Posted on 06/14/2007 7:37:23 PM PDT by RedRover
A Marine accused of murdering three Iraqi men in a squad action that killed 24 Iraqis in Haditha told a military court Thursday that he killed them because he believed they were insurgents and at least two of them were pointing machine guns at him.
Lance Cpl. Justin L. Sharratt made the assertions in an unsworn statement during his preliminary hearing on three counts of unpremeditated murder. Because it was unsworn, Sharratt could not be cross-examined.
"I kept firing until my magazine was empty, because I didn't know if they had body armor on or suicide vests," Sharratt said during his 20-minute statement. "We did not execute any Iraqi men."
Sharratt described the events of Nov. 19, 2005, when a roadside bomb exploded and killed a squad member. He said he cleared several houses without incident and was taking a cigarette break when he noticed a group of Iraqi men looking at him suspiciously.
Along with three other Marines including squad leader Staff Sgt. Frank Wuterich, Sharratt went to look for the men. The troops went to one house where several women said the men were hiding in a neighboring house, Sharratt told the court.
In that house, Sharratt said he saw an Iraqi point an AK-47 at him from across the hallway. Sharratt's machine gun jammed, so he pulled out his pistol and shot the man in the head.
"When the insurgent popped back out from behind the door, I shot him once in the head and he fell backwards," Sharratt said. He claimed that he then heard another man loading an AK-47 in an adjoining bedroom.
"As I stepped into the doorway, to my front was another insurgent with his AK-47 waist level as though he had just completed racking it," Sharratt read from his prepared statement. "I immediately fired at his head and chest. ... After shooting him, I continued to shoot the other individuals in the room."
Sharratt, of Canonsburg, Pa., said he ran out of ammunition and yelled, "I'm out." Wuterich came into the room and fired at the men as well. Prosecutors say Wuterich is responsible for the death of a fourth man in the room.
Sharratt's account came at his Article 32 investigation, a hearing during which an investigating officer will review evidence to make a recommendation about whether Sharratt should be sent to a court-martial.
As he read his statement, Sharratt's parents cried.
"We are just so disappointed in what the Marine Corps is doing," said father Darryl Sharratt outside the courtroom. "We feel they have abandoned him."
Most of the 24 Iraqis were killed when the Marine squad went house to house looking for insurgents. Among the dead were elderly people, and women and children who were killed in bed.
Aside from Sharratt, Wuterich and Lance Cpl. Stephen B. Tatum are also charged with murder in the killings. Four officers are charged with dereliction of duty for failing to investigate.
Lawyers for the enlisted Marines say they acted appropriately and cleared houses the way they had been trained to while under attack.
But a former squad member testified Thursday the Marines were not receiving insurgent machine-gun fire as they carried out the killings.
"To the best of your knowledge, was there an ambush on your squad?" prosecutor Capt. Christian Hur asked Trent Graviss, who was a lance corporal in the squad at the time but has since left active duty.
"No, sir," replied Graviss, who testified by telephone from his home in Kentucky.
Both Wuterich and Tatum were in the public viewing area of the courtroom Thursday.
During a recess, Wuterich's military attorney Lt. Col. Colby Vokey said he was not concerned about Graviss' testimony because it was inconsistent to what other witnesses have testified.
"All the other testimony indicates that the Marines were receiving small-arms fire," Vokey said.
Defense attorneys showed photographs of the men shot by Sharratt and Wuterich. All appeared to have been shot in the head, but several had blood on their torsos, indicating they could have been shot there, too.
Air Force Lt. Col. Elizabeth Rouse, a forensics expert, testified that it did not appear that the men had been killed at close range.
Naval Criminal Investigative Service agent Michael Maloney testified that he visited the house where the men died four months after the deaths and that at least two of the men died in a manner that appeared to be consistent with Sharratt's statement. Another man, who Wuterich is accused of killing, appeared to have been shot while in a closet, Maloney said.
Maloney said accounts given by Sharratt and other Marines were "not entirely accurate, nor entirely false."
Continued prayers for these brave Marines.
mrs
Thanks, mrs! And please keep ‘em coming.
The best policy.
The pathologist called by the prosecution backup the story of the Marines. The men were shot at close range, but not execution style. It is going to be close range when you are in a room, but there were no powder burns to show an execution -style shooting.
http://hlime.wordpress.com/2007/06/15/haditha-update-shot-but-not-executed/
yojoe
I’ve looked all over. Free Republic really is the only place where a person can get the real story about what’s going on in the Haditha case.
One reason, as you know, is that Freepers are rigorous people. We challenge each other to back up what we say. So we’re not just speculating. We also don’t sugar coat bad news.
You’re right. The cries of “whitewash” will be loud, strong and ugly if justice prevails.
Did not appear??? This is an exact science and one can be absolutely certain. Gunpowder burn and residue. Wound ballistics, etc.
Thanks for pointing that out, yojoe.
I’ll also mention that the accusations of an execution came from Iraqis who weren’t there when it happened.
But investigators, like SA Mannle, took their word over the word of our Marines.
The bodies were not exhumed for examination so NCIS forensic investigators are doing their best with what they have.
Great post/thread. America’s finest BUMP!
But investigators, like SA Mannle, took their word over the word of our Marines.
This is just stunning to me.
She was following orders to gather incriminating evidence. If NavySec Winter continues to deny there’s a problem at NCIS, he’s an utter fool.
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