During the first day of testimony, the prosecution called LCpl Humberto Mendoza to the witness stand. LCpl Mendoza testified that he never saw SSgt Wuterich kill any Iraqis inside either of the two home, that 19 November 2005, in the town of Haditha, Iraq. LCpl Mendoza finished his testimony by stating “I think he’s a great Marine, sir,” after questioned about his opinion of SSgt Wuterich. This began the Government’s presentation of evidence against Staff Sergeant Frank Wuterich in his Article 32 investigation into 18 charges of murder arising from his actions in Haditha. The investigation is being conducted by LtCol Paul Ware who ...
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Laura Ingraham , who now hosts the "Just In" show on FOX NEWS and her guest Michelle Malkin , the Conservative blogger, were ecstatic over the news a military Judge dismissed the charges against a Marine officer who had been charged with allowing his troops to murder innocent Iraqi civilians in Haditha, Iraq. Ingraham neatly sidestepped one very important point in the court ruling. Namely, the one Marine who led the assault on the Iraqi civilians is still facing charges. To set the record straight, here is the COMPLETE story of the trial and what was not reported by Ingraham and her guests on ...
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The Article 32 investigation for Sgt Frank Wuterich, USMC, is set to begin on 30AUG07 aboard Camp Pendleton. LtCol Ware will be the investigating officer. LtCol Ware was the investigating officer for LCpl Stephen B. Tatum and and LCpl Justin L. Sharratt , in both cases he recommended no charges . Sgt Wuterich’s lawyer, Neal Puckett , a retired Marine Corps lawyer, said Sgt Wuterich “has nothing to hide. We have faith that the military justice system will support split-second decisions made during combat.”Given that the momentum has turned against the government it is likely that LtCol Ware will not recommend charges in this ...
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After having his Article 32 investigation reopened , two additional charges for dereliction of duty have been add against Lieutenant Colonel Jeffrey Chessani. LtCol Chessani was the battalion commander of the Marines involved in the killing of 24 Iraqi civilians in Hadita , Iraq. The Investigating Officer, Col Conlin , in LtCol Chessani’s case had originally recommended three charges for violations of Article 92 of the UCMJ , for dereliction of duty and violation of a lawful order. These additional charges are only recommendations at this point, the decision to send these charges to a court-martial rests with the Convening Authority , Lieutenant General ...
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Staff Sergeant Frank Wuterich is facing a court-martial for his involvement in the killing of 24 Iraqi civilians in the town of Haditha, Iraq. The prosecution in the court-martial of SSgt Wuterich had sought to subpoena portions of an interview he did with 60 Minutes. The military judge rejected the subpoena. The prosecution appealed the military [...]
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