US Justice: A Marine to Three Months Jail for Horrible Iraqi Massacre
The US marine Staff Sergeant Frank Wuterich faces a maximum of three months in prison for his involvement in the 2005 massacre of 24 Iraqi civilians in Haditha.
A US military hearing ruled that Wuterich, who led a group of Marines, had faced nine counts of voluntary manslaughter and other charges over the massacre.
As other marine members have been exonerated from the horrible crime, Wuterich, 31, accepted a plea deal, and now only faces the risk of having his rank reduced to private, his pay cut by two-thirds for three months, and possible imprisonment for up to three months."
"The max that he could face... is three months confinement, two-thirds forfeiture of pay for three months, and reduction rate to E-1, or the rank of private," said spokesman Joe Koppel.
Asked about the other charges that Wuterich faced, he said: "Part of the guilty plea is that those will all be dropped."
"Staff Sergeant Wuterich accepted responsibility... and agreed and admits that he gave a verbal order to shoot first, ask questions later, or don't hesitate to shoot, and words to that effect," clarified the spokesman.
He pleaded guilty to one count of negligent dereliction of duty, and will face a sentencing hearing Tuesday, Keppel said.24 Iraqi civilians were killed - 19 in several houses, along with the five men who pulled up in a car in the Iraqi town of Haditha on 19 November 2005.
The victims included 10 women and children killed at point-blank range. Six people were killed in one house, most shot in the head, including women and children huddled in a bedroom.
The other seven Marines charged in the case have been exonerated through various legal rulings, fueling anger in Iraq, where authorities had pushed for US troops to be subject to Iraqi justice before the US pullout in December.
US and NATO rejected Iraqi requests to have their troops subject to domestic Iraqi law, where they would have been liable for any crimes committed against Iraqi civilians.
The US is also not a member of the International Criminal Court (ICC), thus its armed forces cannot be held accountable for war crimes outside of US jurisdiction.
Source: News Agency, Edited by moqawama.org
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