Investigating officer recommends dropping murder case against Lance Cpl. Stephen B. Tatum
Following up on another Haditha Marine slandered by Rep. John Murtha:
An investigating officer recommended Thursday dismissing all charges against a Marine accused of murdering two girls in an assault that killed 24 civilians in the Iraqi town of Haditha.
Lance Cpl. Stephen B. Tatum, 26, is charged with unpremeditated murder of two girls and negligent homicide on suspicion that he unlawfully killed two men, a woman and a boy. He is also accused of assaulting another boy and a girl.
Investigating officer Lt. Col. Paul Ware said the evidence was too weak for a court-martial. Tatum shot and killed civilians, but “he did so because of his training and the circumstances he was placed in, not to exact revenge and commit murder,” Ware wrote.
“I believe (Lance Cpl.) Tatum’s real life experience and training on how to clear a room took over and his body instinctively began firing while his head tried to grasp at what and why he was firing,” Ware wrote. “By the time he could recognize that he was shooting at children, his body had already acted.
Washington Post coverage here:
“What occurred in house 1 and house 2 are tragedies,” Ware wrote. “The photographs of the victims are heart wrenching, and the desire to explain this tragedy as criminal act and not the result of training and fighting an enemy that hides among innocents is great. However, in the end, my opinion is that there is insufficient evidence for trial. LCpl Tatum shot and killed people in houses 1 and 2, but the reason he did so was because of his training and the circumstances he was placed in, not to exact revenge and commit murder.”
Jack B. Zimmerman, a civilian attorney for Tatum, said he is pleased with the report and will await Mattis’s ruling before commenting further. Should Mattis dismiss the charges, it would leave pending murder charges in the case against one enlisted Marine, Staff Sgt. Frank D. Wuterich.
“On 19 November 2005, in the mere seconds LCpl Tatum had to make a decision, he acted in accord with training, to engage targets that a fellow Marine was firing at, without time to fully assess the situation and reflect on what SSgt Wuterich was doing,” Ware wrote. “It is only in hindsight that we can start to question why SSgt Wuterich was firing his weapon at children and conclude that LCpl Tatum should have deemed such actions were unwarranted.”
For background and all the latest, go to Defend Our Marines.
The LCpl. Stephen B. Tatum Article 32 Fact Sheet is here.
The USMC Iraq investigations page is here.
Contact info for office of John Murtha:
Phone:
800-289-2642 from Western PA
814-535-2642
202-225-2065
Fax:
814-539-6229 — District
202-225-5709 — Washington
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Trackbacks
- Bill's Bites
- More Bad News for Murtha: Another Haditha Marine may be off the hook « TMQ2
- cookiecrumbexpress.com Blog » Blog Archive » Jack Murtha Slanderer At Large
- Pirate’s Cove » >>Americans Never Quit » Charges Against Another Marine In Haditha Case To Be Dropped?
- Okinawa Jack’s murder charges continue to melt-down | BitsBlog
- The Lion Of Judah
- The lesson of Haditha? War is hell. : thought cops
- Michelle Malkin » Caught on tape: Watch John Murtha cut and run
- politicalpartypoop.com » Blog Archive » Caught on tape: Watch John Murtha cut and run
- Michelle Malkin » Officer: Drop murder charges against Haditha Marine
- Michelle Malkin » Case dropped against Haditha defendant Lance Cpl. Stephen Tatum
- Michelle Malkin » Haditha Watch: Charges dismissed against Lt. Col. Chessani
- Lt. Col. Chessani acquitted - Take that Murtha and MSM | Democrat=Socialist
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Categories: Haditha, John Murtha

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Hooray common sense!
God Bless you LCpl Tatum.
The Haditha case is one such that if one is guilty, all are guilty of a crime. this case is unraveling. And it will not get easier for the prosecutor. To the contrary, as charges are dropped, those defendants will commence to offer testimony for the defense.
Murtha is a disgrace.
Been there, Done that a long time ago in a place far far away. Hang in there Marine. You did the right thing and you will be okay.
God bless you son and Thank you for your service and your sacrifice
So is the NCIS. Given when the accusations were first made, they’ve had to have known for a long time that they didn’t have the goods on these Marines. Still they’ve held this over their head in true Nifong-esqe fashion.
The prosecutors in this case should be investigated.
I don’t wish harm to Murtha, and I’d try to help if he was being attacked, or in true danger…
But I sure wouldn’t go out of my way tp point out the icey patch of ground infront of him…
The man is scum, and if he’s an respected Dem, it’s 100% telling about the lot of them…
LCPL Stephen Tatum is an example of how to act honorably when your enemies attempt to smite your reputation. My prayers and heart felt appreciation go out to the “Haditha Marines”.
If murtha had just a small amount of honor that these MARINES have in their trigger finger, then murtha would be equal with McCain and worth listening too. Problem is; murtha and mccain are cut from the same cloth (white flag variety!)
“When it absolutely, positively has to be destroyed overnight-call Americas 9-1-1 force-The MARINES!”
Hey ,
J.Cass Murtha,if you’re not part of the solution,you’re part of the problem{ and in your case a big part}.So let the real Marines do their thing…and shut the f*** up you f****** a**hole.
Murtha remains one of only two confirmed “ex-Marines”, he shares that honor with Oswald. How’s that feel you faithless traitor to the Corps?
On the other hand, I don’t bear any ill will toward the investigators and prosecutors in this. Can you imagine the fire storm that would have come down from the MSM if this had not been fully pursued and investigated? It’s a sad state that we are in but unfortunately the traitors in our midst force righteous men to prove their righteousness by defending their every action before a national audience. If anything, the only reaction beyond joy for these heroes can be further despair because it will all happen again in short order. CYA is the order of the day and this fight, for these fine young Marines has been a fight for the honor of The Corps and they remained true unlike a certain Congressman.
You might want to add Charles Whitman to that list.
Oh that’s all right then.
I would take this one step further. Murtha was never a Marine. Wearing of the uniform does not a Marine make.
Well, chalk up a victory for common sense. Unlike Murtha and a lot of Democrats, the investigators understand that what our servicemembers are engaged in is called “combat,” and not an episode of “Cops.”
Or, as a fellow young 2nd Lieutenant exclaimed a quarter century ago when we were being subjected to a form of “sensitivity training” at Ft. Benning:
“I don’t get it. You want us to fight like tigers, yet act like p*ssies!”
To which the entire room of 122 infantry lieutenants roared their concurrence.
No one said “it’s all right”, in fact everyone involved and every decent person who reads about it thinks it’s a tragedy. What it is not is a criminal act.
Of course, that’s not a distinction I’d expect you to grasp. The “we love nuance” crowd is notoriously blind to it.
Rusty doesn’t understand the difference between “wrong” and “criminal”.
Even the marines who did the shooting feel bad.
But they’d feel worse if they halted their trained responses and a fellow marine had been killed because of hesitation.
Grandson is in Iraq for tour #2 and everyone is doing the job they are trained to do. Congressmen go there for a “little visit” and they all come home safe and sound … not in wheelchairs or body bags.
Murtha and Haditha are an outrage and an insult to everyone and everything our military serves to protect.
Having been in harms way myself in another life I understand why the Marines acted the way they did. When stuff hits the fan you react with your training first after everything is over with then you try to piece together what just happened. Provided you acted correctly resulting in the saving of your life and the lives of those around you can second guess yourself. Once the shaking stops.
This incident is a terrible tragedy, but I believe these young men acted correctly under very stressful conditions relying on their combat training adhering to the Rules of Engagement and the Law of Armed Combat.
Thank God.
There is NO punishment too awful for that bum Murtha. His actions were traitorous, and he will rot in hell…
What a maroon. Perhaps someone should start giving soldiers, “I was falsely accused of war crimes by John Murtha” t-shirts.
Does John Murtha view these guys anything but props in his quest for power and pork?
Anyone going to call or fax today? Let’s see how many we can get…
Not only is Rep. Jack Murtha(D-PA) a disgrace to the Marine Corps, he’s a disgrace to the U.S. House of Representatives as well. I’m sure many of you know this, but it’s worth a reminder (post on it, Michelle?).
beyonddelay.org
Wikipedia
He’s a disgrace to the nation all together, if you ask me.
Thank God!!
This is an enemy that deliberately puts innocents in the line of fire. So, that scum sucking traitors like that s.o.b. Murtha, and the communist media can use innocent, unintentional deaths to help further the anti-American propaganda war.
Murtha is NOT a Marine. Murtha was NEVER a Marine. To even suggest that he was a Marine is a vile insult to actual Marines.
LCpl Tatum, and the other fine young Marines who were with him in that fight are the heart and soul of the Corps. The life blood of our nation. Thank the Lord God Almighty, and Jesus Christ, our Savior, that we have such young people to stand at the gate and bar these islamic, jihadist devils!!!
I hope I never come in close physical contact with Murtha. It will be all I can do to keep from punching that low-life bastard right in his fat, pompous face!!
Semper Fidelis!
Out…
Murtha looks like a mean Uncle Billy from “It’s a Wonderful Life”. Inept and angry.
As well as being a lunatic with zero conscious.
There are hundreds of buildings, bridges and streets named after him. He’s scum, but popular; like Specter.
So, Murtha doesn’t have the guts to take responsibility for his comments.
Is it time to apologise to Jean Schmidt for hanging her out to dry yet?
Ironic religious fundamentalism quote of the day.
Called his office. The ROE are suicidal for our troops and they still follow them. This is what they get for obeying orders. You’ve gotta be freaking kidding me.
I think the Republicans and any Democrats who have any honor should “freeze” Murtha until he sincerely apologizes. That means “I was wrong, and I am ashamed of what I said.” It does not mean “I am sorry if anyone misunderstood what I said and was offended.”
What do I mean by “Freeze”? Ignore him. Do not shake his hand or utter his name. Do not speak to him. Do not make eye contact with him. Do not return his calls or answer emails from his office.
You honorable men and women in Congress - my advice is to show us who you are now, because there are going to be a lot of incumbents going missing after this election!
What’s ironic is that it’s actually not ironic.
But of course if you believe Christian fundamentalists are equivalent to Jihad headchoppers, then sure.
Sausage:
Please refrain from denigrating other people’s religious beliefs on this site and maintain civility.
On August 24th, 2007 at 4:40 pm, sherlock said:
That’s a start (good luck finding any honorable people in congress). I maintain what he said makes him a traitor. He betrayed those he slandered, and his words helped the enemy, and weakened us. He should be put to death, and in another time he would have been…
On August 24th, 2007 at 3:24 pm, sausage said:
Where is the irony?
That’s funny… Several regular posters do it on a regular basis… Haven’t seen one of them called on it yet…
Our Young Men and Women have been sent over there to that land of savagery, and they are seeing such brutality that they would never see at home. I cannot ever blame our soldiers if they do shoot to fast or make mistakes in this situation, What we are asking of them is monumental. I am so proud of them and what they are doing. God Bless them.
Jack Murtha is a Traitor to them and his country. He should be ashamed. He is doing all of this for political reasons. He cares not for the lives of our young men and women, only for himself.
Politics…the last refuge of a scoundral! Mark Twain
He’s looking more like Ted Kennedy everyday.