US Marine acquitted of all charges in Haditha killings
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Saved by 1 people (0 private), first by anonymouse user on 2008-06-05
- Liveinfreedom on 2008-06-05 - Tags haditha , roadside , bomb , trial , not guilty , army , court , martial
Public Sticky notes
On November 19, 2005, a US soldier on patrol was killed by a roadside bomb in the village of Haditha, 260 kilometers (160 miles) west of Baghdad.
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Defense lawyers claim insurgents hidden in nearby houses subsequently opened fire on the soldiers, forcing them to respond.
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prosecutors say there were no insurgents, alleging that the soldiers opened fire unprovoked in revenge for their colleague's death.
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a three-hour shooting spree, they say, the soldiers shot five passengers of an approaching taxi and killed 10 women and children at point blank range, among others.
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The Marines said in a press release issued immediately after the killings that 15 Iraqis had been killed by the roadside bomb that claimed the life of Lance Corporal Miguel Terrazas.
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Time magazine showed that most of the dead were killed as Marines swept through three houses near the bombing, prompting a wide-ranging internal investigation.
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Eight military personnel were originally charged over the incident -- four soldiers faced murder charges and four officers, including Grayson, were accused of covering up and failing to properly investigate the killings.
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prosecutors have struggled to make the allegations stick.
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Six have now had charges against them dropped, while charges of murder against squad leader Frank Wuterich were changed to the lesser offense of manslaughter.
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a preliminary hearing at Camp Pendleton last September that he would "always mourn the unfortunate deaths of the innocent Iraqis who were killed during our response to that attack."
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Based on the information I had at the time, based on the situation, I made the best decision I could have."
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