Friday, July 11, 2008 9:48 PM CDT
Prosecutor says Fallujah killing about issues of
right and wrong
Hindsboro Marine faces charges of murder, other counts in Iraq slaying
By TERI FIGUEROA, Staff Writer
CAMP PENDLETON, Calif. — A military prosecutor Friday asked a Marine officer to recommend that a veteran of a key battle in the Iraqi city of Fallujah be tried for murder for his admission that he killed a prisoner under his control.
“While he is a remarkably sympathetic figure,” the prosecutor, Capt. Nick Gannon, said of Sgt. Ryan Weemer, “this is not a gray area. It’s black and white. It’s right and wrong.”
Gannon pointed to testimony that Marines who took prisoners during a massive 2004 offensive in Fallujah were told to treat captives humanely and safely transport them to a detention facility.
Even in the chaos of the first day of house-to-house fighting, Marines were told they could not fire freely at anyone, Gannon said.
“These are incredibly challenging cases because of the rigors of combat,” he said. “It’s very difficult to sit here and attack him (Weemer) and talk about criminality.”
But, Gannon continued, in the moment of truth, Weemer opted to “unlawfully kill” a detainee under his control.
The arguments in a Camp Pendleton courtroom came at the close of an investigative hearing into the allegations against Weemer, who is charged with murder in the death of one of four captured enemy fighters on Nov. 9, 2004.
Weemer’s lead attorney, Paul Hackett, argued that the detainee had been reaching for Weemer’s gun.
“He (Weemer) acted in self-defense,” Hackett contended, asking that the case be dismissed.
Weemer, of Hindsboro in Coles County, firmly pressed his lips together as he listened to the arguments. The 25-year-old Marine faces a possible life sentence and dishonorable discharge if he is convicted of murder.
The killings came to light in 2006 when Weemer referred to them during a polygraph examination for a job with the Secret Service.
His admission spawned an investigation that landed him and two other men in court.
Authorities allege that the slayings came on the first day of the fight for Fallujah, the largest urban battle since the Vietnam War.
Weemer and his squad mates searched a home, finding men and a cache of weapons. The men were under the control of the Marines and were not armed when they were killed, according to authorities.
Weemer’s squad leader, then-Sgt. Jose Nazario, is said to have shot two of the men, then ordered Weemer and a second Marine to kill the other two men, according to court documents.
The officer who presided over Weemer’s two-day hearing, Maj. Glen Hines, is investigating whether Weemer should be ordered to trial for murder, face lesser charges or whether the case should be withdrawn.
Hines will make his recommendation to Camp Pendleton’s Lt. Gen. Samuel Helland, head of Marine Corps forces throughout the Middle East. A final decision rests with Helland.
On Friday, Hines said he was “struggling” and conflicted about recommending a lesser charge than murder. He asked the defense to point him to evidence that might support a less-severe charge.
Hackett cited statements attributed to Pfc. Cory Carlisle, a Marine in the house at the time of the killings who spoke to Weemer seconds after the shot was fired.
According to testimony from a naval investigator, Weemer told Carlisle that he shot the detainee after the man tried to grab his gun. Neither side called Carlisle to the stand during Weemer’s two-day hearing that concluded Friday afternoon.
Gannon rejected the self-defense assertion, saying Weemer had never previously cited that rationale.
Nazario, who left the military, is being tried for voluntary manslaughter in a federal court in Riverside. His trial is set to begin Aug. 19.
Weemer and Sgt. Jermaine Nelson are being prosecuted in military court. Nelson is scheduled to go on trial in December.
The two Marines also are charged with dereliction of duty for allegedly failing to protect the detainees.
A few days after the purported slayings, for which the Marine Corps has no named victims, Weemer was shot three times in what became known as the “Hell House” fight in Fallujah.
Contact Teri Figueroa at (760) 740-5442 or tfigueroa@nctimes.com.
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cd wrote on Jul 12, 2008 10:21 AM:
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Looks like Weemer needs new counsel.
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Nazario, who left the military, is being tried for voluntary manslaughter in a federal court in Riverside. His trial is set to begin Aug. 19.
Weemer and Sgt. Jermaine Nelson are being prosecuted in military court. Nelson is scheduled to go on trial in December.
+++++
Nazario should have been tried in a military court, as he was in the military at the time of the incident.
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Even in the chaos of the first day of house-to-house fighting, Marines were told they could not fire freely at anyone, Gannon said.
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Sounds a lot like Viet Nam, and you can see how that kind of Butthead thinking got us. Out with our tails tucked between our legs.
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A few days after the purported slayings, for which the Marine Corps has no named victims, Weemer was shot three times in what became known as the Hell House fight in Fallujah.
+++++++
I guess it is O.K. for our soldiers to be shot, but they can't shoot the enemy.
It would be a lot easier if the enemy was in uniform....and the civilians remained as non-combatant civilians; but they DON'T, DO THEY?!!!!!! "