Prosecution’s case is in trouble, officer says

All the charges carry prison sentences on conviction.

LOS ANGELES TIMES

CAMP PENDLETON, Calif. — A hearing officer has recommended that a U.S. Marine staff sergeant be tried on negligent homicide charges in the death of five women and two children in Iraq, even though he predicted the prosecution will fail.

Lt. Col. Paul Ware, in a report to a top general, recommended that murder charges against the sergeant be dropped in the death of 12 other civilians in the Iraqi town of Haditha.

The case against Staff Sgt. Frank D. Wuterich is riddled with contradictory evidence, untrustworthy witnesses and poor forensics, Ware wrote to Lt. Gen. James N. Mattis.

Ware said that in his judgment Wuterich is guilty of dereliction of duty for not supervising the Marines in his squad.

Wuterich “failed to exercise due care in his own actions or in supervising his Marines,” Ware wrote, in recommendations first reported Thursday in the North County Times.

Until Mattis makes a decision otherwise, Wuterich, 27, of Meridien, Conn., is charged with 12 counts of u npremeditated murder in the deaths of 17 Iraqis on Nov. 19, 2005. In all, Marines killed 24 civilians that day in Haditha.

Wuterich is charged with killing five Iraqis in the street near the scene of a roadside bomb explosion that killed a fellow Marine, as well as killing 12 more Iraqis in two houses while leading his Marines in a search for insurgents.

Ware’s report is strictly advisory to Mattis, commander of the Marine Forces Central Command. Negligent homicide carries a maximum three-year prison sentence. Unpremeditated murder carries a maximum life sentence.

Other cases dropped

Mattis already has dismissed charges against two officers, Capt. Lucas M. McConnell and Capt. Randy Stone. They had been charged with dereliction of duty for allegedly not investigating the shootings as a possible war crime.

He also has dropped murder charges against Lance Cpl. Justin L. Sharratt and Sgt. Sanick P. Dela Cruz. Still pending is his decision about charges faced by Lance Cpl. Stephen B. Tatum, battalion commander Lt. Col Jeffrey Chessani and an intelligence officer Lt. Andrew A. Grayson.

At his preliminary hearing, Wuterich, in an unsworn statement, told Ware that he ordered Marines in his squad to be aggressive in “clearing” houses near the bomb site.

“The four of us aggressively advanced on the house and on approach, I advised the team something like ‘shoot first and ask questions later’ or ‘don’t hesitate to shoot,’ ” he said.