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March 28th,
2008 - Case Dropped Against Haditha Defendant News article by the Associated
Press |
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Case Dropped Against Haditha
Defendant By Allison Hoffman Associated Press Writer March 28, 2008 Camp Pendleton, Calif. - The
Marine Corps dropped charges and gave full immunity Friday to a serviceman
who was accused of involuntary manslaughter in a squad's killing of 24 Iraqis
in Haditha in 2005. The case against Lance Cpl.
Stephen Tatum, 26, of Edmond, Okla., was dismissed as jury selection was
about to begin for his court-martial. The government has been seeking Tatum's
testimony against the squad leader, Staff Sgt. Frank Wuterich of Meriden,
Conn. Prosecutors say Wuterich
directed the assault immediately after a roadside bomb killed one Marine and
wounded two others in a convoy. Wuterich and another Marine shot five men
nearby before the squad leader ordered his men to clear homes with grenades
and gunfire, killing unarmed civilians. In February, Tatum received
an order to testify against Wuterich and an unrequested immunity order that
said anything to which he testified would not be used against him in his
court-martial. On Friday, a new immunity order was issued, along with the
dismissal of charges. "Lance Cpl. Tatum will
testify truthfully if called as a witness," said his attorney, Jack
Zimmerman. Tatum was relieved by the
news and considered it an affirmation of his contention that he and his
squadmates responded to a perceived threat as they had been trained to do,
Zimmerman said. "It has been a very
happy morning," he said. Tatum was the third enlisted
Marine to have all charges dismissed. Four enlisted Marines were
initially charged with murder, and four officers were charged with failing to
investigate the deaths. Over time the case has shrunk, including removal of
all murder charges. Only two officers remain charged. The highest-ranking
defendant is Lt. Col. Jeffrey R. Chessani of Rangely, Colo., commander of the
Camp Pendleton-based 3rd Battalion, 1st Marine Regiment at the time of the
Nov. 19, 2005, Haditha killings. He is the highest-ranking officer to face a
combat-related court-martial since the Vietnam War and is scheduled to face
court-martial in April. Chessani, accused of dereliction
of duty and violation of a lawful order, has said he didn't order a formal
investigation because he believed the deaths resulted from lawful combat. His attorney said Tatum's
dismissal gave additional credence to Chessani's claims. "This is a house of
cards, and it's all falling apart now," said Brian Rooney. In addition to two counts of
involuntary manslaughter, Tatum had been charged with reckless endangerment
and aggravated assault. Zimmerman said there was no
agreement with the government before the dismissal. "Absolutely, there is
no deal," he said. Tatum, who has been assigned
to administrative duties, has extended his enlistment for an additional six
months in order to remain available as a witness for the remaining scheduled
courts-martial, Zimmerman said. Camp Pendleton spokesman Lt.
Col. Sean Gibson said the dismissal was signed by Lt. Gen. Samuel Helland,
who currently oversees the Haditha prosecutions. The decision to refer
Tatum's case to court-martial was made by Helland's predecessor, Lt. Gen.
James Mattis, who overrode a finding that prosecutors didn't present enough
evidence to prosecute Tatum. Wuterich is the only
enlisted man still facing prosecution. He faces nine counts of voluntary
manslaughter, aggravated assault, reckless endangerment and obstruction of
justice. There is no date set for his court-martial. Wuterich's civilian defense
attorney, Neal Puckett, contended that the Tatum dismissal showed the
government has a poor case against his client. "I think it's a further
demonstration of how weak the government's case has become," Puckett
said. A judge has set an April
court-martial date for 1st Lt. Andrew Grayson, of Springboro, Ohio, the
second officer still facing charges. He is accused of making false official
statements, obstruction of justice and attempting to fraudulently separate
from the Marine Corps. © 2008 The Associated Press External link: http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/ap/nation/5657007.html Marine Corps
drops charges against Haditha defendant By Mark Walker North County Times March 28, 2008 Camp Pendleton - In a
surprise development, the Marine Corps announced this morning that it has
dropped charges against Lance Cpl. Stephen Tatum, who was accused of killing
two Iraqi children in the city of Haditha in 2005. "This was done in order
to continue to pursue the truth-seeking process into the Haditha
incident," the Marine Corps said in a prepared statement. Tatum's court-martial on two
counts of involuntary manslaughter, reckless endangerment and aggravated
assault was scheduled to start this morning. The dismissal of charges
against Tatum, a 27-year-old native of Edmond, Okla., appears to be part of
an effort to compel him to testify against Staff Sgt. Frank Wuterich, who led
the Kilo Company squad from Camp Pendleton's 3rd Battalion, 1st Marine
Regiment. Jack Zimmerman, Tatum's
attorney, said in a prepared statement that there was no deal with
prosecutors leading to the dismissal. "We emphasize that
Lance Cpl. Tatum will testify truthfully if called as a witness, but there is
no deal for his testimony," Zimmerman wrote. "It became clear to
the experienced prosecution team that the right thing to do was to dismiss
all charges. "We believe the
evidence shows that Lance Cpl. Tatum reacted to an enemy attack the way he
was trained to do." The dismissal leaves
Wuterich as the only man facing homicide charges in the incident, in which 24
Iraqi civilians were killed following a roadside bombing on the morning of
Nov. 19, 2005. Wuterich's attorney, Neal
Puckett, said the dismissal is "another indicator of how desperate the
government is to win a conviction" in the Haditha killings. "They have insufficient
evidence, and they are hoping Lance Corporal Tatum can deliver a conviction
against Staff Sergeant Wuterich," Puckett said in a telephone interview.
"We always thought the prosecutors would do whatever (they) thought was
necessary to try and convict Staff Sergeant Wuterich because they have always
felt that he was the one responsible for everything that happened." Murder charges originally
filed against two other enlisted Marines at Haditha, Sgt. Sanick Dela Cruz
and Lance Cpl. Justin Sharratt, were withdrawn last year. Dela Cruz saw the charges
against him dropped in exchange for his testimony for the government. Sharratt's role in the
killing of four of the Iraqis was deemed by a general overseeing the case to
fall within the rules of engagement after testimony during a pretrial hearing
showed one of the men was armed with an AK-47 assault rifle. Wuterich's court-martial on
nine counts of voluntary manslaughter is slated to take place at Camp
Pendleton later this year. Two officers at Haditha when
the incident occurred, Lt. Col. Jeffrey Chessani and 1st Lt. Andrew Grayson,
also face court-martial later this year on charges of failing to order a
full-scale investigation into the killings. Brian Rooney, an attorney
for Chessani, said the dismissal of charges against Tatum was great news. "He followed the rules
of engagement as he was trained to," Rooney asserted. "For the
government to drop charges on the day his trial was supposed to start, after
putting him and his family through this ordeal, is outrageous." External link: http://www.nctimes.com/articles/2008/03/28/military/4726b4bcd64fd3eb8825741a005ffeb2.txt |