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LT. PANTANO: CHARGES DROPPED By Michelle Malkin   ·   May 26, 2005 10:41 AM Just in from AP: A former Wall Street trader who rejoined the Marines after the Sept. 11 attacks will not be tried on murder charges for killing two suspected Iraqi insurgents, a Marine general decided Thursday. Reuters adds: "After careful consideration of the Article 32 Investigative Report and of the autopsies, Maj. Gen. Huck has decided to dismiss all charges," the statement said. "While the Article 32 Investigation has been lengthy, the best interests of 2nd Lt. Pantano and the government have been served by this process."...

I am frustrated over the lack of action being taken on the part of our so-called conservative politicians, on behalf of Marine Lt. Ilario Pantano. The courageous Marine is facing the death penalty, if convicted of killing two Iraqi terrorists. If our elected officials are willing to send our young men and women into harm's way--they better be just as willing to protect them...We have to demand it! Lt. Pantano is facing a court-martial and a possible date with the executioner. His crime?...He shot and killed two Iraqi terrorists. The two fled from a house where weapons and bomb-making materials...

REBUILDING IN THE GULF Accused U.S. Marine sent Iraqis 'a message' Prosecutors in officer's murder case likely will underscore his 'bravado' Posted: March 8, 2005 1:00 a.m. Eastern © 2005 WorldNetDaily.com A statement by the Marine officer charged with pre-meditated murder for killing two Iraqi insurgents is expected to provide support for defense attorneys as well as prosecutors, who likely will underscore his attempt to "send a message" to Iraqis and fellow servicemen. A pre-trial, or Article 32, hearing next month will determine whether 2nd Lt. Ilario G. Pantano will face a court-martial that could lead to the death penalty....

The Marine Corps has issued what seems to be conflicting statements on the legal status of an officer who fatally shot two Iraqis, leading his attorney to contend commanders are split on the decision to charge him with premeditated murder in the combat deaths. Last week, the Corps initially announced that 2nd Lt. Ilario Pantano faced unspecified charges in the shooting deaths. Lt. Pantano's civilian attorney, Charles Gittins, told reporters his client faced two murder charges. But later, spokesman Maj. Matt Morgan, at Camp Lejeune, N.C., where Lt. Pantano is based, said the officer had not been charged. This came...

I don't know about you, but I have practically been hyperventilating since I heard about the charges filed against Marine 2nd Lt. Ilario Pantano. I can scarcely catch my breath when I think about the young New Yorker, who served his country honorably during the first Gulf War and re-enlisted to serve his country again following the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. I am praying that he his exonerated, that the Marine Corps recognizes the terrible injustice done in charging him and that, appropriately, those responsible for prosecuting Lt. Pantano are themselves disciplined and dismissed from their positions of authority, which...

Americans outraged at the murder charges against a Marine who claims he killed two insurgent terrorists in Iraq in self-defense should have confidence in the military justice system, insists a Marine Corps spokesman. Ilario Pantano and family (defendthedefenders.org) Maj. Matt Morgan of Camp Lejeune, N.C., told WorldNetDaily he understands why the public is rallying behind 2nd Lt. Ilario Pantano after news of his case broke Friday. "Americans have seen what is in the press, and they have a tendency to support the Marines," he said. "On the other side of that, completely unconnected, there is something called the law of...