Darryl R. Sharratt, father of Haditha Marine Justin Sharratt, has given his take on the Haditha nightmare, the effects it had on Justin, his family, and the other Marines involved in what will undoubtedly be one of the most infamous miscarriages of justice in military history.
Exclusively at Murtha Must Go!!
20 comments June 20th, 2008
At what price, saving face?
The Murtha-inspired, media trumped so-called “Haditha Massacre” has had its share of casualties long after the event had transpired. Eight Marines, whose only crime was to follow Rules of Engagement (ROE) and to execute their mission of weeding out terrorist elements in the town of Haditha, have had their reputations and their honor dragged through the mud, not to mention having had the “honor” of treatment that would make Guantanamo detainees look like they’re being put up at the Waldorf Astoria by comparison.
On Tuesday, Military Judge Colonel Steven Folsom, USMC made the right decision when he saw through the undue command influence and dismissed all charges against Lt. Col. Jeffrey Chessani without prejudice.
Said Richard Thompson, resident and Chief Counsel of the Thomas More Law Center, who has been defending Chessani,
“This case has turned into the persecution of one of the Marine’s finest combat commanders. LtCol Chessani devoted his life to the Corps and his Nation. He served three tours of duty in Iraq, away from his wife and children in defense of us all. In their attempt ‘to get’ Chessani, prosecutors granted immunity to seventeen Marines, including one they had charged with murder. Still they failed. Sadly, in the process they have destroyed the career of an outstanding officer. Enough is enough.”
WND just had a story published today that Chessani rightfully planned to sue Congressman John Murtha over his slanderous pronouncement of the Haditha Marines guilt of murder in cold blood. I wouldn’t be surprised at all if there is more “undue influence” coming from Murtha to pressure prosecutors to make an example out of Chessani. Murtha, after all, is in charge of defense appropriations in the House and is certainly in a position to exert such influence. Given Murtha’s long history of what was, in my opinion, influence peddling in the form of a legion of earmarks and defense contracts, there is in my opinion nothing too low for the King of Pork to resort to save his sorry fat backside from the consequences of his actions.
The military powers that be, along with the politicians that be, know that the Haditha prosecutions will be considered by historians as one of the largest travesties of justice in military history; a time when the interests of politicians and military leaders were put far ahead of the interests of justice itself. Their pitiful attempts to continue to prop up a false set of charges against one of the great military leaders in the Corps as a means of salvaging face serves neither the honor of the military nor the interests of justice.
It is nothing less than reprehensible.
Lots more on the background of this case here, here and here.
Read more on Murtha’s role in this travesty here, here, and here.
5 comments June 19th, 2008
Just one man left to be cleared:
A military judge on Tuesday dismissed the case against the highest-ranking U.S. Marine charged in the killing of 24 Iraqi civilians at Haditha, whittling down the list of those who must still face justice for the 2005 incident to just the accused ringleader.
Military Judge Col. Steven Folsom dropped all charges against Lt. Col. Jeffrey Chessani, who was accused of violating a lawful order and dereliction of duty, at a hearing at the Camp Pendleton Marine base in Southern California.
Folsom’s decision means that, out of eight Marines originally charged in December 2006, six have won dismissals of their charges and one has been cleared at court martial.
The accused ringleader, Staff Sgt. Frank Wuterich, still faces court martial. The proceedings against him, however, have been put on hold pending the appeal of a pretrial ruling.
Folsom threw out the charges against Chessani, a 44-year-old Colorado native, after finding that a four-star general who oversaw the case could have been influenced by an investigator who later became his adviser.
The judge ruled that military prosecutors could refile the case but it was not immediately clear if they would do so. The prosecution could also appeal his ruling.
It will be very hard to get a conviction against a “ringleader” who, apparantly, had no ring to lead because no one else is going to be convicted of the alleged crime. Essentially, the whole Haditha case appears to be enemy propaganda cooked up against our troops and sadly taken up by the American left (most prominently by the very ex-Marine Murtha) looking for any club they could to beat President Bush with.
The mean, cruel and spiteful way the left has attacked our effort in Iraq turns my stomach and makes me ashamed to think that such people can be my fellow Americans.
UPDATE: Michelle Malkin says it all.
11 comments June 18th, 2008
Good news:
CAMP PENDLETON, Calif. - The Marine Corps dropped its case and gave full immunity Friday to a serviceman who was accused of involuntary manslaughter in a squad’s killing of 24 Iraqis in Haditha in 2005.
The case against Lance Cpl. Stephen Tatum, 26, of Edmond, Okla., was dropped as jury selection was about to begin for his court-martial. The government has been seeking Tatum’s testimony against the squad leader, Staff Sgt. Frank Wuterich of Meriden, Conn.
In addition to two counts of involuntary manslaughter, Tatum had been charged with reckless endangerment and aggravated assault. Tatum’s attorney, Jack Zimmerman, said there was no agreement with the government before the dismissal.
“Absolutely, there is no deal,” he said.
“No deal” - which means that after all this song and dance, they had nothing on this Marine…and I’ll bet, in the end, they have nothing on any of the other Marines involved. This whole case was cooked up against the Marines, in my view - a hysterical MSM, a slanderous Congressman, a willing anti-American left and, presto!, there a case brought against Marines for fighting a war.
I just wish there were charges we could bring against each and every person who said these Marines were murderers.
9 comments March 28th, 2008
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