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The War Profiteers - War Crimes,
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July 11th,
2008 - Officer Considering Murder Charge for Marine News article by the
Associated Press |
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Officer Considering
Murder Charge for Marine By Allison Hoffman Associated Press July 11, 2008 Camp Pendleton, Calif. - The
officer considering whether a Marine sergeant accused of shooting an unarmed
Iraqi captive should face court-martial said Friday it will be a struggle to
determine whether the killing amounted to murder amid the "kinetic
environment" of war. Sgt. Ryan Weemer is one of
three current and former Marines accused of breaking rules of engagement and
killing four men they had captured after a platoon commander radioed to ask
whether the Iraqis were "dead yet." The killings allegedly
happened in November 2004 during the invasion of Fallujah, one of the
fiercest ground battles of the Iraq war. The case came to light in
2006, when Weemer volunteered details to a U.S. Secret Service job
interviewer during a polygraph screening that included a question about the
most serious crime he had ever committed. In a tape recording of the
interview played in court this week, Weemer recounted arguing with his
squadmates about what to do with the detainees - all military-age males
captured in a house where weapons were also found. The squad was under
pressure from the platoon to get moving. Weemer, of Hindsboro, Ill.,
is charged with one count of murder and six counts of dereliction of duty
encompassing failure to follow the rules of engagement in Fallujah and
failing to follow standard operating procedures for apprehending or treating
detainees or civilian prisoners of war. He only spoke to answer
procedural questions during two days of hearings before Maj. Glen Hines, who
will recommend either trial or dismissal to a commanding general. Prosecutors argued that Weemer,
a burly 25-year-old honored with a Purple Heart, should be tried for
unpremeditated murder because he knew the rules of engagement forbade harming
anyone in his custody. A military lawyer called by
prosecutors testified that Weemer had been instructed before the invasion to
transfer anyone taken into custody from the front lines to holding facilities
at a base. "Don't execute
detainees, take prisoners," said Capt. Nicholas Gannon, summarizing
instructions given to Marines in countless training sessions. "But at
the decision point he elected to unlawfully kill a person in his control. ...
This is not a gray area, it's black and white." "That's my
struggle," Hines responded, "but this kinetic environment, I need
the defense to point me to specific evidence" that justifies dropping
the murder charge. Weemer's attorney, Paul
Hackett, said the detainees were almost certainly insurgents. He seized on a
statement from another Marine who claimed Weemer told him seconds after the
shooting that he fired because the Iraqi, who was not handcuffed, lunged for
his 9 mm pistol. "He did not fail in his
duty to defend himself," Hackett said. "Weemer acted as we want
Marines to do." Hackett said Weemer
successfully subdued the men, but his squad leader, Jose Nazario Jr.,
escalated the situation inside the house by beating one detainee with the
butt of a rifle after the weapons cache was found. Nazario, 27, of Riverside,
Calif., has been charged with two counts of voluntary manslaughter in the
killing of two captives. The former sergeant is scheduled to be tried in
August in federal court because he has already completed his military
service. Another Marine, Sgt.
Jermaine Nelson, 26, of New York, is slated to be court-martialed in December
on charges of unpremeditated murder and dereliction of duty. Nelson told
investigators that Nazario grew irate after finding weapons despite the
detainees' protestations that the house was weapons-free. Last month, Nelson and
Weemer were jailed for refusing to testify against Nazario before a federal
grand jury believed to be investigating the case. Both were released July 3
and returned to Camp Pendleton. Copyright © 2008 The
Associated Press. External link: http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5gJBGkERPk8ZiV1rYMiNrLa2yvSpgD91RVDKO0 Prosecutor Says Fallujah Killing
About ‘Right and Wrong’ Weemer faces charges of murder, dereliction in detainee slaying By Teri Figueroa North County Times July 11, 2008 Camp Pendleton - A military
prosecutor on Friday asked a Marine officer to recommend that a veteran of a
key battle in the Iraqi city of Fallujah be tried for murder for his
admission that he killed a prisoner under his control. "While he is a
remarkably sympathetic figure," the prosecutor, Capt. Nick Gannon, said
of Sgt. Ryan Weemer, "this is not a gray area. It's black and white.
It's right and wrong." Gannon pointed to testimony
that Marines who took prisoners during a massive 2004 offensive in Fallujah
were told to treat captives humanely and safely transport them to a detention
facility. Even in the chaos of the
first day of house-to-house fighting, Marines were told they could not fire
freely at anyone, Gannon said. "These are incredibly
challenging cases because of the rigors of combat," he said. "It's
very difficult to sit here and attack him (Weemer) and talk about
criminality." But, Gannon continued, in
the moment of truth, Weemer opted to "unlawfully kill" a detainee
under his control. The arguments in a Camp
Pendleton courtroom came at the close of an investigative hearing into the
allegations against Weemer, who is charged with murder in the death of one of
four captured enemy fighters on Nov. 9, 2004. Weemer's lead attorney, Paul
Hackett, argued that the detainee had been reaching for Weemer's gun. "He (Weemer) acted in
self-defense," Hackett contended, asking that the case be dismissed. Weemer, of Hindsboro, Ill.,
firmly pressed his lips together as he listened to the arguments. The
25-year-old Marine faces a possible life sentence and dishonorable discharge
if he is convicted of murder. The killings came to light
in 2006 when Weemer referred to them during a polygraph examination for a job
with the Secret Service. His admission spawned an
investigation that landed him and two other men in court. Authorities allege that the
slayings came on the first day of the fight for Fallujah, the largest urban
battle since the Vietnam War. Weemer and his squad mates
searched a home, finding men and a cache of weapons. The men were under the
control of the Marines and were not armed when they were killed, according to
authorities. Weemer's squad leader,
then-Sgt. Jose Nazario, is said to have shot two of the men, then ordered
Weemer and a second Marine to kill the other two men, according to court
documents. The officer who presided
over Weemer's two-day hearing, Maj. Glen Hines, is investigating whether
Weemer should be ordered to trial for murder, face lesser charges or whether
the case should be withdrawn. Hines will make his
recommendation to Camp Pendleton's Lt. Gen. Samuel Helland, head of Marine
Corps forces throughout the Middle East. A final decision rests with Helland. On Friday, Hines said he was
"struggling" and conflicted about recommending a lesser charge than
murder. He asked the defense to point him to evidence that might support a
less-severe charge. Hackett cited statements
attributed to Pfc. Cory Carlisle, a Marine in the house at the time of the
killings who spoke to Weemer seconds after the shot was fired. According to testimony from
a naval investigator, Weemer told Carlisle that he shot the detainee after the
man tried to grab his gun. Neither side called Carlisle to the stand during
Weemer's two-day hearing that concluded Friday afternoon. Gannon rejected the
self-defense assertion, saying Weemer had never previously cited that
rationale. Nazario, who left the
military, is being tried for voluntary manslaughter in a federal court in
Riverside. His trial is set to begin Aug. 19. Weemer and Sgt. Jermaine
Nelson are being prosecuted in military court. Nelson is scheduled to go on
trial in December. The two Marines also are
charged with dereliction of duty for allegedly failing to protect the
detainees. A few days after the
purported slayings, for which the Marine Corps has no named victims, Weemer
was shot three times in what became known as the "Hell House" fight
in Fallujah. External link: http://www.nctimes.com/articles/2008/07/11/military/z5327764d8e6110dc88257483006a4b45.txt |