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| Charges Dismissed Against Marine Reservist | |
| 2004-04-13 | |
| HOUSTON (AP) - Charges against a Marine reservist accused in the death of an Iraqi prisoner last year were thrown out, a defense attorney said Monday. Lance Cpl. Christian Hernandez and his commanding officer, Maj. Mark A. Paulus, had been accused of negligent homicide in the death of Nagem Sadoon Hatab, a Baath Party member who prosecutors said was punched, karate-kicked and dragged by the throat while in the officers' custody in Iraq. Hatab, 52, had been left lying naked, covered in his own feces, for hours when he was found dead on June 6, 2003. Col. William Gallo, the investigating officer who presided over an Article 32 hearing in February, recommended dismissal of charges against Hernandez. Article 32 hearings are the military equivalent of a civilian grand jury probe. Maj. Gen. William Bowdon, the commanding general at Camp Pendleton, the Marine base north of San Diego, made the final decision to drop the charges. A memorandum on Bowden's decision, dated Friday, was released Monday by Hernandez's attorney, Jack Zimmermann. Zimmerman said Hernandez was back in New York City with his wife and children. Administrative punishment, such as loss of pay or restriction to base, was recommended for Paulus.
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| Posted by:Steve White |
| #11 sigh...I suppose I shouldn't lol. note to self: must make self care - try harder. |
| Posted by: B 2004-04-14 1:42:01 AM |
| #10 that's a shitty way to die.... lol! If he did have Jessie's things, there is certainly more to the story and it was wrong and bad. and they should...oh..excuse me...yawn....it's all this rain...it' makes me so..yawn..tired... I think I'm really more interested in who killed Jonbenet Ramsey, which isn't all that interested really.... It's not that I don't care...it's just that there are other things that I care more about. |
| Posted by: B 2004-04-13 6:17:48 PM |
| #9 Hatab took the easy way out. The rumor I read somewhere was that he had Jessica Lynch's M-16 and personal effects. Does anyone have a source for what Hatab had on him? |
| Posted by: Tresho 2004-04-13 5:45:06 PM |
| #8 Hatab, 52, had been left lying naked, covered in his own feces, for hours when he was found dead on June 6, 2003. That's a shitty way to die. |
| Posted by: Raj 2004-04-13 1:12:25 PM |
| #7 "Hatab, 52, had been left lying naked, covered in his own feces, for hours when he was found dead on June 6, 2003." -sounds appropriate to me. |
| Posted by: Jarhead 2004-04-13 1:04:57 PM |
| #6 IF, and that is a big if, this Iraqi was hurt it would not have been without good reason. I am not going to make a list but we treat are prisoners as good as they act. If you get mouthy and hostile the guard have a duty to do the same. Good order and dicipline works both ways. If somebody (say a former Iraqi Baath Party member) got lippy with the guards, I expect they would have to demonmstrate to the other prisoners that his behavior is counter productive. If said Baath Party member was found to be in possession of U.S. war trophies, he would probably get extra scrutiny from the MPs. I don't know but I suspect that is what happens. |
| Posted by: Cyber Sarge 2004-04-13 11:09:08 AM |
| #5 The Iraqi Baathist prefers kicking up on 'is back, covered in 'is own feces! 'e's probably pining for the fjords! |
| Posted by: BH 2004-04-13 10:49:47 AM |
| #4 finally some level headed reasoning |
| Posted by: Dan 2004-04-13 10:47:34 AM |
| #3 I remember reading that Hatab was captured in possession of an M-16 and personal effects taken from a soldier who had been killed in the 507th ambush. This aspect of the story has practically vanished, but a couple of Marines (field grade officers) have recently repeated it to me. |
| Posted by: Atomic Conspiracy 2004-04-13 3:24:06 AM |
| #2 Why was he even charged in the first place? Because our laws , principles, customs, and morality mean more to us than to you? |
| Posted by: badanov 2004-04-13 1:43:25 AM |
| #1 War is Hell--nothing new here. Why was he even charged in the first place? |
| Posted by: Not Mike Moore 2004-04-13 1:19:40 AM |