Posted on 01/28/2012 2:04:58 PM PST by smoothsailing
January 28, 2012
by Andy McNeil, Staff writer
"Everybody else went through hell five years ago and we all got the opportunity to move on with our lives. Frank was the one that was stuck behind, still in the military on legal hold," said Sharratt, whose family lives in Canonsburg.
"I'm just happy that he has the chance to restart his life like we all got a chance to," he added.
Sharratt, 27, who now calls Washington home after spending a few years in California following his departure from the military, had been charged with murdering Iraqi civilians following a roadside bomb attack that claimed the life of a fellow Marine in Haditha in 2005. On Aug. 9, 2007, all the charges against Sharratt were dropped after investigators stated the evidence did not support a court martial.
Toward the end of Wuterich's trial, Sharratt said he was in California waiting to find out if he'd be called to testify. He was not asked to take the stand.
"Everybody else, except me, at some point took a type of plea or deal to get their charges dropped, while I was the only one that had his charges dropped by the evidence during the pretrial," he said.
Faced with life in prison, Wuterich plead guilty Monday to a single count of negligent dereliction of duty and a military judge recommended that his rank be reduced to private. As part of the plea agreement, nine counts of manslaughter were dropped and he received no jail time.
"If I were in his shoes, I probably would have done the same thing," said Sharratt, explaining that Wuterich is a divorced farther with three daughters to look after.
"But if I wasn't in his shoes, I would probably would have kept fighting it," he added.
Justin's father, Darryl Sharratt, said his family plans to donate money toward Wuterich's mounting legal bills and hopes others do the same.
After his exoneration, Sharratt began a different kind of legal battle by filing a defamation lawsuit in September 2008 against the late U.S. Rep. John Murtha over comments the Johnstown politician made publicly about the accused Marines killing the Iraqi civilians "in cold blood."
The case was later dismissed, when a judge found Murtha was protected by a law preventing federal employees from being sued for actions taken during their official duties.
"Even with his passing, I've never been able to forgive him with what he did to us," Sharratt said.
His father's view of Murtha was a touch softer; however, he still wished an apology had been issued to his son.
"We don't hate him. We've forgiven him, but we won't forget what he did to these Marines," Darryl Sharratt said.
Years after the Haditha incident and subsequent trials, Sharratt said he harbors no malice toward the corps he once served.
Currently working as a coal miner for Consol Energy, Sharratt said he plans to make a career in the mining industry.
Copyright Observer Publishing Co.
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“...attack that killed two dozen unarmed Iraqis.”
Oh, I see. The scumbags simply set their AKs down next to their feet, to achieve the unarmed status?
“We don’t hate him...”
Murtha is not worth the effort. What a despicable old man. Some go to their graves with honor, and others do not.
“Marines were seeing MAMs(Military Age Males) running from house to house without weapons. The enemy was actually running from one stash of weapons to the next stash in a fighting retreat. In the middle of the battle, the Marines adjusted the Rules of Engagement to address this enemy tactic.”
ping
Thanks for the ping.
And to think a ship will be named after Murtha. After all the hell he was responsible for creating for all those Marines involved in that fateful day in Haditha Iraq.
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