thedrifter
11-17-07, 04:42 AM
Final Haditha hearing set to conclude
By: MARK WALKER - Staff Writer
CAMP PENDLETON -- Two years after 24 Iraqi civilians died at the hands of a Camp Pendleton squad in the city of Haditha, the final pretrial hearing for the last of eight Marines charged in the incident is set to conclude this afternoon.
The Article 32 hearing for the last man to reach court, 1st Lt. Andrew Grayson, will conclude with witness testimony and closing statements from the prosecution and defense.
It will then be up to the hearing's investigative officer, Col. Michael Stahlman, to decide whether the charges of dereliction of duty, obstruction of justice and lying to investigators confronting Grayson merit his being ordered to trial by military court-martial.
Grayson, 26, is the most junior of four Marine officers at Haditha when the killings occurred on Nov. 19, 2005, to face criminal charges. If ordered to trial and convicted, the Ohio native could be sentenced to more than 10 years in prison and a dismissal from the service.
On Friday, U.S. Army Col. Gregory Watt testified that Grayson came across as arrogant and reluctant to share much when interviewed regarding the Haditha events.
"Lt. Grayson was not forthcoming in providing information in support of the investigation," Col. Watt testified.
Watt interviewed more than 20 Marines at Haditha several weeks after the killings. Lt. Gen. Peter Chiarelli, the U.S. commander in Iraq at the time, ordered the probe after a Time magazine reporter raised questions about the military's version of events. Marine officers had erroneously stated that 15 civilians died when troops responded to a roadside bomb that killed a lance corporal and injured two other Marines.
Several women and children were among the dead, killed when troops from the 3rd Battalion, 1st Marine Regiment stormed a series of homes in search of the bomb triggerman and insurgents they said were firing at them.
The Marine Corps later amended the count of 15, acknowledging that 24 Iraqis had died but suggested several insurgents were among those killed. Still later, the service acknowledged that it could not say that any of the slain were insurgents.
One of the charges against Grayson, an intelligence team leader at Haditha, is that he deliberately deleted photographs of the slain Iraqis taken by one of his team members a few hours after the incident and then misled investigators about the existence of those pictures.
Watt testified that he did not learn until several weeks after interviewing Grayson that photos had been taken.
"I gave Lt. Grayson multiple opportunities to provide photos," Watt said. "On at least two occasions, he said there were no photos."
Watt also said that Grayson's sworn statement did not meet his expectations because it did not discuss the intelligence team's role in examining the scene of the killings.
But under cross-examination from Grayson's lead attorney, Joseph Casas, Watt acknowledged that Grayson had told him the photos were destroyed per Marine Corps policy after it was determined none of the dead were insurgents.
Watt also said Grayson never told him about a town council meeting with the battalion commander and other senior Marines at Haditha eight days after the civilian deaths. During that meeting, the council presented the Marines with a document written in English saying that a war crime had been committed and calling on the military to launch an investigation.
Watt said that if he had known about that demand he would have suspended what was then an informal probe, contacted Chiarelli and recommended that a formal investigation be convened.
Court testimony has shown the initial version of events that the battalion commander, Lt. Col. Jeffrey Chessani, reported up his chain of command did not accurately reflect the number of civilians killed or state that the women and children were found dead inside a bedroom. It also failed to report that there was no firm record of any weapons being recovered.
Chessani was arraigned in a different Camp Pendleton courtroom Friday and faces trial in April for willful dereliction of duty and violation of lawful order. The two other officers accused of dereliction at Haditha subsequently had those charges withdrawn.
In earlier testimony this week in Grayson's case, he was described as a superior intelligence officer who was nominated for a Bronze Star and whose intelligence team was nominated for a top Pentagon award. Neither of those recognitions occurred, however, because of the criminal investigation that concluded with him facing charges.
It was not clear Friday if Grayson would make a statement or testify. The veteran of two Iraq deployments has the option of saying nothing, testifying under oath or making an unsworn statement. Unsworn statements are immune from cross-examination.
Of the four enlisted men charged with murder at Haditha, two have had the charges withdrawn and a third has been ordered to trial on two counts of involuntary manslaughter.
The squad leader, Staff Sgt. Frank Wuterich, is awaiting word on whether he will face trial. A hearing officer has recommended that 17 murder charges against him be dropped and that he face court-martial on seven counts of negligent homicide.
Contact staff writer Mark Walker at (760) 740-3529 or mlwalker@nctimes.com.
Ellie
By: MARK WALKER - Staff Writer
CAMP PENDLETON -- Two years after 24 Iraqi civilians died at the hands of a Camp Pendleton squad in the city of Haditha, the final pretrial hearing for the last of eight Marines charged in the incident is set to conclude this afternoon.
The Article 32 hearing for the last man to reach court, 1st Lt. Andrew Grayson, will conclude with witness testimony and closing statements from the prosecution and defense.
It will then be up to the hearing's investigative officer, Col. Michael Stahlman, to decide whether the charges of dereliction of duty, obstruction of justice and lying to investigators confronting Grayson merit his being ordered to trial by military court-martial.
Grayson, 26, is the most junior of four Marine officers at Haditha when the killings occurred on Nov. 19, 2005, to face criminal charges. If ordered to trial and convicted, the Ohio native could be sentenced to more than 10 years in prison and a dismissal from the service.
On Friday, U.S. Army Col. Gregory Watt testified that Grayson came across as arrogant and reluctant to share much when interviewed regarding the Haditha events.
"Lt. Grayson was not forthcoming in providing information in support of the investigation," Col. Watt testified.
Watt interviewed more than 20 Marines at Haditha several weeks after the killings. Lt. Gen. Peter Chiarelli, the U.S. commander in Iraq at the time, ordered the probe after a Time magazine reporter raised questions about the military's version of events. Marine officers had erroneously stated that 15 civilians died when troops responded to a roadside bomb that killed a lance corporal and injured two other Marines.
Several women and children were among the dead, killed when troops from the 3rd Battalion, 1st Marine Regiment stormed a series of homes in search of the bomb triggerman and insurgents they said were firing at them.
The Marine Corps later amended the count of 15, acknowledging that 24 Iraqis had died but suggested several insurgents were among those killed. Still later, the service acknowledged that it could not say that any of the slain were insurgents.
One of the charges against Grayson, an intelligence team leader at Haditha, is that he deliberately deleted photographs of the slain Iraqis taken by one of his team members a few hours after the incident and then misled investigators about the existence of those pictures.
Watt testified that he did not learn until several weeks after interviewing Grayson that photos had been taken.
"I gave Lt. Grayson multiple opportunities to provide photos," Watt said. "On at least two occasions, he said there were no photos."
Watt also said that Grayson's sworn statement did not meet his expectations because it did not discuss the intelligence team's role in examining the scene of the killings.
But under cross-examination from Grayson's lead attorney, Joseph Casas, Watt acknowledged that Grayson had told him the photos were destroyed per Marine Corps policy after it was determined none of the dead were insurgents.
Watt also said Grayson never told him about a town council meeting with the battalion commander and other senior Marines at Haditha eight days after the civilian deaths. During that meeting, the council presented the Marines with a document written in English saying that a war crime had been committed and calling on the military to launch an investigation.
Watt said that if he had known about that demand he would have suspended what was then an informal probe, contacted Chiarelli and recommended that a formal investigation be convened.
Court testimony has shown the initial version of events that the battalion commander, Lt. Col. Jeffrey Chessani, reported up his chain of command did not accurately reflect the number of civilians killed or state that the women and children were found dead inside a bedroom. It also failed to report that there was no firm record of any weapons being recovered.
Chessani was arraigned in a different Camp Pendleton courtroom Friday and faces trial in April for willful dereliction of duty and violation of lawful order. The two other officers accused of dereliction at Haditha subsequently had those charges withdrawn.
In earlier testimony this week in Grayson's case, he was described as a superior intelligence officer who was nominated for a Bronze Star and whose intelligence team was nominated for a top Pentagon award. Neither of those recognitions occurred, however, because of the criminal investigation that concluded with him facing charges.
It was not clear Friday if Grayson would make a statement or testify. The veteran of two Iraq deployments has the option of saying nothing, testifying under oath or making an unsworn statement. Unsworn statements are immune from cross-examination.
Of the four enlisted men charged with murder at Haditha, two have had the charges withdrawn and a third has been ordered to trial on two counts of involuntary manslaughter.
The squad leader, Staff Sgt. Frank Wuterich, is awaiting word on whether he will face trial. A hearing officer has recommended that 17 murder charges against him be dropped and that he face court-martial on seven counts of negligent homicide.
Contact staff writer Mark Walker at (760) 740-3529 or mlwalker@nctimes.com.
Ellie