|
The War Profiteers - War Crimes,
Kidnappings & Torture |
|
April 8th,
2009 - Closing Arguments for Marine Accused of Iraq Death News article from the Associated
Press News article from the Los
Angeles Times |
|
Closing Arguments for Marine
Accused of Iraq Death From the Associated Press April 8, 2009 Camp Pendleton, Calif. - A
military prosecutor has urged a jury at California's Camp Pendleton to
convict a Marine of murder for shooting an unarmed detainee during a battle
in Fallujah, Iraq. The prosecutor, Capt.
Nicholas Gannon, told a jury during his closing argument Wednesday that Sgt.
Ryan Weemer stated in recorded interviews that he shot the man. The
prosecutor recounted how Weemer told a squadmate that he would have to live
with that for the rest of his life. Weemer said in recorded
interviews that he and other Marines shot a total of four men in a house in
November 2004. The defense says there are no bodies or other evidence to
prove the killings actually occurred. Weemer could face life in
prison if convicted of unpremeditated murder and dereliction of duty. Copyright © 2009 The
Associated Press. External link: http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5gJBGkERPk8ZiV1rYMiNrLa2yvSpgD97EEO880 Final arguments
set in Marine murder trial By Tony Perry Los Angeles Times April 8, 2009 Final arguments are set
today at Camp Pendleton in the court martial of Sgt. Ryan Weemer, accused of murdering
an Iraqi prisoner in November 2004 during the battle in Fallouja. After instructions from the
judge, the eight-officer jury will begin deliberating. Weemer is charged with
unpremeditated murder and dereliction of duty. The military system is designed
to avoid lengthy deliberations, deadlocks and retrials. A two-thirds vote is
required for conviction, anything less means acquittal. Prosecutors are expected to
note that Weemer has twice confessed to killing the prisoner and that Weemer
and other Marines had been given strict instructions about the humane
treatment of prisoners. Hundreds of prisoners were taken during the opening
days of the assault. But Weemer's defense
attorney will counter that during one of the two taped interviews with authorities,
Weemer said he shot the prisoner when the prisoner reached for Weemer's gun.
Also, the attorney will stress the prosecution has no forensic evidence to
prove any killing occurred. Weemer, now 26, did not
testify. He was no longer on active duty when he mentioned the alleged
killing during a job interview with the U.S. Secret Service. Weemer's former squad
leader, former Sgt. Jose Luis Nazario, was acquitted by a civilian jury in
federal court in August on charges of killing two prisoners and ordering
Weemer and Sgt. Jermaine Nelson to each kill one prisoner. Nelson is set for
court martial. During Weemer's court
martial, Nazario refused to testify despite being threatened with contempt of
court. If convicted, the same jury will decide Weemer's penalty; he could
face life in prison. External link: http://tinyurl.com/caz79h Jury weighs fate of Marine
accused of POW killing Sgt. Ryan Weemer awaits verdict in 2004 Fallujah detainee slaying By Mark Walker North County Times April 8, 2009 Camp Pendleton - Eight
Marine Corps officers are weighing the fate of a sergeant accused of killing
an Iraqi insurgent prisoner of war in what a prosecutor acknowledged is a
"tough case." The panel is deciding
whether 26-year-old Sgt. Ryan Weemer committed murder, as the prosecution
alleges, or acted in self-defense, as the Illinois native's attorney
contends. At minimum, prosecutor Capt.
Nicholas Gannon told jurors Wednesday that Weemer is guilty of voluntary
manslaughter in the 2004 incident that occurred in the opening hours of an
intense, door-to-door fight for the Anbar province city of Fallujah. Gannon stressed that two
statements Weemer made to investigators in 2006 contain no mention of
self-defense. Weemer's attorney, Paul Hackett, argued that self-defense is
what drove his client's actions inside a Fallujah home on the morning of Nov.
9. "This case was about
following the rules when it's really hard to follow the rules," Gannon
told the jury. "But you need look no further than the two statements
provided by the accused as evidence of his guilt." Weemer is charged with
unpremeditated murder and dereliction of duty and could face up to life in
prison if convicted. Prosecutors allege he killed one of four captive
insurgents slain that morning by members of a 3rd Battalion, 1st Marine
Regiment Kilo Company squad. Hackett said jurors have
sufficient cause to believe Weemer acted in self-defense. He pointed to two
witnesses who testified that Weemer told them the prisoner had
"lunged" for his gun, prompting him to shoot the man in the chest. "This was not the
neighbors in the house next door," Hackett said of the men the Marines
confronted in Fallujah that day. "These guys were there to kill
Marines." But Gannon emphasized that
in his statements to investigators, Weemer made incriminating statements
about killing one of the captives with no mention of self-defense. "You can hear the
regret, you can hear the remorse because he knew what he did on November 9th
was wrong," Gannon said as Weemer sat expressionless at the defense
table taking occasional notes. Hackett rejected Gannon's
intimation that Weemer killed the man as vengeance for his best friend, Lance
Cpl. Juan Segura, being killed earlier that day by a sniper's bullet. Instead, he said, Weemer and
the man he is accused of killing were in a struggle when his client shot him. "Nobody really knows
what the hell happened here," Hackett said. "But it wasn't murder,
it wasn't a vengeful killing." Hackett urged the jurors to
give Weemer, a man numerous witnesses testified was an upstanding,
well-trained Marine, the "benefit of the doubt" and acquit him on
all charges. Weemer's squad leader in
Fallujah, former Marine Sgt. Jose L. Nazario Jr., was tried and acquitted
last year on charges he killed two of the prisoners. A third man, Sgt.
Jermaine Nelson, faces trial at Camp Pendleton later this year. Weemer did not testify and
the defense called only a handful of witnesses who testified they considered
him well-spoken, knowledgeable and respectful. The case emerged when
Weemer, who had left the service, told a Secret Service job interviewer about
the incident. He was then recalled to active duty and charges were filed. Throughout the trial,
Weemer's wife, sister and high school English teacher have sat directly
behind him. His sister wears a bracelet imprinted with her brother's name. Six of the jurors must agree
in order to convict him on any of the charges. The panel of
combat-experienced officers deliberated for nearly five hours Wednesday
before retiring for the night shortly before 9 p.m. They are scheduled to
resume their work at 8 a.m. Thursday. Bing West, author of a book
about the Iraq war that chronicles Weemer being wounded four days after the
alleged prisoner slayings, said it's a sad case for all involved. "No matter how you look
at it, it's a tragedy," West said in a telephone interview. "We
have tightened up our moral standards to such a degree that I don't know how
the 'Greatest Generation' would have fared if they were put under the
microscope like this," he said in reference to World War II service
members. But Gary Solis, a military
law expert and former Marine Corps judge, said the case had to be brought
before a jury. "When an alleged war
crime comes to light, the military cannot ignore it lest it be charged with
condoning a war crime," he said. External link: http://www.northcountytimes.com/articles/2009/04/09/military/z3f511db13b3a6aea88257592004f3933.txt |