to get Hassin to extinguish the cigarette, Cook said.
Holmes maintains he knocked the cigarette out of the soldier's hand and the two got into a fight, falling to the ground. During the struggle, Holmes felt Hassin reaching for his loaded AK-47, so he stabbed him with a bayonet that doubles as a utility knife that was attached to his jacket. He did not have his machine gun in hand at the time of the fight.
"He continues stabbing the Iraqi until the Iraqi is no longer fighting back," Cook said. Holmes acted as he was trained to, he said. Evidence showed Hassin had 44 injuries, including 17 stab wounds.
But Shaw told jurors that Holmes killed the soldier and then set up the scene, firing the soldier's AK47.
He also said Hassin had worked with other Marines at the post and never had a problem, including the first witness called in the case. Lance Cpl. Justin Gibson testified he had worked with Hassin the night of the killing, before Holmes relieved him, and that he had not witnessed any suspicious activity by Hassin.
Holmes, who is being held in the brig at Camp Pendleton, enlisted in the Marine reserves in May 2004 and was on his first deployment in Iraq, Cook said. He is from the 1st Battalion, 24th Marine Regiment, based out of Lansing, Mich.
Sounds like this is Americans caving into international pressure. Everyone ‘knows’ American soldiers are ruthless killers, so America has to sacrifice one to please our enemies.
There are links to additional news articles over at Defend Our Marines. Previous threads on Free Republic can be found under keyword delanoholmes.
I don’t know about that. As JAG cases go, this has been processed more or less as it should have.
On the basic facts, this sort of case ~should~ be investigated and then let a courts martial sort out fact and fiction. My gut says this Marine has a good defense and I’m inclined to believe him.
I would like to know if the AK-47 was fired before, during or after the fact though. That’s got a bearing on his story.
Exactly.
And the morons who decided it would be a clever idea to station a trained and disciplined Marine on a sniper-target sentry post with a smoking, joking, cell-phone talking Iraqi soldier will have no problem throwing the victim of their sick experiment in political correctness under the bus.
Chalk up another disgrace for the perfumed princes of the Pentagon and their incompetent civilian bosses.
BTW, according to the North County Times, four dozen witnesses will be called in this case. I hope the reporting will be thorough enough to get the whole story over the next eight days.
>> I would like to know if the AK-47 was fired before, during or after the fact though. That’s got a bearing on his story.
Panic, confusion, fear, misconduct, or irrational behavior after an incident like this one should have no bearing on the incident itself. This is clearly a situation that involved rapid incremental events that ended in death but began as a dispute with Delano on the right side of the issue.
I have an idea that some of those four dozen witnesses might bring out a history for the deceased that will benefit LCpl Holmes, I doubt this was the first problem the Iraqi caused.
Why would a Marine just up and kill somebody on watch? I believe the struggle took place. It happened 10 days after the official charges were made against the Haditha Marines. Right or wrong, is it any wonder why he would "pad" the situation if that is the case?
I now understand the prosecution’s case. They are contending that Holmes made up the story of the cigarette and the cell phone.
To truly help this Marine his defense is very much assisted by finding evidence of a lit cigarette and a cell phone.
Is it not the responsibility of the prosecution, though, to prove that there was NOT a cigarette and cell phone. Wouldn’t that be “innocent until proven guilty?”
Agreed, as always.
No.
The prosecution needs only prove the elements. The cell phone & cigarette are evidence of an affirmative defense.
Why is that not surprising?
Hey, buddy! Welcome back!
What do you mean by proving the elements?
Also, is it true that the police work for the prosecution? (In the Army’s case, should the CID/MPs work for the prosecution?)
Shouldn’t they be neutral seekers for facts?
At least it looks like those recruitment posters are working
:)
The elements of the crime. For unpremeditated murder under the UCMJ, the prosecution must prove
Note that demonstrating that the killing was unlawful requires only that the prosecution prove there is no justification or excuse.
Also, is it true that the police work for the prosecution?... Shouldn’t they be neutral seekers for facts?
Theoretically, they are. Prosecutors, likewise, have an ethical duty to pursue justice, not convictions. Doesn't always work out that way, though.
I am inclined to believe that there was a bonafide dispute that got out of hand and the Marine had no alternative.
But if he fired the AK47 after the fact to help his story... I’m sorry but that does impeach his testimony somewhat. Sure, maybe it was panic over a legit use of force, but it does do damage to the story.
It seems to me that #3 & #5 are open for question.
If Holmes says #5 doesn’t apply because the guy was smoking a cigarette and talking on a cell phone, why isn’t it automatically dropped if the prosecution can’t prove him a liar?
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