Haditha case plagued by legal problems

[unhappycamper]

Haditha case plagued by legal problems
By Chelsea J. Carter - The Associated Press
Posted : Wednesday Feb 20, 2008 23:37:27 EST

CAMP PENDLETON, Calif. — Marines forced to testify against a squad leader accused in the killings of 24 Iraqi civilians will likely offer conflicting accounts of the killings, a military prosecutor said Wednesday.

The Marines “are begrudging in their testimony,” Capt. Nicholas Gannon told a judge Wednesday during a pretrial hearing for Staff Sgt. Frank D. Wuterich, who faces voluntary manslaughter and other charges for his role in the Nov. 19, 2005, shooting deaths in Haditha, Iraq.

It was one of the clearest statements to date by prosecutors over perceived legal problems with the Haditha cases — the largest prosecution of U.S. troops in the Iraq war.

Four enlisted Marines were initially charged with murder in the case and four officers were charged with failing to investigate the deaths. Charges against several of the men have been dropped, and none will face murder charges.

Among other issues to be addressed during the three-day hearing were motions to dismiss the case because of undue publicity and command influence, and a motion to quash a subpoena to compel CBS to turn over raw footage of a “60 Minutes” interview with Wuterich. The network has declined to hand over the footage.


Rest of article at: http://www.marinecorpstimes.com/news/2008/02/ap_marines_hadithah_080220/