Friday, December 22, 2006
The Last Shoe Drops
It turns out all eight of the Marines who were being investigated about the Haditha massacre last year were charged yesterday--but what they were charged with is interesting. Four officers were charged not with murder but dereliction and varying forms of military fraud.
Lt. Col. Jeffrey R. Chessani, 42, of Rangely, Colo., was charged with failing to accurately report and thoroughly investigate a possible violation and dereliction of duty. He could face dismissal and up to two years in prison.
[,,,]
Besides Chessani, officers charged in connection with how the incident was investigated or reported included 1st Lt. Andrew A. Grayson, 25; Capt. Lucas McConnell, 31, of Napa, Calif., and Capt. Randy W. Stone, 34, a military attorney.
It is disturbing that the Marines initially pretended that some of the civilians killed were victims of the IED which started the whole ball rolling. If it was by the book, then why lie about it?
As partially reported yesterday here: Staff Sgt. Frank D. Wuterich, 26, was charged with the unpremeditated murder of 12 people, and the murder of six others by ordering Marines about to enter a house to "shoot first and ask questions later," according to court papers released by his attorney, Neal Puckett. He faces the possibility of life in prison if convicted.
Lt. Col. Jeffrey R. Chessani, 42, of Rangely, Colo., was charged with failing to accurately report and thoroughly investigate a possible violation and dereliction of duty. He could face dismissal and up to two years in prison.
[,,,]
Besides Chessani, officers charged in connection with how the incident was investigated or reported included 1st Lt. Andrew A. Grayson, 25; Capt. Lucas McConnell, 31, of Napa, Calif., and Capt. Randy W. Stone, 34, a military attorney.
It is disturbing that the Marines initially pretended that some of the civilians killed were victims of the IED which started the whole ball rolling. If it was by the book, then why lie about it?
As partially reported yesterday here: Staff Sgt. Frank D. Wuterich, 26, was charged with the unpremeditated murder of 12 people, and the murder of six others by ordering Marines about to enter a house to "shoot first and ask questions later," according to court papers released by his attorney, Neal Puckett. He faces the possibility of life in prison if convicted.
[...]
Wuterich was also charged with making a false official statement and soliciting another sergeant to make false official statements.
Sgt. Sanick P. Dela Cruz, 24, of Chicago, was accused of the unpremeditated murders of five people and making a false official statement with intent to deceive.
Lance Cpl. Justin Sharratt, 22, of Canonsburg, Pa., was accused of the unpremeditated murder of three Iraqis. Lance Cpl. Stephen B. Tatum, 25, of Edmund, Okla., was charged with the unpremeditated murders of two Iraqis, negligent homicide of four Iraqi civilians and a charge of assault upon two Iraqis.
I'm a little troubled by the concept of negligent homicide during a fire fight but we'll see how that turns out. At least the Corp admitted that the IED explosion was followed by shots being fired at the Marines. (The Marine Corps said again Thursday that insurgents fired guns after the blast). This does not appear to be a case, as the rapidly becoming irrelevant Jack Murtha stated, of Marines just shooting everyone nearby in retaliation for the IED; there was a fire fight going on, the details of which we need to know more about, before we can begin to judge whether the Marines are guilty of murder, et al.# posted by Roger Fraley @ 8:00 AM 
