fontman
07-21-06, 07:23 AM
Marine Corps bars lawyers from Iraqi town
By Thomas Watkins
ASSOCIATED PRESS
SAN DIEGO - The Marine Corps turned down a request from defense lawyers to visit the Iraqi village where military investigators say seven Marines and a Navy medic kidnapped and killed a civilian.
The lawyers say they need to see the site of the alleged crime and interview locals to rebut Pentagon claims. Photographs by military investigators, some of which were given to the Associated Press, do not provide enough details about the scene, they say.
The Marine Corps told the attorneys that visits to Iraq would only be organized if the murder charges are referred to courts martial. In coming weeks the charges are to be considered at an Article 32 hearing, similar to a grand jury, where a commanding officer will decide if there is probable cause for a full trial.
"While a site-survey for all involved counsel may become necessary in the future, the expense, security and logistical support required to accomplish a site visit . . . are unnecessary at this time," the Marine Corps said in rejecting the request by attorneys Jane Siegel and Joseph Casas. The denial was issued July 14 but reached the lawyers Wednesday.
Naval Criminal Investigative Service agents claim that on April 26, without provocation, the troops went into the rural Iraqi town of Hamdania, took 52-year-old Hashim Ibrahim Awad from his home, tied him up, put him in a hole and shot him.
After the killing, the troops placed an AK-47 in Awad's hands and put a shovel in the hole to make it appear Awad was an insurgent planting explosives, investigators say.
All are being held in the brig at Camp Pendleton and could face the death penalty if convicted.
Defense lawyers say their clients are innocent. They question the credibility of the Iraqis who reported the incident to U.S. military officials, suggesting they may have been motivated by money or sympathy for the insurgents. The Pentagon paid Awad's family an undisclosed amount as compensation for the death, a fairly common practice when noncombatants are killed.
Charging documents from the investigation, which has not been made public, claim four of the Marines, including Siegel and Casas' client, Marine Pfc. John Jodka III, fired their machine guns at Awad.
A selection of photographs from the investigation were given to the AP. All were taken more than a week after the killing and none show any of the accused troops or Awad.
There are several photos of the hole the troops say Awad was digging to plant a bomb. In one that is an apparent re-creation of the crime scene, Awad's sandal and a shovel are seen. Another picture shows the proximity of the hole to a road. Other photos show the fields next to the road.
Casas and David Brahms, who represents Marine Lance Cpl. Robert Pennington, said the pictures do not provide them with sufficient information.
"Looking at the pictures alone is inadequate," Casas said. "That's why it's important for me to get out to Iraq. There are other geographical and topographical things that (you cannot see in the pictures) that are going to change how the event potentially happened or not."
Jeremiah Sullivan III, the attorney for Navy Hospital Corpsman 3rd Class Melson Bacos, said he wants to go to Iraq to speak to the same people the military interviewed.
"It is paramount that we have our boots on the ground, knock on doors and talk to the same people that the government did," Sullivan said.
Siegel, a former Marine Corps colonel, prosecutor and judge, claimed the government has not been sharing all its evidence with defense lawyers.
"I am very disappointed," she said. "I have been a defense counsel for decades and this is just not normally the way an Article 32 is run."
Marine Lt. Col. Sean Gibson, a spokesman on the case, disputed that. He said the military has provided defense counsel with all available evidence in a timely fashion.
The Article 32 hearing, initially slated for June, now may not happen until early September, Gibson said.
The other Marines charged include Sgt. Lawrence Hutchins III, Lance Cpl. Tyler Jackson, Cpl. Marshall Magincalda, Lance Cpl. Jerry Shumate Jr., and Cpl. Trent Thomas.
By Thomas Watkins
ASSOCIATED PRESS
SAN DIEGO - The Marine Corps turned down a request from defense lawyers to visit the Iraqi village where military investigators say seven Marines and a Navy medic kidnapped and killed a civilian.
The lawyers say they need to see the site of the alleged crime and interview locals to rebut Pentagon claims. Photographs by military investigators, some of which were given to the Associated Press, do not provide enough details about the scene, they say.
The Marine Corps told the attorneys that visits to Iraq would only be organized if the murder charges are referred to courts martial. In coming weeks the charges are to be considered at an Article 32 hearing, similar to a grand jury, where a commanding officer will decide if there is probable cause for a full trial.
"While a site-survey for all involved counsel may become necessary in the future, the expense, security and logistical support required to accomplish a site visit . . . are unnecessary at this time," the Marine Corps said in rejecting the request by attorneys Jane Siegel and Joseph Casas. The denial was issued July 14 but reached the lawyers Wednesday.
Naval Criminal Investigative Service agents claim that on April 26, without provocation, the troops went into the rural Iraqi town of Hamdania, took 52-year-old Hashim Ibrahim Awad from his home, tied him up, put him in a hole and shot him.
After the killing, the troops placed an AK-47 in Awad's hands and put a shovel in the hole to make it appear Awad was an insurgent planting explosives, investigators say.
All are being held in the brig at Camp Pendleton and could face the death penalty if convicted.
Defense lawyers say their clients are innocent. They question the credibility of the Iraqis who reported the incident to U.S. military officials, suggesting they may have been motivated by money or sympathy for the insurgents. The Pentagon paid Awad's family an undisclosed amount as compensation for the death, a fairly common practice when noncombatants are killed.
Charging documents from the investigation, which has not been made public, claim four of the Marines, including Siegel and Casas' client, Marine Pfc. John Jodka III, fired their machine guns at Awad.
A selection of photographs from the investigation were given to the AP. All were taken more than a week after the killing and none show any of the accused troops or Awad.
There are several photos of the hole the troops say Awad was digging to plant a bomb. In one that is an apparent re-creation of the crime scene, Awad's sandal and a shovel are seen. Another picture shows the proximity of the hole to a road. Other photos show the fields next to the road.
Casas and David Brahms, who represents Marine Lance Cpl. Robert Pennington, said the pictures do not provide them with sufficient information.
"Looking at the pictures alone is inadequate," Casas said. "That's why it's important for me to get out to Iraq. There are other geographical and topographical things that (you cannot see in the pictures) that are going to change how the event potentially happened or not."
Jeremiah Sullivan III, the attorney for Navy Hospital Corpsman 3rd Class Melson Bacos, said he wants to go to Iraq to speak to the same people the military interviewed.
"It is paramount that we have our boots on the ground, knock on doors and talk to the same people that the government did," Sullivan said.
Siegel, a former Marine Corps colonel, prosecutor and judge, claimed the government has not been sharing all its evidence with defense lawyers.
"I am very disappointed," she said. "I have been a defense counsel for decades and this is just not normally the way an Article 32 is run."
Marine Lt. Col. Sean Gibson, a spokesman on the case, disputed that. He said the military has provided defense counsel with all available evidence in a timely fashion.
The Article 32 hearing, initially slated for June, now may not happen until early September, Gibson said.
The other Marines charged include Sgt. Lawrence Hutchins III, Lance Cpl. Tyler Jackson, Cpl. Marshall Magincalda, Lance Cpl. Jerry Shumate Jr., and Cpl. Trent Thomas.