The hearing officer, while recommending that Wuterich be sent to court-martial, doubted that he would be convicted. The case against Wuterich, the hearing officer wrote, is riddled with the same problems that led to cases against the others being dropped: contradictory evidence, untrustworthy witnesses and poor forensics.
The pool of potential jurors questioned by attorneys on Thursday included a colonel, two lieutenant colonels, a major, a captain and six enlisted men.
Wuterich has demanded that at least one-third of his jury include troops from the enlisted ranks, a right granted him under the Uniform Code of Military Justice.
All the potential jurors served at least one combat tour in Iraq. Several served multiple tours, including stints during the height of the war in 2005 and 2006.
Nearly all of the potential jurors also took part in house-clearing operations such as the one Wuterich led during their combat assignments.
During group and individual questioning, all the potential jurors said they had some awareness of the so-called “Haditha massacre” and that the episode had resulted in a tightening of the rules of engagement in Iraq.
But all said they believed that despite what they already know about Haditha, they could serve as impartial jurors.