| Submit your comments on this article |
| Home Front: WoT |
| Haditha defendant Wuterich agrees to plea deal |
| 2012-01-23 |
| Marine Staff Sgt. Frank Wuterich agreed Monday to plead guilty to dereliction of duty for his role in the 2005 killings of 24 civilians in Haditha, Iraq. Wuterich, the 31-year-old former squad leader, had been facing additional charges of manslaughter and assault. He originally had been charged with murder, but an investigating officer recommended downgrading the charges because of a lack of evidence. |
| Posted by:Frank G |
| #4 The sad thing is ALL the other defendants, his commander, and his troops, were either completely acquitted, or the prosecution was forced to drop the charges because they had insufficient evidence to prove the case. These were the Marines that the scumbag Murtha hung publicly. |
| Posted by: OldSpook 2012-01-23 21:16 |
| #3 Compromise. Looks like government can't prove its case, but can make life very miserable for Wuterich. This deal may let government save face and let Wuterich end a nightmare at relatively little future cost. May not be justice, but pretty standard in the civilian world, so I figure it's not out of the norm in the military justice world. |
| Posted by: Glenmore 2012-01-23 20:18 |
| #2 More here including the release by his defense attorneys - “No one denies that the consequences of November 19, 2005 were tragic, least of all SSgt Frank Wuterich. But the fact of the matter is that he has now been totally exonerated of the homicide charges brought against him by the government and the media. For six years, he’s had his name dragged through the mud. Today, we hope, is the beginning of his redemption. He has always publicly taken responsibility for the lawful actions of his squad that day, as portrayed in his interview with CBS 60 Minutes. Today’s agreement is completely consistent with everything he has always said. Which is that the decisions he made that day led to an outcome that was tragic and regrettable and he takes responsibility for them, but they were not criminal.” |
| Posted by: Procopius2k 2012-01-23 16:52 |
| #1 I read the article and don't get this. Neither Wuterich nor his attorney say why he's pleading guilty. If he honored the rules of engagement at the time, then by definition it wasn't dereliction of duty. He, his squad mates, and his commanding officer all say they were operating within the rules. So why the plea? |
| Posted by: Steve White 2012-01-23 15:57 |