Hadithah case plagued by legal problems

[unhappycamper]

Hadithah case plagued by legal problems
By Chelsea J. Carter - The Associated Press
Posted : Thursday Feb 21, 2008 15:47:52 EST

CAMP PENDLETON, Calif. — A military prosecutor told a judge Wednesday that Marines forced to testify against a squad leader accused of crimes in an attack that killed 24 Iraqi civilians are “far from cooperative,” and he predicted their accounts would conflict.

“They are begrudging in their testimony,” Capt. Nicholas Gannon said during the first day of a pretrial hearing for Staff Sgt. Frank D. Wuterich, who faces voluntary manslaughter and other charges in the Nov. 19, 2005, deaths in Hadithah, Iraq.

The prosecutor commented as the judge considered a defense motion to keep out or at least limit what were described as “gruesome” and “inflaming” photographs of dead bodies.

“Post-death photos do not actually display what went on in that house,” said attorney Neal Puckett. “It’s a bunch of dead people, and it’s prejudicial.”

On the day in question, the squad’s convoy was struck by a roadside bomb that killed one Marine and wounded another. In the aftermath, squad members killed 24 Iraqi men, women and children, authorities have said.


Rest of article at: http://www.marinecorpstimes.com/news/2008/02/ap_hadithah_080220/