Posted on 01/19/2012 6:01:29 PM PST by RedRover
Camp Pendleton, Calif. -- Defend Our Marines has learned there is a deal on the table inside a Camp Pendleton courtroom where SSgt Frank D Wuterich now balances choices that will determine the rest of life. The 31-year-old father of three can bite the proverbial bullet and ask for administrative separation, or he can dig in his heels and fight for the principles he has already proved he is willing to die for.
Another option, considered less likely but more compelling, is a “Directed Verdict,” in which the judge tells the government it hasn’t made its case in all or some of the specifications of the criminal complaint. Military lawyer Kevin McDermott, an Orange County-based attorney who has been defending Marines for his entire career, says a directed verdict sends a potent message to panelists that the government has it wrong. ”A snippet of evidence in every charge” is all military judge LtCol David Jones has to take umbrage with to cast doubt on the entire prosecution case, he said.
Within his own defense team, lead attorney Neal Puckett, a retired military judge, and co-counsel Haytham Faraj, a retired Marine lawyer, reportedly seem to be at odds over exactly what to do. Puckett is prepared to cash in his client’s chips, cut his losses so to speak, so Wuterich can go home to his three little girls. Proponents of “what is best for the client must always prevail” say that is hard to dispute. There is much to be gained from this approach.
Faraj, a tactically brilliant attorney who has shredded the government’s case thus far, reportedly wants Wuterich to stick it out to the end. Faraj is a go-for-the-throat fighting Marine who has literally captured the government’s witnesses and turned them into his own. The benefits of this approach are far less tangible although no less important. Faraj knows Wuterich is innocent. Implicit is his position however is the honor of the Corps. Even the crustiest Marine knows absolute absolution is the only way the institution they proudly serve can remove the virulent stain of the debacle at Haditha.
Co-defendant LtCol Jeffrey Chessani fought for that principle. He gave up his promising career rather than fold. Loyalty up and down the chain of command is central to the spirit of the Marine Corps. There are many within the Corps who feels Wuterich still owes a heavy obligation to it.
Absolution without a “not guilty” verdict however comes with a heavy price. There is still no guarantee Wuterich won’t find himself in jail.
The easiest way for ending it all is called SILT, a murky mechanism Wuterich must initiate himself. The acronym means Separation in Lieu of Trial, a commonly used device that allows Wuterich and the Marine Corps to save face.
SILT stipulates Wuterich must admit he did something wrong. For saying so, the government can provide him either a General Discharge under Honorable Conditions or remain persnickety and only agree to release him with a General Discharge under Less than Honorable Conditions; many say a mean spirited mechanism that provides the Marine Corps with a way to save face without even a taste of mercy. If the government discharges him under less than honorable conditions the Marines who risked his life will lose his veteran’s benefits and still be guilty of a crime. It is not the only option out there, but it is the most likely, several lawyers said. In essence, Wuterich bites the bullet and take a less than honorable discharge in return for unfettered freedom. The alternative is digging in his heels to fight the good fight for a principle he joined the Corps to preserve.
James Culp, an Austin-based attorney who specializes in military law, explained the SILT procedure. Either way it is a Hobson’s choice, he said. Wuterich must say he either committed a specified offense, or a lesser included offense to make a deal. He doesn’t have to identify which offense he admitted to; he simply has to agree he did something wrong. Lesser included offenses include a list offense almost as long as the list of potential charges included in the Uniform Code of Military Justice. In any event, it will follow him the rest of his life.
The only other alternative is to resume the trial. It is fraught with imponderables. Will the panel remember the haunting faces of the dead children, will it recall the vicious treatment of the Marines set upon by the chain dogs from the Naval Criminal Investigative Service who decided to build a case based on presumption and political intrigue, or will it return to the fundamentals of military service, where good order and discipline is not about justice, it is about holding together an institution that would otherwise fall apart.
Court resumes at 0830 Friday.
I hear you, boats. I think we’re all praying on it.
Here’s the “deal”....
Full exoneration. Re-instatement of recommendation of promotion to E-7, approval of recommendation with all back pay to original recommendation date.
And I’m just getting started.
Amen to that.
What would you do in SSgt Wuterich’s situation as a single father with three young kids?
Tough choice. However, because all the rest were exonerated, I THINK I would risk the trial. Unless there is more “proof” on the government side than the other guys who went through trial, I would risk the trial and pray for a positive verdict. Another problem for him is that he has not had any promotions or anything at all since being charged so he is very behind in his career. His timing stinks big time (no fault of his) and they are slashing 60K out of the Army, Marine Corps and I would hate for him to go through the trial only to be told to go home because he has not had a promotion in a long time. Seriously that stuff happens. I will pray for him.
I see taking this trial to conclusion as almost no gamble at all. From following this case fairly closely and reading about what has transpired so far in the trial, it is clear to me the panel would have to be corrupt to fail to fully exonerate Wuterich. I don’t believe for a minute this panel is corrupt. And that STILT idea sounds like crap.
Finish this thing up.
Cripes, it’s down to the final few days.
Place mark.
I agree with Dinsmore completely.
“The good of the Marine Corps” in this case is code for “the good of the political whores with the stars on their uniforms”. Wuterich owes those scumbag perfumed princes of the Pentagon nothing. In fact, by duking this thing out to the end Wuterich actually WOULD be doing something for “the good of the Marine Corps”, because that would mean the REAL Marine Corps - - his brothers in arms, and those still on the ground.
Sheesh, Red, give 'em some food!
Good points, Lancey. Most of the prosecution’s witnesses have exonerated SSgt Wuterich. The last witness, Mendoza, who had been pressured during Wuterich’s Article 32 to lay all the blame at SSgt Wuterich’s feet, even came through in the end.
If anyone/entity should be on trial....it is NCIS.
SSgt Wuterich is faced with a very difficult decision. He will make the right one.
What is this? Is Puckett blowing smoke or is this AP BS?
.............
But defense attorney Neal Puckett told The Associated Press late Thursday that he expected a full day of testimony Friday, with a squad mate and a forensic scientist with the Naval Criminal Investigative Service expected to take the stand.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/46063282#.TxjxE6VunNU
My FRiend
YOU are a Marine
Sigh
I sometimes miss the old times.
God Duty Honor Country
After reading the whole article much of it looks like Julie Watson/AP BS.
It does. I really detest the AP.
"Wuterich led a squad that killed 24 unarmed Iraqi civilians during raids on homes... after a roadside bomb killed one Marine." (See what the reporter did there?)
"The incident still fuels anger in Iraq today..."
"His squad members have testified... Several said they did not positively identify their targets before opening fire and tossing grenades into two homes near the bomb site."
"The raid went on for 45 minutes. The Marines found no weapons or insurgents, and they met no gunfire in the homes."
"Among the dead were women, children and elderly, including a man in a wheelchair." (Newsroom keyboards have had a single key for this story-ending line since Vietnam.)
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Oh man! How did you stumble onto this? It's from the America-hating Associated Press and posted by the America-hating MSNBC. I think I need a hot shower now.
The whole article appears to be poorly ad lib’d
This is the crap we’re up against. This story goes out on the wire. Hundreds of newspapers pick it up and publish it word for word. Blind ignorance on a national scale.
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