|
The War Profiteers - War Crimes,
Kidnappings, Torture and Big Money |
|
June 5th,
2008 - US Marine Acquitted in Haditha Killings News article by Agence France
Presse |
|
US Marine Acquitted in
Haditha Killings By Agence France Presse June 5, 2008 Los Angeles - A court
martial has acquitted a US Marine for his role in the deaths of 24 civilians
in Haditha in Iraq in 2005, the sixth man to be exonerated in the affair. Lieutenant Andrew Grayson,
27, was declared "not guilty on all charges" by a jury, said a
spokesman for the Camp Pendleton military base in southern California where
the hearing started on May 28. Grayson had been charged
with making false statements and attempting to fraudulently separate from the
Marine Corps. He was also charged with obstruction of justice, but the
military judge dismissed this charge Tuesday. He was the first Marine to
stand trial in connection with the killings of 24 men, women and children in
Haditha, the most serious war crime allegations leveled at US forces since
the 2003 invasion to topple Saddam Hussein. On November 19, 2005, a US
soldier on patrol was killed by a roadside bomb in the village of Haditha,
260 kilometers (160 miles) west of Baghdad. Defense lawyers claim
insurgents hidden in nearby houses subsequently opened fire on the soldiers,
forcing them to respond. But prosecutors say there
were no insurgents, alleging that the soldiers opened fire unprovoked in
revenge for their colleague's death. In a three-hour shooting
spree, they say, the soldiers shot five passengers of an approaching taxi and
killed 10 women and children at point blank range, among others. The Marines said in a press
release issued immediately after the killings that 15 Iraqis had been killed
by the roadside bomb that claimed the life of Lance Corporal Miguel Terrazas. A subsequent investigation
by Time magazine showed that most of the dead were killed as Marines swept
through three houses near the bombing, prompting a wide-ranging internal
investigation. Eight military personnel
were originally charged over the incident - four soldiers faced murder charges
and four officers, including Grayson, were accused of covering up and failing
to properly investigate the killings. However, since charges were
first announced in December 2006, prosecutors have struggled to make the
allegations stick. Six have now had charges
against them dropped, while charges of murder against squad leader Frank
Wuterich were changed to the lesser offense of manslaughter. Wuterich faces trial later
this year, along with Colonel Jeffrey Chessani, the highest ranking officer
accused over the incident who has been charged with dereliction of duty and
violation of a lawful order. Wuterich told a preliminary
hearing at Camp Pendleton last September that he would "always mourn the
unfortunate deaths of the innocent Iraqis who were killed during our response
to that attack." But he said: "Based on
the information I had at the time, based on the situation, I made the best
decision I could have." Copyright © 2008 AFP. External link: http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5hjaYBuN5uizL85cPBdD0jzbULs5A Marine after
not guilty verdict: ‘It was surreal’ By Chelsea J. Carter Associated Press June 5, 2008 Camp Pendleton, Calif. - A
Marine intelligence officer accused of trying to cover up the killings of 24
Iraqis appeared stunned at first when a jury acquitted him of the charges. For more than two years, 1st
Lt. Andrew Grayson had been under suspicion, accused of ordering the
destruction of evidence in the biggest U.S. criminal case involving Iraqi
deaths to come out of the war. "I didn't really
believe it was going to end until they said not guilty," Grayson said in
his first public comments following the verdict. "The case was so
volatile, you didn't know which way it was going to go." Grayson had always
maintained his innocence. On Wednesday, a military jury agreed with him. Cheers erupted as the jury
found him not guilty of ordering a sergeant to delete photographs of the
bodies from a digital camera and laptop computer. The judge, Maj. Brian E.
Kasprzyk, admonished the courtroom, telling them: "There will be no more
of that." It was a reflection of the
contentious nature of a case that saw Grayson painted by prosecutors as a
liar who hindered an investigation. His attorneys said he was a fall guy for
a botched investigation. Grayson was the first of
three Marines to be court-martialed in connection with killings of men, women
and children on Nov. 19, 2005, in Haditha. He was not present at the
killings that occurred after a roadside bomb struck a convoy, killing a
Marine and wounding two others. Investigators allege that
after the bombing, Staff Sgt. Frank Wuterich and a squad member shot five men
by a car at the scene. Wuterich then allegedly ordered his men into several
houses, where they cleared rooms with grenades and gunfire, killing more
Iraqis in the process. Four enlisted Marines
initially were charged with murder and four officers were charged with
failing to investigate the deaths. Charges were dropped against five of the
Marines. Grayson, of Springboro,
Ohio, was found not guilty of two counts of making false official statements,
two counts of trying to fraudulently separate from service, and one count of
attempt to deceive by making false statements. He would have faced up to 20
years in prison if convicted on all counts. Grayson's attorney, Joseph
Casas, said he believed the verdict would influence pending prosecutions. "I think it sets the
tone for the overall whirlwind Haditha has been. It's been a botched
investigation from the get-go," he said. "I believe in the end all
of the so-called Haditha Marines who still have to face trial will be
exonerated." Prosecutors said Grayson,
whose job was to analyze intelligence, ordered the photos deleted in an
effort to protect the Marines. But outside the courtroom,
Grayson said the charges appear to be the result of a misunderstanding. He
has always maintained he was following Marine Corps policy that prohibits the
keeping of pictures on personal computers of Iraqi bodies. Grayson fought back tears as
he described the months leading up the trial. He said he first found out
he was under suspicion when he got a call from his commander months after the
killings. A short time later, he was read the charges. "It was surreal,"
he said. "You can't quite believe you are hearing all this." Grayson's life was thrown
into turmoil. He was barred from leaving the Marine Corps until the case was
adjudicated. He had been scheduled to get out in June 2007. Grayson said early on in the
case he refused a deal that would have reduced charges and kept him out of
prison. "I was the one that had
to look at myself in the mirror. To take the easy way out, you are the one
that has to live with that," he said. During the darkest moments
of the case, he said he leaned on his wife. The couple married in the middle
of the investigation and gave up a honeymoon. His wife, Susan, cried as
she said what she had only dared to think about for months: "It's
over." Prosecutors did not make
themselves available for comment. Still to face court-martial
are Wuterich, of Meriden, Conn., whose charges include voluntary
manslaughter, and Lt. Col. Jeffrey Chessani, of Rangely, Colo., who has been
charged with dereliction of duty and violation of a lawful order on
allegations he mishandled the aftermath of the killings. Wuterich pleaded not guilty.
Chessani has said he didn't order a formal investigation because he believed
the deaths resulted from lawful combat. He has not entered a plea because in
the military system that is not usually done until motions hearings are
completed and a court-martial is about to start. Copyright © 2008 The
Associated Press. External link: http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5hNUaTPsL6OBHarjCDUGxJ0EYsm9AD913QI3O2 |