Fw: MILITARY: Final Haditha trial to get under way at Camp Pendleton

["Don Greenlaw" <dgreenlaw@cox.net>]

Forwarded. Here we go again!!!

Semper fi,
Don Greenlaw
----- Original Message ----- 
From: Clo Shivnan
To: Don Greenlaw ; Heidi ; frank albano ; sandy damitz
Sent: Wednesday, January 04, 2012 10:00 PM
Subject: MILITARY: Final Haditha trial to get under way at Camp Pendleton


All,
Finally NC TImes got a story up on today's court hearing.  It completely 
omits that the defense team had four charges dismissed today.
http://www.nctimes.com/news/local/military/military-final-haditha-trial-to-get-under-way-at-camp/article_688f1c17-6472-5e4f-bb1f-eb95948e9113.html

Also, note 2 items in story:
1 - Gannon to present evidence that Frank shot the 5 men in the car that 
drove up after the attack - I remember at the March 2010 court hearing 
having Faraj mention that the balistics prove that the 5 men shot were NOT 
from Frank's rifle.
2 - Faraj wants the victims identified by names, not numbers, so to avoid 
the "unidentified Iraqi" tag line so familiar to those of us from Hutchins 
proceedings.  Judge to rule on this.  Good call by Defense

PRAYERS UP FOR FRANK AND HIS TEAM!


Article:
Frank Wuterich has fought for his life and those of his fellow Marines in 
Iraq.

On Thursday, the Camp Pendleton staff sergeant begins fighting to avoid the 
160-year prison sentence he could face if convicted of criminal charges for 
his role in the deaths of 24 Iraqi civilians after a Nov. 19, 2005, roadside 
bombing.

"Everything Staff Sergeant Wuterich engaged in on November 19th was part of 
his mission," one of the Murrieta resident's attorneys, former Marine 
Haytham Faraj, told a military judge at the base during a final pretrial 
hearing at the base Wednesday.

That judge, Lt. Col. David Jones, is presiding over Wuterich's three- to 
four-week military trial, which starts with jury selection Thursday morning.

Wuterich, 31, is charged with nine counts of voluntary manslaughter and 
related offenses, including failing to follow the rules of engagement.

However, prosecutors allege Wuterich, a Connecticut native who was on his 
first combat deployment, is actually responsible for 19 of the civilian 
deaths in the Anbar province city of Haditha after the bombing that killed 
one Marine.

Wuterich has declared he is not guilty. He has told the North County Times 
the trial will tell the full story of what happened that cold fall morning.

"I am looking forward to being able to present my case and help everyone 
understand what happened that day and why I'm not guilty of the charges I'm 
facing," he told the newspaper in an email in December.

"Those that follow the Haditha case closely (realize) that there was a bit 
more complexity to the incident than Marines running around shooting 
everything they saw," he said.

Several women and children were among the victims. When that fact emerged 
several months after the incident, it sparked an international uproar and 
sharp questions over how U.S. troops were conducting the war.

The lead prosecutor in the case, Maj. Nicholas Gannon, told the judge 
Wednesday that his evidence will show Wuterich killed five men who drove up 
in a car immediately after the bombing.

Gannon said he also will show that Wuterich caused the deaths of six people 
in one of four homes stormed that day by Marines under his command.

Eight other victims who were killed in a second house also died because of 
Wuterich's actions, the prosecutor said.

"The accused is responsible for the deaths of 19 of the 24," Gannon said as 
the slight-framed Wuterich listened intently from the defense table, where 
he was surrounded by his one Marine Corps and two civilian attorneys.

Jury selection is expected to take most of Thursday. In the pool for the 
combat-experienced panel are seven enlisted Marines and five officers. The 
final size of the panel, which must be composed of members of the Marine 
Corps or Navy, hasn't been determined and can vary under military law.

The judge said he expects the jury will be selected by the end of the day 
and opening statements will be heard early Friday, if not late Thursday.

The prosecution's case will last about 10 days and include nearly two dozen 
witnesses. Many of the troops who were under Wuterich's command that day are 
expected to testify.

Gannon also said his opening statement will include outtakes of a "60 
Minutes" television interview that Wuterich gave several months after being 
charged.
Those outtakes, which were never aired during the CBS show's broadcast, are 
said to include incriminating statements from Wuterich.

Among statements investigators have attributed to him is a directive to his 
men to "shoot first and ask questions later."

Wuterich is the last of the Haditha defendants to reach trial in what is the 
largest war-crime case arising out of the Iraq War, which ended two weeks 
ago when the final American troops were brought home.

Seven of the original eight defendants in the case were exonerated through a 
variety of court actions, including one who was found not guilty by a 
military jury.
Wuterich has remained on duty at Camp Pendleton pending the resolution of 
his case, which has been delayed by years of pretrial legal wrangling.

A single father of three daughters, he told the North County Times he wants 
to leave the Marine Corps and pursue a job in computer technology.

His lead attorney, former Marine Corps judge and attorney Neal Puckett, has 
said he will argue his client acted within the rules of engagement. 
Everything Wuterich and his squad did that day was a legitimate response to 
being attacked, Puckett has said.

Before jury selection begins, Jones is set to rule on whether prosecutors 
can omit the names of the victims and just use numbers that were painted on 
their bodies by Marines who reviewed the death scenes shortly after the 
shooting stopped.

Gannon made that request on Wednesday, saying depositions from victims' 
family members, which he had planned to introduce to establish the identity 
of all the dead, will not be used.

Defense attorney Faraj objected, saying it is crucial that prosecutors 
identify the people who died if they are going to prosecute Wuterich for 
homicide.

Call staff writer Mark Walker at 760-901-4080.

Slainte,
Clo



The definition of Insanity - Doing the same thing over and over but 
expecting different results.