NO MORE MURTHA
Posted on 08/19/2008 9:49:48 AM PDT by xzins
Hearing on Iraq detainee death case postponed
By Joseph Giordono, Stars and Stripes
Mideast edition, Tuesday, August 19, 2008
The Article 32 hearing for one of two U.S. soldiers charged with killing a detainee near Beiji, Iraq, has been postponed until Sept. 5, military officials said.
Staff Sgt. Hal M. Warner was originally to face the hearing last week. Warner and 1st Lt. Michael C. Behenna, both members of Company D, 1st Battalion, 327th Infantry Regiment, based in Fort Campbell, Ky., face charges of premeditated murder, accessory after the fact, assault, making a false official statement and obstruction of justice.
Few details have been released in the case, though the military said that "the charges followed a criminal investigation into the death of Ali Mansur Mohamed, a detainee initially believed to have been released by Coalition Forces on or about May 16, 2008."
The military has said that Behenna was accused of using a pistol to shoot Mohamed at or near Forward Operating Base Summerall.
Warner’s hearing will be held at the large U.S. base near the city of Tikrit. A hearing date has not yet been set for Behenna, officials said. The pair were originally charged in July.
In the weeks since the charges were announced, family members have publicly come to the defense of the two soldiers.
Behenna, whose parents are a federal prosecutor in Oklahoma City and a retired Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation agent, have hired a civilian law firm to lead his defense. That team successfully defended a Marine lance corporal who was accused of killing an Iraqi civilian during a November 2005 incident in Haditha. Charges against the Marine were eventually dropped.
Less is known about Warner, 34, who is also from Oklahoma.
Behenna, whose parents are a federal prosecutor in Oklahoma City and a retired Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation agent
Ping.
Let’s see if Behenna’s parents can get this moved out of Iraq and back to the US!
It looks like the prosecution won't have a easy time of it, these parents know the subject.
Do you have any idea which Hadith Marine these defense attorneys defended?
A Haditha lance corporal - would that be Sharrat or Tatum? Weren’t they the only 2 lance corporals?
Had to be Sharratt or Tatum...they were the only 2 LCpls.
I’ll happily shed some light. Lt Behena’s parents have hired Jack Zimmermann—who successfully defended LCpl Tatum.
I hope Zimmerman can get the case out of Iraq and back to Ft Campbell, Ky. home of the 101st. That would be only about a 10 hour drive from Ok City.
My son was in Tikrit at FOB Speicher. It’s Sunni triangle and there are a host of bad characters.
Thanks, Red. I would say Lt. Behena is in good hands. Without even knowing who the prosecution is I’d say they’re outclassed by Jack Zimmerman.
Any word on Nazario yet?
I just read the WSJ article on the case you’d posted on DefOurMarines, and it is the best to date from the MSM on this case.
The author went to great lengths to point out Nazario’s side of the story.
Did you post it on FR, too?
Nazario’s attorneys don’t expect opening statements to begin until Thursday, with jury selection taking up today and tomorrow.
So I figured I’d post a “Nazario trial live thread” on Thursday. If you want to post the WSJ story, please go ahead. I’m pretty tied up until evening.
The moral of this story? “Don’t take prisoners.”
That IS an interesting article in the WSJ. Maybe you can post it tomorrow, xzins?
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.