thedrifter
12-10-06, 07:01 AM
Marine shooting case far from trial
By MANNY GAMALLO World Staff Writer
12/10/2006
Houston attorney Jack Zimmerman doesn't hide his frustration at the swirling reports of imminent charges against five Marines involved in the deaths of 24 Iraqi civilians a year ago.
Zimmerman is representing one of those Marines, Lance Cpl. Stephen Tatum of Edmond.
The attorney noted that after months of military investigations, the case against the Marines has yet to rise to what even in civilian life would be a police complaint.
Zimmerman said he was hired by the Tatum family in July when there was talk that charges would be forthcoming "within a week," and "here it is December, and nothing."
The Marines, all members of Kilo Company, 3rd Battalion, 1st Marine Regiment, have been implicated in the Nov. 19, 2005, deaths of Iraqi civilians at Haditha, a city of 90,000 about 150 miles northwest of Baghdad.
Zimmerman said the Marines responded to an attack in the only way they knew.
"These Marines," he said last week, "were trained how to react to an attack, and they responded the way they were trained.
"There was no crime committed," Zimmerman said.
The deaths of the 24 -- among them women and children -- came after a roadside bomb tore apart a Humvee, killing Marine Lance Cpl. Miguel Terrazas of El Paso, Texas, and injuring two others.
There were a dozen Marines involved in the shootings, but the case seems to be focusing on five or six of them.
Two captains and a lieutenant colonel have been relieved of duty as a result of an investigation into the Haditha deaths.
In a National Public Radio report last month, it was said that military prosecutors would soon charge the Marines with negligent homicide or murder.
Zimmerman blasted that report, noting it was all based on unsubstantiated information through unknown sources.
Last week, according to an Associated Press report, U.S. Reps. Mark Udall, D-Colo., and Silvestre Reyes, D-Texas, said they sat in on an Armed Services Committee briefing by Lt. Gen. Richard Natonski.
Reyes said charges would be coming in weeks, while Udall said they would be serious.
"I read that report," Zimmerman said Friday, "and it's just more of the same."
Zimmerman said he won't be surprised if charges arise because the probability is the "Marine Corps won't want to sweep the incident under the rug."
Instead, he noted, the Corps would want to expose the case in the open forum of a court-martial.
Zimmerman said the military justice system is more fair and more open than most of the nation's civilian courts.
The military judicial system is one of his law specialties, according to his profile.
He's a decorated Marine veteran, having served as an active Marine for 14 years and in the Marine Reserve for 16 years.
On top of that, he's also served as a felony court-martial judge within the military judicial system.
He retired 12 years ago as a Marine colonel.
Zimmerman said the case involving Haditha is a long way from the court-martial stage.
In the military system, he noted, there have to be "charges preferred" -- the equivalent of a civilian police complaint, and that has yet to occur.
But once that happens, the charges preferred are then reviewed by a commanding officer, who may forward the case to an "Article 32," the civilian equivalent of a grand jury.
From there the case may move onto a court-martial proceeding, Zimmerman said.
He said only two-thirds of a court-martial panel (jurors) would be needed to decide guilt or innocence.
"I have a great deal of confidence in the military justice system," he said.
But again he noted the case against his client and the other Marines is a long way from prosecution.
In the meantime, Zimmerman said, the Tatum family is frustrated, irritated and angry at the comments being made against their son.
Zimmerman said Stephen Tatum is now with his unit, training at Camp Pendleton, Calif.
Manny Gamallo 581-8386
manny.gamallo@tulsaworld.com
Ellie
By MANNY GAMALLO World Staff Writer
12/10/2006
Houston attorney Jack Zimmerman doesn't hide his frustration at the swirling reports of imminent charges against five Marines involved in the deaths of 24 Iraqi civilians a year ago.
Zimmerman is representing one of those Marines, Lance Cpl. Stephen Tatum of Edmond.
The attorney noted that after months of military investigations, the case against the Marines has yet to rise to what even in civilian life would be a police complaint.
Zimmerman said he was hired by the Tatum family in July when there was talk that charges would be forthcoming "within a week," and "here it is December, and nothing."
The Marines, all members of Kilo Company, 3rd Battalion, 1st Marine Regiment, have been implicated in the Nov. 19, 2005, deaths of Iraqi civilians at Haditha, a city of 90,000 about 150 miles northwest of Baghdad.
Zimmerman said the Marines responded to an attack in the only way they knew.
"These Marines," he said last week, "were trained how to react to an attack, and they responded the way they were trained.
"There was no crime committed," Zimmerman said.
The deaths of the 24 -- among them women and children -- came after a roadside bomb tore apart a Humvee, killing Marine Lance Cpl. Miguel Terrazas of El Paso, Texas, and injuring two others.
There were a dozen Marines involved in the shootings, but the case seems to be focusing on five or six of them.
Two captains and a lieutenant colonel have been relieved of duty as a result of an investigation into the Haditha deaths.
In a National Public Radio report last month, it was said that military prosecutors would soon charge the Marines with negligent homicide or murder.
Zimmerman blasted that report, noting it was all based on unsubstantiated information through unknown sources.
Last week, according to an Associated Press report, U.S. Reps. Mark Udall, D-Colo., and Silvestre Reyes, D-Texas, said they sat in on an Armed Services Committee briefing by Lt. Gen. Richard Natonski.
Reyes said charges would be coming in weeks, while Udall said they would be serious.
"I read that report," Zimmerman said Friday, "and it's just more of the same."
Zimmerman said he won't be surprised if charges arise because the probability is the "Marine Corps won't want to sweep the incident under the rug."
Instead, he noted, the Corps would want to expose the case in the open forum of a court-martial.
Zimmerman said the military justice system is more fair and more open than most of the nation's civilian courts.
The military judicial system is one of his law specialties, according to his profile.
He's a decorated Marine veteran, having served as an active Marine for 14 years and in the Marine Reserve for 16 years.
On top of that, he's also served as a felony court-martial judge within the military judicial system.
He retired 12 years ago as a Marine colonel.
Zimmerman said the case involving Haditha is a long way from the court-martial stage.
In the military system, he noted, there have to be "charges preferred" -- the equivalent of a civilian police complaint, and that has yet to occur.
But once that happens, the charges preferred are then reviewed by a commanding officer, who may forward the case to an "Article 32," the civilian equivalent of a grand jury.
From there the case may move onto a court-martial proceeding, Zimmerman said.
He said only two-thirds of a court-martial panel (jurors) would be needed to decide guilt or innocence.
"I have a great deal of confidence in the military justice system," he said.
But again he noted the case against his client and the other Marines is a long way from prosecution.
In the meantime, Zimmerman said, the Tatum family is frustrated, irritated and angry at the comments being made against their son.
Zimmerman said Stephen Tatum is now with his unit, training at Camp Pendleton, Calif.
Manny Gamallo 581-8386
manny.gamallo@tulsaworld.com
Ellie