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The War Profiteers - War Crimes,
Kidnappings, Torture and Big Money |
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September 12th, 2006 - Marine’s
Parents Arrive For Murder Hearing |
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Marine’s Parents Arrive For
Murder Hearing Shumate, 7 Others Accused Of Killing Unarmed Iraqi Civilian NBCSanDiego.com September 12, 2006 Camp Pendelton, Calif. - The
parents of a Camp Pendleton Marine have traveled 1,200 miles to be with their
son today for his pretrial hearing on murder charges. Lance Cpl. Jerry E. Shumate
Jr., 21, was eager to see the world and looking for adventure when he joined
the Marine Corps straight out of high school. But his first combat tour ended
badly; now he is in the brig at Camp Pendleton, accused with seven others of
kidnapping and murdering an Iraqi man in Hamdania, west of Baghdad. Shumate is the third Marine
to face preliminary hearings in the case. Seven Marines and one Navy corpsman
are accused of entering 52-year-old Hashim Ibrahim Awad's house on April 26,
kidnapping him and taking him to a roadside hole. There, prosecutors say,
several troops shot him. "We're devastated,
we're just taking it day by day," said father Jerry Shumate Sr., who
drove from Matlock, Wash., with mother Diann Shumate to be at their son's
preliminary hearing, scheduled to begin at 8:30 a.m. Tuesday. Shumate fired his M-16 at
Awad, then lied to investigators about what had happened, according to
charging documents. Shumate also is one of several Marines accused of
assaulting a different Iraqi man in a separate incident April 10. Family members have
previously said their sons are innocent, and defense attorneys have
questioned the credibility of the Iraqis who reported the slaying to U.S.
authorities. The troops could face the
death penalty if convicted, although, during an earlier hearing, prosecutors
said they would not pursue a capital sentence against Pfc. John J. Jodka III. Shumate's civilian attorney
Steve Immel declined to comment on the case, but said he hoped his client
would be treated fairly. "We would ask everybody
to let the process work itself out and let Jerry have the full protections of
the Constitution," Immel said. "Especially because he was over
there defending the Constitution. We ask everyone not rush to judgment." The preliminary hearings
form part of a so-called Article 32 investigation, where an officer
determines whether to recommend defendants face courts-martial. The final
decision rests with a commanding general. Two Article 32 hearings were
held Aug. 30 for Jodka and Cpl. Marshall L. Magincalda. One of Jodka's
military lawyers, Maj. Dutch Schotemeyer, said the recommendation on a
court-martial could come as early as this week. At the first two preliminary
hearings, prosecutors presented what they claimed to be confessions from
several of the Marines. The Shumates said joining
the Marine Corps was their son's dream after he graduated Mary M. Knight High
School at the southeastern edge of the Olympic peninsula, where he played on the
football team. "We are glad we're
finally getting to the next step of this process," Shumate Sr. said.
"All we can do is trust in our counsel and trust in our
government." The defendants are members
of the 3rd Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment. Sgt. Lawrence G. Hutchins, Cpl.
Trent D. Thomas, Lance Cpl. Tyler A. Jackson, Lance Cpl. Robert Pennington
and Navy Corpsman 3rd Class Melson J. Bacos are also charged in Awad's death.
Their hearings are expected in coming weeks. External link:
http://www.nbcsandiego.com/militaryconnection/9828296/detail.html |