For more on this case, see keyword: delanoholmes.
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Posted on 12/12/2007 4:18:43 AM PST by RedRover
Closing statements in the case were scheduled to begin Wednesday, with prosecutors painting a picture of a fight between Lance Cpl. Delano Holmes and a soldier that resulted in charges of unpremeditated murder against the Marine. Holmes' attorney say it was self-defense.
Holmes, 22, of Indianapolis, is accused of stabbing to death Pvt. Munther Jasem Muhammed Hassin on Dec. 31, 2006, while the two stood guard together in Fallujah.
By all accounts during testimony, 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. Pictures of the post's ballistic windows were presented to the three officers and five enlisted personnel who will decide the case.
The killing occurred in pre-dawn darkness after Hassin allegedly opened his cell phone and then lit a cigarette at the post.
(Excerpt) Read more at mercurynews.com ...
For more on this case, see keyword: delanoholmes.
To help defend this Marine, please visit his website by clicking on the picture-link below.
Wow. That was quick for the defense. His jury panel consists of three officers and five enlisted officers. The reporting did not indicate if any had served in Iraq.
Praying for LCpl Holmes.
Have to hope the jurors are as smart as the jury Cpl Thomas in the Hamdania court martial. Del and his family are reasonably confident but totally drained, as you’d imagine.
Personally, I don’t see how they can convict him of anything if they haven’t investigated his claims of cigarette smoking and cell phones at the guard station.
It would be like convicting a guy who claimed self-defense when you never bothered to look for the weapon he said the attacker had in his hand but got kicked to the curb.
It surely would seem like grounds for appeal. It’s a CRITICAL element in the middle of a hostile fire zone in the exact location that had been attacked many times before.
That's because self-defense is an affirmative defense. The defense has the burden to prove self-defense; the prosecution does not have to address it unless the defense has met its burden. It's not enough for the defense to say, "But I was defending myself!" They actually have to show that they were, indeed, defending themselves.
Sure looks to me like this Marine has a pretty good defense, and should be exonerated.
Anybody heard anything about how the trial went? Did the prosecution make any points? Did the defense do a good job?
I believe his story.
In the military the investigative unit (CID) is not supposed to work for the prosecution. They are to neutrally look for facts. This is a glaring mistake and prejudices the case of the defendant, imho.
Do you prefer defense/prosecution?
Hmm... problem is, there's a pretty much prima facie case for Invol Manslaughter. There's a dead guy, and there's no dispute about who killed him. Pretty easy for the jury to find. It all depends on that the jury believes about his state of mind.
For myself? Prosecution. I tend to view things like a prosecutor.
At the same time, you’re quick to jump in to support those who are not among the glitterati.
I suspect you’d have defended Joseph for holing up in a stable contrary to town birthing codes. :>)
This sounds like the guy was lining up the shooters. Using a cell phone on guard duty and lighting up a cigarette as an aiming point. I’d have shot the bastard myself for putting me more in harms way than usual seeing as this post had been struck before.
Praying LCpl Holmes will be found not guilty. Thanks, Red.
The reporting on the court martial was poor. There were a couple of stories about the prosecutor’s case but nothing about the defense.
As far I know, there was no evidence of prior problems with either LCpl Holmes or the Iraqi. So the incident does not fit into a pattern.
The prosecutor’s case is that the Iraqi was stabbed too many times for it to be anything but murder. Also, the prosecutor claims that LCpl Holmes lied to investigators—which supports a finding of guilt.
The defense argues that the LCpl Holmes was acting in self-defense. The many wounds in the body, a forensic expert admitted, could have occurred after the Iraqi was dead. (His body was in the temporary custody of other Iraqi soldiers.)
Like you said,jurors will need to weigh the lance corporal’s state of mind and, basically, decide if he deserves the benefit of the doubt.
Well, the defense argued that this is what started the fight which ended up in the death of the Iraqi. We’ll see what the jury panel thinks. I have doubts that they will find him guilty of unpremeditated murder.
Giving the jury the out of a lesser offense is my vote for what is going to happen, but know if it were me I would let him go. But they will give him time served, IMO, if they convict. Was going to use the phrase “by all rights” but that is meaningless when it is guilty until proven innocent.
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