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General drops charges for two Marines in Haditha shootings
By: TERI FIGUEROA - Staff Writer | ∞
A general has dismissed charges against two Marines accused in the killing of 24 Iraqis in Haditha in fall 2005, signaling that he will offer relief to a handful of Camp Pendleton troops accused of war crimes.
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Lt. Gen. James Mattis' decision, announced Thursday, came just days after he freed two junior Marines convicted in an unrelated incident, a kidnapping and killing plot that left an Iraqi man dead on the side of a road in the village of Hamdania.
The Haditha shootings occurred Nov. 19, 2005, when two dozen Iraqis were killed by Marines.
On Thursday, Mattis released a statement saying that the brutalities of war led him to drop the charges against one of the accused triggermen in the Haditha shootings and a Marine lawyer accused of not investigating the deaths.
Mattis ruled that neither Lance Cpl. Justin Sharratt, 23, who said he killed Iraqi men in self defense, nor Capt. Randy Stone will face court-martial.
Reached at the family home in Pennsylvania, Sharratt's father said his son called Thursday to tell his parents the charges had been dropped.
"We believed in Justin's innocence all along," Darryl Sharratt said, his voice cracking on the phone. "We knew that he was not capable of what he was accused of doing. ... We felt this could only end one way, that this would end in dismissal."
More than half of the 24 victims died in homes stormed by a squad of Camp Pendleton Marines moments after a roadside bomb shredded a Humvee and killed a lance corporal.
The squad members said they dodged gunfire after the explosion and raided the homes to chase their attackers.
The Marines have argued they followed their training, tossing grenades and spraying bullets in the first homes they entered. But the attack left Iraqi women and children dead.
Mattis said the killings were the result of "fighting a shadowy enemy who hides among the innocent people, does not comply with any aspect of the law of war, and routinely targets and intentionally draws fire toward civilians."
"The challenges of combat in this environment put extreme pressures on our Marines," Mattis continued. He also noted, "The experience of combat is difficult to understand intellectually and very difficult to appreciate emotionally."
Mattis is the head of Marine Corps forces in the Middle East and commander of the I Marine Expeditionary Force, and has authority over the prosecutions of the troops accused in the Haditha killings and the other murder case.
With the cases under a media microscope, Mattis apparently spent much of this week dealing with the legal outcomes of both the Hamdania and Haditha incidents.
The decision to drop the charges against Sharratt and Stone closely follows recommendations by investigating officers who heard evidence in the cases in the last few months.
The general also said he will not slap either man with an administrative punishment ---- even though one had been recommended in Stone's case.
The move to dismiss charges against Sharratt and Stone comes on the heels of the general's decision on Monday to shave the remaining few months off jail sentences for two Marines in the Hamdania slaying.
Mattis is also considering leniency for the two Marines still jailed in the Hamdania case, including a sergeant sentenced last week to 15 years for murder.
Under federal law, Congress gives some commanders power to lighten sentences or drop charges against their troops. As what the military calls the convening authority in the war crime cases, Mattis has that power.
The convening authority is the person is in charge of the command and the one who determines whether to bring charges.
"This is Gen. Mattis exercising the lawful power of a convening authority in a way he considers best for the Marine Corps and the nation," said Gary Solis, a former Marine Corps attorney and now a military law professor at Georgetown University. "Some may disagree. Some may cheer. But he's only fulfilling his role in the military justice system in the way he considers appropriate."
-- Contact staff writer Teri Figueroa at (760) 631-6624 or tfigueroa@nctimes.com.
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Shame on you, NCTimes wrote on Aug 10, 2007 4:08 AM:Mattis did not drop the charges because of "the brutalities of war" as you state here, but because it was the recommendation of the convening officers based on 'incredible' evidence that didn't support the charges in Sharratt's case, and that 'whatever mistakes were made didn't rise to criminal' in Stone's case. Really Poor Reporting! And why link these two cases together more closely in this third run of this article? Mattis is possibly showing leniency toward 2 that have already been convicted, but these other two, in fact all accused in the Haditha incident, have barely begun the military justice process. Perhaps you should change your name to The West Murtha Times since you can't wait to misrepresent reality in order to smear the Marines Corps.
Not surprised wrote on Aug 10, 2007 9:42 AM:Mattis understands war. He's the one who famously said "it's fun to shoot people".
Chris wrote on Aug 10, 2007 12:00 PM:When does this big shot general reverse the sentences handed down to these dead Iraqis by these Marines that acted a judge, jury and executioner.
Twain wrote on Aug 10, 2007 12:50 PM:"War is too serious a problem to be left in the hands of generals." To say nothing about an illegal war and occupation. As to the military justice system - please omit the word "justice". Gen. Mattis is supposed to be an intense intellectual, but I do wonder if he ever read The Savage War of Peace, because this is Algerian Civil War in rerun: arrogant self-justification, no empathy shown to the real victims of the war, the civilians of the occupied country. This war has gone south a long time ago and the end looms near: the mightiest military in the world fails to achieve its strategic goals and is politically defeated by an inferior adversary. Polls show the majority of Iraqis just want us out. End of imperial hubris and good-bye to those words of a Roman dictator that Gen. Mattis took to his heart: no truer friend, no worse enemy. (.... or was it the other way round?)
AW4cryinoutloud wrote on Aug 10, 2007 2:45 PM:Am I the only one sick of the bleeding heart routine for the enemy? If war isn't left in the hands of the Generals, just WHO should it be? Congress? I guess they could lead our Marines into battle. After all, they do serve this country. They don't seem to mind making inflammatroy statements and leaking info during investigations, so they should be more than happy to step up to the plate and defend this great country. At least "they" can't be persecuted for it. That only happens to those who actually put their very lives on the line. Where is Chesty when you need him?
John1 wrote on Aug 10, 2007 6:07 PM:Well, now that I've met General Mattis, it's definitely hard for me to place my feelings. It was an interesting meeting today.
John 3:16 wrote on Aug 12, 2007 11:19 AM:Remember the murderous Muslims started this mess with us decades ago, this has only been the beginning of our asserting our sovereign right to protect ourselves. Does anyone remember the Iranian hostage crisis, the Beruit massacre of our Marines by psychotic Muslims, countless skyjacking murders, Leon Klinghoffer beaten and thrown from a ship while he was wheelchair bound (not to mention a senior citizen), the Pan Am flight 103 Lockerbie Scotland murders and 9-11. Just a "few criminals" couldn't perpetrate all those murders without "State" backing and financing. I think almost 30 years of terror against United States citizens and civilians by murderous Muslims is too much. The murderous Muslims have finally awoken the sleeping lion.
Tony wrote on Aug 13, 2007 9:38 AM:We're occupying their country. They never asked us to invade. Dropping the murder charges does not equal innocence. And it does not bring murdered women and children back to life. This is just another stain on the honor of the military. Just another sad chapter in the decline of America and the ideals for which it stands.
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