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The War Profiteers - War Crimes,
Kidnappings, Torture and Big Money |
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March 28th,
2008 - Marine Charged in Detainee Death 1st news article by the
Associated Press |
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Marine Charged in Detainee Death By Allison Hoffman Associated Press March 28, 2008 Camp Pendleton, Calif. - A
Marine charged with murdering a detainee captured during a fierce battle in
Fallujah, Iraq, faced a military judge Friday who will determine whether
there is enough evidence to go to trial. Sgt. Jermaine A. Nelson, 26,
is one of three Marines accused of shooting unarmed captives in November 2004
during some of the heaviest fighting of the war. He faces life imprisonment
if he is tried and convicted on the murder charge. The others involved are Sgt.
Ryan Weemer, who was charged with murder and dereliction of duty, and squad
leader Jose Nazario Jr., who was charged with one count of voluntary
manslaughter in the killing of two captives. Because he completed his
military service, Nazario, a former sergeant, is charged in federal court. All were assigned to 3rd
Battalion, 1st Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division. The case came to light when
Weemer, 25, applied for a job with the Secret Service. Investigators claim
Weemer described the killing during a polygraph test that included a question
about whether he had participated in a wrongful death. The battle of Fallujah was
the second time in 2004 the Marines tried to take the city. The first fight
in April came after the killing and mutilation of four Blackwater private
security contractors, whose bodies were strung from a bridge. Ground forces entered
Fallujah and faced some of the heaviest fighting seen at that point in the
war, often engaging in hand-to-hand combat. The killings on Nov. 9,
2004, came after troops captured men they believed had been shooting at them
from a house. Nazario placed a call on his
radio and was asked "Are they dead yet?" according to the federal
criminal complaint against him. When Nazario responded that
the captives were still alive, he was told by the Marine on the radio to
"make it happen." The captives were then shot. Defense lawyers for Nazario
say the prosecutors' case lacks physical evidence. The building where the
shootings allegedly took place is gone, there is no forensic evidence and the
identities of the victims are referred to only as John Doe No. 1 and John Doe
No. 2. A year after the alleged
shootings, a different squad from the same company was involved in the
killings of 24 civilians in Haditha, Iraq, which prompted the largest
prosecution to emerge from the Iraq war. © 2008 The Associated Press External link: http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/ap/nation/5656615.html Recording of
Marine’s account of captive killings played in court By Allison Hoffman Associated Press March 28, 2008 Camp Pendleton - A Marine
charged with murdering an Iraqi detainee captured during fierce
house-to-house fighting in Fallujah, Iraq, said his squad leader asked for
help killing captives after weapons were found in their house, a naval
investigator testified Friday. Sgt. Jermaine A. Nelson, 26,
is one of three Marines accused of shooting unarmed captives in November 2004
during some of the heaviest fighting of the war. Nelson told investigator
Mark Fox in a March 2007 interview that his squad leader, Jose Nazario Jr.,
became irate after AK-47s were found upstairs in the house where four Iraqis
were being held after they indicated they had no weapons. Prosecutors played a tape of
Nelson's interview with Fox during a pretrial hearing that will determine
whether sufficient evidence exists for a trial. Nelson, who sat in a cramped
Camp Pendleton courtroom wearing neatly pressed desert fatigues, stared
straight ahead as the recording of his graphic account of the shooting was
played. He told Fox that Nazario
fired a round at one detainee, grazing the man's ear, and then made fun of
Nelson for trying to bandage the wound. Nelson said Nazario then kicked the
man in the genitals and became increasingly irate when the man didn't flinch. Nazario then took a second
man into the kitchen and shot him through his eye, Nelson told Fox. "So Nazario comes up,
he says, 'I just did one, I'm not doing all of them myself so you're going to
do one,'" Nelson told Fox. "So I'm thinking I didn't want to get
shot myself." Nelson, of New York, made
only procedural statements to Lt. Col. Thomas McCann at the start of
proceedings. He is charged with a single
murder count and five counts of dereliction of duty. He faces life imprisonment
if he is tried and convicted on the murder charge. Nazario, of Riverside,
Calif., was charged with two counts of voluntary manslaughter in the killing
of two captives. Because he completed his military service, Nazario, a former
sergeant, is charged in U.S. District Court. His lawyer, Kevin McDermott,
said there is no forensic evidence to back up Nelson's claims. "I'm concerned about
whether the government has any evidence to back up the allegations,"
McDermott said. "If what they have is statements by these kids and
nothing more then there will be more motions that they are bringing the case
on improper grounds." A third Marine, Sgt. Ryan
Weemer, was charged last week with murder and dereliction of duty. All were assigned to 3rd
Battalion, 1st Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division. The case came to light when
Weemer, 25, of Hindsboro, Ill., applied for a job with the Secret Service.
Investigators claim Weemer described the killing during a polygraph test that
included a question about whether he had participated in a wrongful death. Fox testified that Nelson
seemed relieved to finally talk about the episode when he was first
interviewed in December 2006. "He made the statement
that the incident had been bothering him for a couple of years and that he'd
seen the faces of these individuals in his sleep," Fox said. The battle of Fallujah was
the second time in 2004 Marines tried to take the city. The first fight in
April came after the killing and mutilation of four Blackwater private
security contractors, whose bodies were strung from a bridge. Ground forces entered
Fallujah and faced some of the heaviest fighting seen at that point in the
war, often engaging in hand-to-hand combat. The killings on Nov. 9,
2004, came after troops captured men they believed had been shooting at them from
a house. Nazario placed a call on his
radio and was asked "Are they dead yet?" according to the federal
criminal complaint against him. When Nazario responded that
the captives were still alive, he was told by a Marine on the radio to
"make it happen," the complaint said, and the captives were then
shot. Defense lawyers for Nazario
say the prosecutors' case lacks physical evidence. The building where the
shootings allegedly took place is gone, there is no forensic evidence and the
victims are only identified as John Doe No. 1 and John Doe No. 2. A year after those alleged
shootings, a different squad from the same company was involved in the
killings of 24 civilians in Haditha, Iraq. In that case Friday, charges
against a squad member were dropped, leaving the squad leader and two
officers still facing charges. Four enlisted men and four officers were
originally charged. External link: http://www.pe.com/ap_news/California/CA_Marines_Fallujah_334493C.shtml |