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August 30th,
2008 - Acquittal of Ex-Marine Sparks Debate Over Law News article by the Associated
Press |
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Acquittal of Ex-Marine
Sparks Debate Over Law By Chelsea J. Carter Associated Press August 30, 2008 San Diego - Some members of
the civilian jury that acquitted a former Marine accused of war crimes in
Iraq say they weren't qualified to judge actions in combat, and military and
legal experts said the case raises serious questions about whether federal
prosecutors should even pursue such cases. "I don't think we had
any business doing that," said juror Nicole Peters, who wiped away tears
during Thursday's verdict and later hugged the defendant, Jose Luis Nazario
Jr. "I thought it was unfair to us and to him." Some jurors hugged and shook
hands with Nazario, his mother and his attorneys after Nazario was cleared in
the killing of four unarmed Iraqi detainees. "It's a very reasoned
response from those jurors because they apparently recognized this was not
something they were well-suited to determine," said Gary Solis, a former
Marine Corps prosecutor and judge who teaches law of war at Georgetown University
Law Center. "In my view, it's going
to cause the U.S. attorneys to give a second thought to prosecuting soldiers
for acts that occurred in combat," he said. John D. Hutson, dean of the
Franklin Pierce Law Center and a retired Navy rear admiral, countered that
jurors routinely sit in judgment of actions they have never experienced. "How many jurors have
been involved in a domestic dispute in which a person was killed. None. You
don't put those people on a jury," he said. Nazario, 28, of Riverside,
Calif., was the first military veteran brought to trial under the Military
Extraterritorial Jurisdiction Act, which was written in 2000 and amended in
2004 primarily to allow prosecution of civilian contractors who commit crimes
while working for the U.S. overseas. It also allows the
prosecution of military dependents and those who have completed their term of
military service. One author of the act said
it might be time to take another look. "I don't think any of
us who passed that legislation thought we were now going to have people
discharged from the military being charged in federal court," said Sen.
Jeff Sessions, R-Ala. "There are all kinds of
problems with witnesses and evidence and those kinds of things, in addition
to the fact that military persons are operating in an environment quite
different from the normal street crime we see," he said. The evidence against Nazario
included testimony by former comrades who heard gunshots but did not see the
shooting that occurred on Nov. 9, 2004, during house-to-house fighting in
Fallujah during "Operation Phantom Fury." The prosecution had no
bodies, no identities, no crime scene and no forensic evidence to present to
the jury. Some jurors felt there was
insufficient evidence to convict Nazario. Juror Ted Grinell said there
weren't any "real witnesses" to the alleged shootings. Laurie Levenson, a professor
at Loyola Law School and a former federal prosecutor, said it might not be
prudent to judge the effectiveness of the Military Extraterritorial
Jurisdiction Act based on just one verdict. "But it's worth taking
a closer look at whether civilian juries will ever have the confidence to
believe they can sit in judgment in these cases," she said. Solis and David Glazier, an
associate professor at Loyola Law School, said Congress should perhaps
consider amending the Uniform Code of Military Justice to allow service
members who have completed their term of service to be recalled to duty to
face prosecutions. "The average American
is reluctant to second-guess the conduct of a service person in a combat
zone," Glazier said. Associated Press writer Ben
Evans in Washington contributed to this report. Copyright © 2008 The
Associated Press. External link: http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5gJBGkERPk8ZiV1rYMiNrLa2yvSpgD92S7BQ80 Ex-Marine ready to move on
after trial Nazario acquitted in detainee deaths By Steve Liewer San Diego Union-Tribune August 30, 2008 Jose Nazario's days as a
househusband appear to be numbered. The former Marine said he
has been jobless and unemployable since Aug. 7, 2007, the day authorities
arrested him on charges of voluntary manslaughter and assault. He was accused
of participating in the killings of four detainees during one of the Iraq war's
ugliest battles. "I just wanted the
trial to be over. I feel like a new man now," former Marine Jose Nazario
said. The agents snapped handcuffs
on Nazario's wrists in the sergeants' room at the Riverside Police Department,
where he had worked for more than six months as a probationary officer.
Released on bond, Nazario has cared for his son, Gabriel, now 2, at the
family home in upstate New York while they got by on his wife's small
paycheck and the kindness of relatives. “At one time in your life,
you're a war hero and a breadwinner,” said Nazario, 28, who left the Marine
Corps as a staff sergeant in 2005. “The next day, you're facing felony
charges and you're unemployed. It's devastating.” On Thursday, a jury of nine
women and three men – only one of whom had served in the military –
pronounced the verdict Nazario and his family had prayed they would hear:
“Not guilty.” “I just wanted the trial to
be over,” Nazario said yesterday. “I feel like a new man now.” Under the provisions of a
law passed in 2000 governing trials of civilians for alleged offenses
committed overseas, the case landed in U.S. District Court in Riverside.
Nazario's lawyers argued that such cases ought to be handled in military
courts because a civilian jury couldn't possibly comprehend the pressures of
combat. After the trial, some of the
jurors told Nazario and his family the same thing. “I don't think we had any
business doing that,” said juror Nicole Peters, who wiped away tears during
the reading of the verdict and later hugged Nazario. “I thought it was unfair
to us and to him.” Nazario seemed destined for
the military since he grew up in New York City. “He and his friends would
always play cowboys and Indians,” recalled Sandra Montanez, 46, Nazario's
mother. “He'd say, 'I'll be the Marines.'” After Montanez resisted for
months, Nazario talked her into signing a consent form to let him join the
Marines at age 17. He planned to make it a career. On Nov. 9, 2004, about three
years after terrorists attacked the World Trade Center in his hometown,
Nazario was leading a squad of Marines in house-clearing operations in the
insurgent-held city of Fallujah, Iraq. According to statements
given by his squad mates to investigators, the Marines found four men in a
house. After someone urged the Marines over their radio to move on quickly
without taking prisoners, the statements said, Nazario and Sgts. Ryan Weemer
and Jermaine Nelson shot the men at point-blank range. If the killings did take
place, which Nazario has denied, they occurred during the most intense urban
fighting since the Vietnam War – and against entrenched guerrillas in a city
where the Marines reportedly considered everyone to be an enemy fighter. Nazario had seen a member of
his squad fatally shot earlier that day. “Fallujah was pure hell,” he said. The jury didn't hear from
Weemer and Nelson, who will be court-martialed at Camp Pendleton in the alleged
killings because they are on active duty. Despite a grant of immunity, they
invoked the Fifth Amendment and refused to testify. As a result, both face
hearings in federal court for criminal contempt. In part because of the
horrors of Fallujah, Nazario left the Marine Corps soon after his unit
finished its tour in Iraq. “When you come home, you
feel like you've got another chance at life,” he said. “It starts sinking in:
If you stay in Iraq long enough, you're going to get hurt.” For Nazario and his family,
the trial only prolonged the horror. “We trusted in the system.
We kept our faith,” Montanez said. “We're glad it's over.” The Associated Press
contributed to this report. External link: http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/military/20080830-9999-1m30fallujah.html |