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The War Profiteers - War Crimes,
Kidnappings & Torture |
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September 29th,
2009 - Murder Charge Dropped in Iraqi Detainee Killing News article from the Associated
Press |
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Murder Charge Dropped in
Iraqi Detainee Killing By Elliot Spagat Associated Press September 29, 2009 Camp Pendleton, Calif. - The
government has dropped a murder charge against a Marine who pleaded guilty
Tuesday to dereliction of duty for killing an unarmed Iraqi detainee during a
battle to recapture the city of Fallujah. If convicted of murder, Sgt.
Jermaine Nelson could have faced a maximum sentence of life in prison. Instead, he now faces a
maximum sentence of one year in prison and a dishonorable discharge. Defense attorney Joseph Low
told reporters the plea agreement says Nelson will not serve any prison time
and will be honorably discharged. "It's over," Low
said during a recess. Military officials wouldn't
immediately confirm the terms of the plea deal. The judge, Navy Capt. Keith
Allred, does not know the sentence spelled out in the plea bargain. He could
order a stiffer penalty, but the ultimate punishment will be the less severe
of the two sentences. Nelson, of New York,
admitted that he wrongly killed the unarmed detainee, one of four Iraqi men
who surrendered when his squad entered a home in November 2004. He said he
fired anyway on orders from his squad leader, former Sgt. Jose Luis Nazario. "I knew it was wrong, I
knew it was unlawful," Nelson told the judge. "I didn't want to go
against what Sgt. Nazario told me to do." Nelson, 28, said he was
taught "in class after class after class" to move the unarmed
detainee to a safe place. He also accepted blame for the other three men who,
according to the government, were killed by other squad members. "That was part of my
job, to ensure the safety of all the detainees," Nelson said. Nelson is the only remaining
defendant in a case that has resulted in two defeats for the government.
Nelson's squadmate, Sgt. Ryan Weemer, was acquitted by a military jury of the
same charges in April. That jury consisted of eight Marines, all of whom
served in Iraq or Afghanistan. Nazario, Nelson's squad
leader, was acquitted last year in federal court in Riverside, Calif., on
counts that included voluntary manslaughter. Nazario was beyond the reach of
a court-martial because he had completed his military obligations. During Weemer's one-week
court-martial at Camp Pendleton, the defense argued that the government could
not prove Weemer was guilty of murder because there were no bodies, no
relatives complaining of a lost loved one and no forensic evidence. The case came to light long
after the battle. In 2006, after he left the
Marine Corps, Weemer applied for a job in the Secret Service. During a
background interview before a polygraph test as part of the application, he
was asked about the most serious crime he ever committed. "We went into this house,
there happened to be four or five guys in the house," Weemer said in a
recording of the interview played during his trial. "We ended up
shooting them, we had to." Weemer's account triggered
an investigation that led to the charges. Nelson's squad was from Kilo
Company of the 3rd Battalion, 1st Marine Regiment, the same company that a
year later was involved in the widely publicized killings of 24 men, women
and children in Haditha, Iraq. None of the Marines from the Fallujah case
were involved in the Haditha case. Eight Marines were charged
in the Haditha killings, the biggest criminal case against U.S. troops to
come out of the Iraq war. Charges were dismissed against six defendants and a
seventh was acquitted. The sole remaining defendant is the squad leader,
Staff Sgt. Frank D. Wuterich, whose court-martial is not scheduled. Copyright © 2009 The
Associated Press. External link: http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5jtMiie7GiHIHOXRX4zAw_wX09qYwD9B14TP80 US Marine
cleared of murder in Iraq detainee case From Agence France Presse September 29, 2009 Los Angeles - Murder charges
against a US Marine accused of slaying an unarmed Iraqi prisoner in Fallujah
in 2004 were dismissed Tuesday, a military spokesman confirmed. A spokesman at the US
Marines Camp Pendleton base outside San Diego said a charge of unpremeditated
murder against Jermaine Nelson was dismissed after the 28-year-old sergeant
pleaded not guilty. Nelson admitted one count of
dereliction of duty. Sentencing is to be decided later, the spokesman told
AFP. Nelson was the last of three
Marines to face charges in connection with the case, which related to the
death of Iraqi detainees during fierce fighting in Fallujah five years ago. Another Marine, Ryan Weemer,
was cleared at a court martial earlier this year, while a former soldier,
Jose Nazario, was tried and acquitted of manslaughter by a civilian court in
2008. The case came to light in
2006 when Weemer told a US Secret Service agent during a job interview he had
been involved in an unlawful killing in Iraq. The admission triggered an
investigation which led to charges against Weemer, Nazario and Nelson. Prosecutors said the Marines
had killed four detainees rather than process them as prisoners. During Weemer's court
martial his lawyers said he had shot the prisoner during a "life and
death struggle" when the detainee lunged for a weapon. At Nazario's trial,
prosecutors alleged the soldier had shot dead two captives himself before
ordering two subordinates to kill the others. However the prosecution's
case was weakened after Nelson and Weemer refused to testify and were
declared in contempt of court. Copyright © 2009 AFP. External link: http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5h0bESmu8W3_4PuddsTRIiVnZuFEg |