Trial recommended for Pendleton Marine in Iraq slayings

[Barrett808]

Source: Associated Press

CAMP PENDLETON, Calif. - A hearing officer recommended a court-martial for a Marine charged with murdering an Iraqi detainee captured during fierce house-to-house fighting in Fallujah, Iraq.

Lt. Col. Thomas McCann said in his findings Wednesday that there is sufficient evidence against Sgt. Jermaine A. Nelson to order him to trial.

Nelson, 26, is one of three Marines accused of shooting unarmed captives in November 2004 during some of the heaviest fighting of the war. Nelson has said he was following orders from his squad leader, Jose Nazario Jr., who is also charged.

A final decision on whether Nelson will face trial now rests with Lt. Gen. Samuel Helland, who oversees the case as head of Camp Pendleton's 1st Marine Expeditionary Force and Marine Corps forces in the Middle East.

Nelson, of New York, is charged with a single murder count and five counts of dereliction of duty. He faces life imprisonment if he is tried and convicted on the murder charge. The charge does not give the name of the Iraqi who was killed.

Read more: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080425/ap_on_re_us/marines_fallujah