So far all but one of the accused in the Haditha case has been exonerated. SSgt Frank Wuterich, the squad leader, has been waiting for his day in court for almost 5 years, during which the Marines recently forced his Military Lawyers to retire, while keeping the prosecution paid and qualified for a full pension.
The court date has been again postponed due to one of the prosecution team suffering an injury playing with his son.
Lt Colonel Chessani had his charges dismissed when the Court found he was a victim of Unlawful Command Influence by 4 star (3 at the time) General Mattis.
I could go on for awhile, but it's best to look up defendourmarines.com for the full stories.
The government hasn't been playing square for a very long time.
And so far, there have been DOZENS of other convictions of service members who engaged in criminal activity while deployed in Afghanistan and Iraq. What's your point?
The government alleges, trial courts hear, juries decide. Just because one case is troubled, doesn't mean all cases are troubled, right?
Should we also believe Sgt. Hasan Akbar's case is defective because the government has had UCI problems in another unrelated case, the Haditha case? Probably not, right? But, this is PRECISELY the argument you're making about this case.
Cases succeed or fail on their own merits. It's that simple. These men are presumed innocent, and will be judged by a jury of their peers.
My comment earlier was a reminder of historical FACT - There were PLENTY of US service members who were tried, convicted and hanged until death during WWII. The abuse and murder of civilians in combat zones is not a new phenomenon. We shouldn't be surprised when it happens, and we certainly shouldn't be surprised when the government prosecutes vigorously.
>> So far all but one of the accused in the Haditha case has been exonerated. SSgt Frank Wuterich,
Exactly.
It takes a long time to get to the bottom of these cases. The front page often proves itself a disservice to the facts on the ground.
Very strange allegations, 4wb. I’m suspicious when the one member (Winfield) who allegedly tried to send a warning signal that crimes might be occuring (via his parents) is also charged with murder. (Wanna bet he’ll eventually get immunity?) He also says that virtually everyone in the platoon was aware of what was going on, but didn’t seem to object. Again, seems suspicious.
The alleged murders came to light after a PFC reported drug use (hashish) in the unit. After questioning, he eventually also claimed that he believed another member had been involved in three unjustified killings. Now how does that make sense? You report hashish smoking (because that’s really bad), and then upon further questioning, you tell investigators you think a platoon member is also guilty of murder? Wouldn’t possible murder warrant being reported first?
Hope they get good civilian counsel.