Posted on 01/02/2012 10:28:48 AM PST by smoothsailing
January 2, 2012
It certainly seems appropriate that the last defendant in the Haditha case is the squad leader, SSgt Frank Wuterich. Leaders take responsibility, and SSgt Wuterich has taken full responsibility for the actions of his squad in Haditha. His stance from the outset has remained clear:
As the last Marine originally charged in the deaths of Iraqis in Haditha, Iraq in 2005, SSgt Wuterich will be seated at the defense table in his general court-martial two days from now, Wednesday, January 4th. Barring last minute motions or outright dismissal of charges, jury selection will begin Wednesday or Thursday. SSgt. Wuterich will be tried by a jury of combat-experienced Marines, and the panel will include at least two Marines from the enlisted ranks.
Much has been written over the last six years about Haditha, and links to some of the most recent news articles and commentaries are included at the bottom of this post to help bring readers up to date. For older Free Republic postings, please use this link or enter the keyword Haditha in the Free Republic search engine.
The purpose of this Free Republic thread is to serve as a "Master Post" where trial news and updates can be brought together in one place for easy reference by those interested in following the proceedings as they unfold.
Freepers Smoothsailing, Red Rover, and Jazusamo will monitor the thread, post updates, and attempt to answer questions or direct readers to information sources. Jazusamo maintains the Haditha Marine Ping List. Please ask Jazusamo to be added to the ping list if you wish to be alerted to updates.
Recent News and Commentary:
MILITARY TIMES-Haditha Marine Faces Trial
Count Down to the Last Haditha Trial
MILITARY: Two high-profile cases set for Pendleton courtrooms
Remember SSgt Frank D. Wuterich: The last Haditha Marine goes on trial
Don’t rewrite Murtha’s legacy (Haditha Marines)
Thanks, again, Red.
UPDATE:San Diego Union-Tribune reporting:
Haditha, Iraq court-martial stalled; plea bargain or dismissal possible
Judge excused jury without calling court to session
CAMP PENDLETON — An unexplained interruption in the court-martial of a Camp Pendleton Marine whose squad killed 24 civilians in Haditha, Iraq in 2005 continued into a second day Thursday, when the judge dismissed the jury without calling the court to session in the afternoon as planned.
The prosecution and the defense both declined to comment about whether a plea bargain or withdrawal of charges is possible.
Court proceedings are now slated to resume Friday morning.
http://www.utsandiego.com/news/2012/jan/19/haditha-iraq-court-martial-stalled-plea-bargain-or/
Can you clarify please what “excusing” the jury means? Does it mean the jury was sent home and they are not needed at all any more? That their jury service is over?
Just “excused” for the day.
Here’s more just being reported by the LA Times...
The military judge, Lt. Col. David Jones, abruptly recessed the trial on Wednesday afternoon, instructing the attorneys to seek “other options.”
Jones initially set 8:30 a.m. Thursday to resume the trial. That was then readjusted to 1 p.m. Thirty minutes before the trial was to resume Thursday, Jones sent word that the jurors had been told that the next session would be 8:30 a.m. Friday.
Of the eight defendants, six have had their cases dismissed. One was acquitted.
The hearing officer at Wuterich’s preliminary hearing in 2007 said that he doubted that Wuterich would be convicted at court-martial. He cited problems that undercut other prosecutions: conflicting testimony from witnesses and poor forensics.
Thanks.
Thanks, Smooth. Sounds like Gannon and Sullivan are trying to hang on with their fingernails.
Sure sounds that way to me. The only things they should be trying to negotiate are the terms of their surrender!
This is interesting.Where was the prosecution?
.............
Members of the defense, including Wuterich, were in the Camp Pendleton courtroom Thursday, but not the prosecution.
Thanks for the pings, smooth......hoping it’s a withdrawal of all charges.
In your linked article, it says the judge excused the jury before the prosecution witness could finish their testimony. Was this witness Mendoza?
I will check in later......very hopeful for the right outcome.
Maybe they were there but hiding under a desk.
>>>Was this witness Mendoza?<<<
Yes Ma’m! :)
http://warchronicle.com/DefendOurMarinesExclusive/Trial_of_SSgt_Wuterich/Unexpected_Recess.htm
HA!
...or sneaking out of town.
Wanted to take thus time to thank you and the rest of the good folks on this thread. The info and links are appreciated. Though I don’t often post I do like to keep up with this situation. Tomorrow would be a good day to have all charges dropped.
Your kind words are much appreciated, I assure you. :)
Here’s hoping tomorrow brings an end to this and benefits SSgt. Wuterich and his family.
Amen to that.
It would sure be great if you could bump this up so it’s visible on the sidebar in Activism/Chapters or Extended News! :)
Sounds like Mendoza really stood tall today!
From the North County Times...
...............
Testimony resumed Friday, with Sgt. Humberto Mendoza telling jurors that he believed three homes that Wuterich and members of his squad assaulted on Nov. 19, 2005, were harboring insurgents.
Mendoza said the first home near the bomb site the Marine assaulted seemed a threat.
“I believe the reason we went to (the house) was because it was hostile,” Mendoza testified.
He also told the jury that he doesn’t believe anything Wuterich and the squad did at Haditha was “dishonorable” because they were under attack.
Wuterich, 31 and the father of three young girls, appeared weary when the testimony began Friday.
The day’s events included three hours of outakes from a CBS “60 Minutes” interview he gave in 2007.
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