Posted on 05/22/2008 5:40:30 PM PDT by RedRover
A Marine charged with murder for killing an insurgent prisoner has been jailed in California for refusing to testify at a federal Grand Jury hearing evidence of alleged murder at Fallujah, Iraq.
US District Judge Percy Anderson Wednesday ordered Sergeant Jermaine Nelson to confinement at the federal lockup in Los Angeles after giving him several opportunities to relent.
“It was a beautiful thing to see,” said lawyer Joseph H. Low IV, the former Marine infantryman representing Nelson. “The prosecutors are attempting to break the bonds formed in combat. Nelson told them he’d rather go to jail than rat out a brother Marine.”
Nelson, 26, also faces charges of Unauthorized Absence from military authorities for getting jailed, authorities said.
“It is coercion pure and simple,” Low said. “The government wants to take these guys and try and make them say what they want them to say. The government doesn’t have a case so they resort to this.”
Nelson was locked up for refusing to testify against his former squad leader Jose L. Nazario at a federal Grand Jury seated in Riverside, California, Low said.
The Bronx, New York native was granted testimonial immunity by federal prosecutors who are seeking to enhance voluntary manslaughter charges against Nazario. The new charges sought are murder and unlawfully using a weapon during the battle. If Nelson had cooperated, he would have been protected from further jeopardy for anything new he revealed, Low said.
Low said the uniformed Marine briefly got down on his knees and prayed in the courtroom before surrendering to US Marshals detailed to take him into custody.
Nazario is currently scheduled to stand trial on July 8 in the U.S. District Court for Central California in Riverside for two counts of voluntary manslaughter, according to his attorney Kevin B. McDermott. He is free of $50,000 bond pending his trial.
"If you win you get prosecuted, if you lose you get dead."
“I just don’t understand the system anymore. If you win you get prosecuted, if you lose you get dead,” Nazario commented Thursday morning from his temporary home in upstate New York. “Nelson didn’t want to get locked up but he is UA anyway. I guess it is part of the double jeopardy system the Marine Corps has got.”
Nazario was indicted by a federal Grand Jury two weeks after being arrested on August 7, 2007. He is charged under the Military Extraterritorial Jurisdiction Act passed by Congress in 2000 to allow service members serving overseas to be prosecuted in civilian court for offenses that call for more than one year of imprisonment.
Nazario said he anticipates returning to California in late June for a pre-trial hearing scheduled for June 23 at the US District Court in Riverside.
“I am worried, of course. If they raise the charge to murder my lawyer says I will get locked up pending my trial. But I guess a month or two is a jail cell isn’t so bad after Iraq. I guess Nelson feels the same way,” he said.
The prosecution wants Nelson to tell the Grand Jury what happened in Fallujah on November 9, 2004 when his squad encountered four enemy combatants during the opening hours of the bloody month-long battle for the ancient city.
Nelson already faces up to life in prison and a dishonorable discharge in a military court at nearby Camp Pendleton for twice confessing without legal counsel that he killed one of the insurgents after being ordered by Nazario to do so. He was free pending court-martial before being carted away by civilian authorities, the Marine Corps said.
In his confession, Nelson claimed Nazario received the order to kill the prisoners from an unknown superior over his inter-squad radio.
At the time of the alleged incident Nazario was leading the squad while its attacked insurgent strong points on the edge of Fallujah. About 45 minutes after squad member LCpl Juan E. Segura was killed by automatic weapons fire Nazario’s squad discovered the four armed insurgent combatants inside a house that was being used as a fighting position.
What allegedly happened next was revealed in the affidavit Special Agent Fox filed in federal court pursuant to charging Nazario last August 7. He claimed that Nazario and the other Marines detained the insurgents during a house search.
His affidavit contends that Nazario shot two of the captured combatants in the head at close range and that he directed Nelson and Weemer to shoot two other Iraqis.
"Who else wants to kill these guys, because I don't want to do it all myself?" Nazario is quoted as telling his Marines in the Fox affidavit.
"We can't be here all day," he allegedly said. "You know what has to be done."
Nazario says the incident never happened.
Nelson, Nazario, and Sgt. Ryan Weemer, formerly of Louisville, Kentucky, have all been charged with unlawfully killing the four insurgents after capturing them during a firefight. All three men belonged to 3rd Platoon, Kilo Company, 3rd Battalion, 1st Marines, the same unit embroiled in the so-called “Haditha Massacre” a year later.
Other Marines' fate uncertain
Weemer, 27, was recalled to active duty from the Individual Ready Reserve in March and charged with murder and dereliction of duty March 18 based on Nelson’s statements to Fox.
An Article 32 evidentiary hearing is scheduled for July 10th at Camp Pendleton to decide if Weemer will go to court-martial.
Low said that Weemer has been offered the same deal as Nelson by government prosecutors and is deciding what action to take. If Weemer refuses to cooperate he could also be confined. Low said.
The judge gave Weemer until next Wednesday to decide. In the meantime the former fireteam leader in Nazario’s squad remains free at Camp Pendleton, Low said.
The government claims that after Nazario received the order to kill the prisoners he told Nelson and Weemer to each shoot one of them while he killed the other two.
Nelson told Naval Criminal Investigative Service Special Agent Mark Fox that Weemer killed one insurgent with his pistol while he finished off another with his rifle.
Nelson’s rambling confession is often at odds with the statements of the other Marines who were present that day. Several of the Marines from 3rd Platoon interviewed by Fox said the incident never happened and others give conflicting accounts of what transpired.
There are no victims, physical evidence, or crime scene, evidence already revealed by the government shows. Unless the government can compel Nelson and Weemer testify against Nazario the government doesn’t have a case, the defense attorneys say.
The Iraqi residents of the house where the alleged incident occurred told military investigators last spring that they were in Syria when the alleged killings occurred. They returned home to find nothing amiss, the evidence revealed.
Weemer was recalled to active duty from the reserves in March to face murder charges he inadvertently initiated more than two years. The former college student revealed the incident during a job interview for a uniformed Secret Service position in Washington, D.C. in 2006. During a polygraph examination in the spring of 2006 he told federal investigators he had witnessed the unlawful killings while serving under Nazario in Iraq.
After Weemer’s revelations were passed on to the Naval Criminal Investigative Service it began a 14-month investigation into the alleged killings.
A fourth Marine has reportedly "lawyered up" in anticipation of being charged with giving Nazario the fateful order over the radio and at least two other Kilo Company Marines also face possible charges, sources close to the case said.
>>Common sense will suffice.
Who’s common sense?<<
You know, that common sense that tells you thatmarriage is between a man and a woman ONLY; that common sense that tells you that you can’t keep spending more than you have; that common sense that tells you that abortion is the taking of a human life; that common sense that tells you when something is wrong, bad or evil......
But you already knew that with your common sense.
1. See the following: http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2005426/posts
“MEJA applies to two categories of people, those “employed by or accompanying” the armed forces outside the U.S. and those to whom the Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ) – military law – applied at the time of the offense. Nazario is in that category of alleged offenders.
Assistant US Attorneys Jerry A. Behnke and Charles J. Kovats represented the government in Nazario’s motion hearing. They argued that MEJA is specifically tailored to prosecute former service members who allegedly committed crimes while serving in combat.”
2. I think I said that the UCMJ SHOULD be enough in this case. The UCMJ has long allowed double jeopardy for an ACTIVE member of the military to be tried by a civilian court and subsequently by a military court (even after being acquitted by the civilian court). What I don’t like is the provisions of the MEJA which keeps FORMER soldiers in perpetual jeopardy of being brought up on “murder” charges in a CIVILIAN court for actions performed in combat.
Apparently, there were a number of houses they cleared, but this was a house with 4 males, weapons, and ammunition.
Nazario is also quoted as saying that "it" didn't happen. He means any crime. Therefore, if there was a house he remembered with men and weapons, he only remembers what he considered to be fair combat. Any other stories, he appears to be saying, didn't happen.
The Warrior Bond at work. It's an amazing thing.
I'm betting they don't break him, but what if Nelson can honestly say that his memories are jumbles and unreliable?
“I don’t recall.”
If lowlife scum like the Clintons and their friends can use that phrase thousands of times and get away with it, then certainly a war veteran can do the same? Maybe. But maybe this Marine has too much integrity to work that way and prefers to stay true to himself.
I think that Asst. US Atty’s Behnke and Kovats need to be fired. I do not know if they are “hold overs” from the Clintons (Bush's BIGGEST mistake, trying to make nice with demo-rats) or whether they are “Johnny Suttons” looking to score political points, but these asses need to be fired.
If he was “recalled” to active service for prosecution then these “prosecutors helpers” should have shut the hell up and let the UCMJ take over!
So now, are we going to start prosecuting WWII vets from the Normandy invasion who “possibly” were involved with the execution of prisoners? We know that, according to many documentaries and other evidences, it MAY have happened. Are these two hero's of the law going to start after 86 year old Pfc. Joe Blow from Omaha or Utah beach?
These lawyers are bastards and give ALL lawyers a bad name.
The comment under the picture says it quite nicely, for me.
http://patdollard.com/2008/05/accused-marine-veteran-speaks/
Because Nazario had completed his military obligation on Oct. 11, 2005, and had no pending Reserve commitment, the Corps had no legal avenue to charge him under the Uniform Code of Military Justice. Instead, NCIS contacted the U.S. Attorney’s Office, which filed federal charges under a little-known law, the Military Extraterritorial Jurisdiction Act. A federal grand jury indicted him on two counts of voluntary manslaughter.
MEJA, which Congress approved and which took effect in 2000, extends military jurisdiction to members of the armed forces who “engage in conduct outside the United States that would constitute an offense punishable by imprisonment for more than 1 year if the conduct had been engaged in within the special maritime and territorial jurisdiction of the United States.”
The government decided the law applied to Nazario’s situation.
“The killings in this case were unlawful because they violated clearly established law of war,” U.S. Attorney Thomas P. O’Brien and assistant U.S. attorneys Sheri Pym, Jerry Behnke and Charles J. Kovats wrote in a brief to the court, citing the handling and killing of detainees. Since Nazario “was not acting ‘in conformity with [the president’s] orders’ the political question doctrine is inapplicable.”
Nazario’s defense attorneys asked U.S. District Court Judge Stephen Larson in Riverside to dismiss the case on grounds that included a lack of jurisdiction and inapplicability of MEJA to combat actions. The government objected, arguing the alleged actions against “detainees [who] were unarmed” represent “a defined criminal violation.”
On April 28, the judge rejected the defense’s motion and ordered the case to trial beginning July 8.
“The express language of this statute provides federal courts with jurisdiction to hear criminal cases where, as here, the alleged crime was committed prior to discharge from the Armed Services,” Larson wrote in his ruling.
Nazario’s defense attorneys contend that MEJA doesn’t address or apply to conduct during any combat action. Such prosecutions, they warn, would subject any service member to investigation and prosecution many years after alleged combat-zone crimes. Kevin B. McDermott said a comment made by a combat veteran self-medicating himself with alcohol at a bar “15 to 20 years from now ... ends up in federal court.”
“There is no end to this war for any veterans,” said McDermott, a Tustin, Calif., attorney representing Nazario. “You are on the hook forever.”
http://www.marinecorpstimes.com/news/2008/05/marine_nazario_051208w/
The question still remains why, if as the prosecution has stated in court, there is no physical evidence of any kind except the many different versions of a combat and after action situation, WHY are they going after these Marines?
My view of this entire war is that the liberal/socialist democrat party could not stand the fact that they were PROVEN wrong and now they are destroying the lives of those who PROVED the demorats to be wrong.
When will a Grand Jury be convened for PFC Joe Blow from the D-Day invasion? There is no statute of limitations on murder, why not go after the allegations of prisoner/detainee executions from 6/6-7/44?
The application of this MEJA, the actions of the judges and US attorneys where there is not even a single shred of circumstantial evidence is complete and total bull shit!
Stuff such as what is in the article is what makes me sorry that I voted for President Bush two times.
As Commander-in-Chief he could put a stop this bullshit.
The Troops should not have to fight two, actually three, enemies. They are:
1. The “insurgents” who should be declared international outlaws. Shot when encountered and immediately executed when captured.
2. the JAG lawyers that only want to send someone to prison. Whether or not they are guilty of the charge is irrelvent.
3. The main stream medis. [to wit] abc, cbs, nbc, cnn, etal [all initials were lower case on purpose].
You said it. It’s disgusting. And to think they’re worried about drops in retention because of the GI Bill?!?!?!?!?!?
Hes hsould testify.
Do exactly what Bubba and Hilldog always do.
“I cant recall”
“I don’t remember that incident”
The same Pharisees ( which are all damned to hell by Jesus ) are quick to point out the fallibility of the human memory when they get paid to defend murderers.
Marine Released from Civilian Custody in Fallujah Case, Nathaniel R. Helms, Defend Our Marines, May 30, 2008
A Marine sergeant accused of murdering an Iraqi insurgent at Fallujah more then three years ago was returned to Marine Corps control Thursday after spending a week in a Los Angeles civilian jail on federal contempt charges.
US District Judge Percy Anderson ordered Sergeant Jermaine Nelson released from the Metropolitan Detention Center in Los Angeles a week after ordering him confined for refusing to testify against his former squad leader in a related federal murder investigation, his lawyer Joseph Low said.
Nelson is charged by the Marine Corps with unpremeditated murder and dereliction of duty for allegedly shooting an Iraqi insurgent prisoner in the opening hours of the month long battle in November, 2004. He is currently stationed at Camp Pendleton.
Before obtaining legal counsel last year Nelson confessed to shooting one of the prisoners and witnessing the deaths of three others. He claimed that his former squad leader Sgt. Jose L Nazario ordered him and another Marine to help execute four captured insurgents.
Nazario says the event never happened.
Government prosecutors granted Nelson testimonial immunity last month and ordered him to testify before the federal Grand Jury looking into the case. He refused and was locked up for contempt, his lawyer Joseph Low said at the time.
Before being released Nelson again told Anderson he would not testify against Nazario. The exasperated judge ordered Nelson to return on June 18 to appear before the Grand Jury and suggested that he at least "listen to the questions," his lawyer said.
Nelson responded that he did not intend to change his mind.
The government is trying to enhance the charges against Nazario from two counts of voluntary manslaughter to murder and using a weapon in the commission of a felony, his attorney Kevin B. McDermott said.
The government says Nazario was leading the squad when it captured the four combatants on November 9 while searching a house being used as a strong point. Moments before entering the house another squad member had been killed by insurgent small arms fire coming from the vicinity, government prosecutors said.
The case is based primarily on the statements of Nelson, Weemer, and several other Marines who gave often conflicting testimony of what happened there. The government has been unable to produce victims, a crime scene, or any physical evidence to corroborate the allegations.
Nelson was charged last August and is scheduled to go on trial July 8 in US District Court in Riverside Nazario was charged in civilian court because the Marine Corps no longer has criminal jurisdiction over the eight-year veteran.
Nazario was a Riverside Police Department probationary patrolman when he was arrested.
Government prosecutors want Nelson and Sgt Ryan Weemer, another Marine implicated in the case, to tell the Grand Jury that they followed Nazario’s orders to shoot two of the four Iraqi insurgents captured in the opening hours of the horrendous Fallujah battle in November, 2004.
Sgt Weemer has already told the court he would not testify. Anderson ordered Weemer to appear before US District Judge Stephen Larsen today (Friday) to explain his intentions. The government has granted Weemer testimonial immunity to testify against Nazario, McDermott said.
The sergeant revealed the alleged incident to federal investigators during a job interview two years ago. At the time he said he merely witnessed the incident and did not participate in killing anyone.
Weemer’s appointed military lawyer told Judge Anderson Thursday that the Rules for Courts Martial mandated that only a military convening authority to order a serviceman to testify under a grant of immunity.
Anderson took the argument under submission.
BUMP
Semper Fi!
Sounds as if Sgt. Nelson is very serious about not testifying against Nazario and I believe judge Anderson knows it!
Marines can’t kill the enemy
can’t capture the enemy
can’t give christian coins to the enemy
but its okay to wipe them out from 10,000 feet
We need a Mean as hell ANGRY General in the White House.
HUMMMM McCain get angry sometimes.
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