The trial of the last Haditha Marine: SSgt Wuterich takes plea deal
Last week, I noted the possibility of a plea deal in the trial of SSgt Frank Wuterich, the last of the U.S. Marines charged in connection to an alleged massacre of Iraqi civilians in the village of Haditha in 2005.
(See here. All previous Wuterich trial coverage and Haditha links below.)
Today, the plea deal was reached. SSgt Wuterich’s defense team at Puckett Faraj says this afternoon:
Press Release, Aexandria VA January 23, 2012/12:45PM:
“No one denies that the consequences of November 19, 2005 were tragic, least of all SSgt Frank Wuterich. But the fact of the matter is that he has now been totally exonerated of the homicide charges brought against him by the government and the media. For six years, he’s had his name dragged through the mud. Today, we hope, is the beginning of his redemption. He has always publicly taken responsibility for the lawful actions of his squad that day, as portrayed in his interview with CBS 60 Minutes. Today’s agreement is completely consistent with everything he has always said. Which is that the decisions he made that day led to an outcome that was tragic and regrettable and he takes responsibility for them, but they were not criminal.”
The North County Times reports on the details:
Marine Staff Sgt. Frank Wuterich agreed to plead guilty Monday to one count of negligent dereliction of duty, ending his trial on manslaughter and related charges for his role in the deaths of 24 Iraqi civilians in 2005.
“This was his decision and his decision alone,” Neal Puckett, Wuterich’s lead defense attorney, told the North County Times. “Staff Sergeant Wuterich believed this was the right and honorable thing to do.”
Negligent dereliction of duty is a misdemeanor punishable by a maximum of 90 days in custody and a reduction or forfeiture of pay. It was not immediately known when a sentencing decision would be announced.
The deal was announced in court early Monday morning. After the announcement, Wuterich shook hands and hugged his parents, who have been watching the courtroom proceedings since the trial began.
The agreement has been approved by Lt. Gen. Thomas Waldhauser.
The plea deal ends the six-year saga of eight Camp Pendleton Marines charged with criminal wrongdoing in the incident that took place in the city of Haditha at the height of the war.
A reminder of how the Left’s smear merchants tried and convicted the Haditha Marines in the court of public opinion — and got away with it:
Outrage came from around the world and from Washington, D.C., where the late Pennsylvania Congressman John Murtha said he believed the Marines might have “killed in cold blood” and went on to say U.S. troops were overstressed.
The result was eight Marines being charged with crimes at Haditha, including four officers and four enlisted men.
Seven of those eight saw their cases resolved, some with the withdrawal of charges in exchange for their testimony, one acquitted at trial and others having charges dropped entirely.
Wuterich, a 31-year-old Murrieta single father of three girls, had pleaded not guilty.
Prosecutors appeared ready to strike a plea deal last week after a series of their own witnesses gave testimony largely beneficial to Wuterich’s position that he believed he and his men were under attack and responded in keeping with their training.
Puckett said his client continues to believe his actions were lawful, despite the civilians deaths, which Wuterich has repeatedly said he regrets.
“He has always taken responsibility for his and his squad’s actions that day,” Puckett said. “Today’s agreement is completely consistent with everything he has said, which is that the decisions he made that day led to an outcome that was tragic and regrettable, but they were not criminal.”
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(Graphic via Defend Our Marines)
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Previous:
1/23/12 The trial of the last Haditha Marine: SSgt Wuterich takes plea deal
1/19/12 The last Haditha Marine: Trial update, prosecution collapse, plea deal in the works?
1/5/12 The last Haditha Marine: Wuterich trial update
1/2/12 Remember SSgt Frank D. Wuterich: The last Haditha Marine goes on trial
5/6/09 Haditha Marine update: Lt. Col. Chessani wins another round
4/23/09 Justice Dept. attorney: Murtha should be immune from Haditha lawsuit
11/19/08 Murtha Watch: Cut-and-run smear merchant wants immunity
8/23/08 When will Biden apologize for Haditha smear?
6/19/08 The fate of Lt. Col. Chessani, continued
6/18/08 Defining atrocity: Marines vs. the Haditha Smear Merchants
6/17/08 Haditha Watch: Charges dismissed against Lt. Col. Chessani
6/16/08 Haditha Watch: The fate of Lt. Col. Jeffrey Chessani
June 5: Haditha Marine Lt. Andrew Grayson acquitted
3/28/08 Case dropped against Haditha defendant Lance Cpl. Stephen Tatum
9/18/07 Charges dropped against Capt. Lucas McConnell
8/23/07 Charges recommended dropped against Lance Cpl. Stephen B. Tatum
8/9/07 Charges dropped against Lance Corporal Justin Sharratt
4/17/07 Charges dropped against Sergeant Sanick Dela Cruz
Let Freedom Ring reviews the Murtha Marine-smearing timeline.
Everything else you need to know is at Defend Our Marines.
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Categories: Haditha,John Murtha,Veterans,War
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Semper fi, SSgt.
God Bless all these Marines who have had to go through this nightmare!
I hope there is a ‘special place’ set aside for murtha and the others who were judge and jury on these men.
L
Jack Murtha is already (and most deservedly) rotting in hell.
He was the sorriest pos in a ridiculously corrupt Congress.
Now the eight Marines should sue the people who falsely smeared them. These prosecutions were just witch hunts out to embarrass the Bush Administration and the total effort on the War on Terrorism. This lawsuit should include then Senator and current President Barach Hussien Obama
Good luck with your next promotion board with that on your record… unless he’s planning on leaving the Corps, it’d have been better to have stuck to his innocence defense, I’d have thought.
6 years. If justice was truly served today, it was too long in coming.
He needs to get out if he’s going to write and promote a book.
Bush and Obama sent these men to kill the enemy. These two presidents have since supported some pretty questionable charges against members of the armed forces.
‘Dereliciton of Duty’ – basically means you didn’t do something you should have.
If ever the term ‘Armchair Quaterback’ is to be applied – situations involving civilians judging military combat personnel whom are forced into life-and-death situations during War – this is it.
Why hasn’t Bush, Obama, both Clintons, members of Congress etc. been charged with anything?
The elite and privelaged ruling class order others to do the dirty work, all the while living a wonderful life back home and maintaining an untouchable status to boot.
F*ck the government. God bless the troops.
Bush didn’t have the soliders’ backs as much as people think he did.
What I suspect happened here was the government wasn’t going to back off this until they got their pound of flesh from somebody. The Feds have a never ending supply of money (ours and the Chinese) and The “Staff” doesn’t, so he took the best deal he could get. The real problem is “we the people” keep sending the losers to Washington DC who either help create a system like we have or don’t do anything to change it.
I am glad that the ordeal for the Ssgt and his family is over. Hopefully he will be able to get on with his life now (though he will never get all these years back).
Speaking of trials and such. Look what a Sen John Kerry’s Foreign Relations Staffer was just charged with:
We don’t know what went on in the court room or why the SSGT. made this choice. Regulus is correct. He won’t get far in
the Corp. with that in his jacket.
I wish him all the luck in the world.
A man in a tough spot with his men in mind.
Carry on Marine.
Media never misses a chance.
May Murtha’s name be a Marine Corps synonym for feces for many generations to come.
Unlike Murtha and his libroturd accusers, who have never heard a shot fired in anger, Wuterich did the honorable thing – stood up for his men and took full responsibility for the decisions made – regardless of its effect on his career.
Don’t know the details of that day, so can not render an opinion. But I suspect even if he went by the book, the loss 24 innocents weighed on his mind. God bless him.
On January 23, 2012 at 01:49 pm, happy2behere said:
I agree and can only think he accepted the plea so as to move on with life.
We must never forget the bastards that pushed this for political gain.
How pathetic this country has become when justice gets perverted so badly that someone who serves to uphold our ideals is put through 6 years of hell.
…while those on the left pushed for and granted US constitutional rights for non-US citizens and terrorists.
The only good news I’ve heard all day. Thanks, Truesoldier.
This media-whore former CIA officer should have been led out into the woods and quietly given a pistol with one round in it years ago.
He’s the bastard that told ABC that we used waterboarding in Iraq and at Gitmo.
God forbid, the press actually question government authority, when it tortures. But let me guess, waterboarding isn’t torture when we do it, right hangfire? Or is it the ends always justifies the means? I hope you don’t call yourself a patriot.
Well, I certainly don’t call myself an effing Democrat.
On January 23, 2012 at 02:43 pm, ModerateSuccessfulDem said:
I would refer to him as a brave man willing to do what is needed to keep our country safe.
…which, unfortunately, includes leftist trolls such as yourself who would more willingly bury your head in the sand while innocents are slaughtered.
On January 23, 2012 at 02:43 pm, ModerateSuccessfulDem said:
By the way, what is worse. A little water which KSM easily recovered from? Or a drone strike?
Or the torture of indefinite detention of US citizens which Urkel can now do?
MostlyStupid Dem: God forbid someone should question this staffer’s authority to ‘out’ our CIA agents putting them and their families at mortal risk.
A little water up one’s nose is a mere inconvenience that many of our own troops have experienced so that they know what they can expect should they be captured. I had a taste of such treatment in preparation for my duty in Vietnam — I am no worse for the wear and tear.
How about we use some of the enemy’s methods to get information or to make a statement? Want to loan us a rusty blade we can use to saw off someone’s head?
BTW, is that your picture next to Webster’s definition of a useful idiot?
riddle me this; is it ‘torture’ to saw a person’s head off?
Hearty thanks, Mate.
ModeratelyIntelligentDemocrat’s playbook doesn’t stress me in the least.
I am sad when Americans chose party rhetoric over country, though.
Waterboarding isn’t torture… period.
To the Navy it’s a training exercise.
He spent years underwater keeping you safe. Patriotic enough for you?
We call it surfing.
Wow. I feel I have family here on this site. God bless us all.
BTW – I’ve noticed that since Obama and his pals Reggie Love and Kal Penn came on the scene, naked guys with women’s panties on their heads hasn’t been called “torture” in the media anymore.
On January 23, 2012 at 03:01 pm, Hangfire said:
No thanks needed Hangfire. Cheesedoodles like mostlystupid do not realize their public display of idiocy whining about water as torture in a thread about an honorable Marine and his family being judicially tortured for 6 years.
…while the objects of a little water grow fat in Gitmo or are released back to kill a few more.
Looks like someone needs a fire resistant copy of the 8 news articles and open the coffin of murtha and slip them in for Eternity.
I guess the dumass media will focus on his derelict of duty as compared to the other charges or the other 7 acquittals even if you could find the article.
As others I still think Wuterich should have stuck to his innocent plea, that said he is a Marine and hero to me.
semper fi, SSgt. Wuterich
Hey numb nut (ModerateIgnorantDem) go back to the liberal cesspool from which you crawled.
Wuterch is much better person than I, you see if you were in dire straights I would not help your kind, Wuterich would fight to save your worthless life. May there be a pox upon you and your un_American kind.
Waterboarding as torture? That’s a CG life style. ModerateSuccessfulDem you wanna see torture? Talk to the Philippine Army about torture. They have a habit of dropping Abu Sayyaf out of helicopters, after they remove a few digits.
Perhaps. But he’s around to suffer through it, and there will likely be a number of Marines who will — silently — agree that his decisions were correct.
Glad it’s over but upset it ever happened in the first place.
MSD and others live in a fantasy world.
War is Hell.
My late father-in-law belonged to a “special” army unit during the Korean War.
To be selected for this unit, you had to be Asian-American, 6’2″ or over, and weight more than 200 lbs. Physically imposing to the enemy.
Most of the men in the unit were Chinese-Hawaiians or Chinese-Samoans from Hawaii. I met a few that were just Japanese but huge.
Their task was to interrogate captured N. Korean (and a few Red Chinese) prisoners.
His stories (corroborated by his surviving buddies) through the years could be horrifying at times.
War is Hell.
Thanks for the update Michelle. And thank God the long nightmare is almost over.
May God the Father Almighty continue to bless and keep safe all of our fighting men and women and their families.
AlohaGuy wrote:
I have suffered worse reading some of the hilarious comments that get posted here! Spewing Pepsi through the nose and onto your keyboard is NO fun!
The only good I can see out of it is that he didn’t plead guilty to murder, only a misdemeanor. And odds are good that his Discharge status won’t be that bad.
But I’m angry towards the Marine Corps that they pursued this case, especially after everyone else involved had been cleared.
The way to conduct this is to take off with two or more blindfolded ‘perps’ aboard and fly about for a bit to give them the sensation of flying at altitude — then put the helo in a hover a few feet off the ground (with a ‘silencing’ crew waiting for on the ground).
Question ‘perp #1′ and when he refuses to blab, kick him out the door — he’ll scream as he drops away and the ‘silencers’ will put a sock in it after he hits the ground. Repeat as necessary with ‘perp # 2′ (or 3) to get ‘Perp #N’ (the one you want to talk) to start singing like a canary. Whichever one sings will later be quite surprised when he is returned to his cell to find ‘perp #1,’ ‘perp # 2′ etc, waiting for him!
Nobody gets hurt (well, maybe later when they all meet back in their cell, but that is upon them, not us!) and we get some valuable intel.
Guaranteed to work ONCE!
SSgt Wuterrich no doubt had good reasons for taking a plea bargain. We don’t know what they were, so I won’t comment on that. This was all born out of political expediency. It blew up too quickly, too big, mainly because of Murtha and his Marine Cops. history that gave his opinion legs.
It’s been perpetuated by Obama, Biden, Holder and other Liberals who need to continue muckracking Bush’s war in Iraq, also for purely political reasons.
The good Ssgt. does not need to worry about employment when he leaves the Corps. There are likely plenty of organizations out there seeking someone with guts, experience and honor.
As a former (retired) police chief, I’d hire him in a minute.
I agree, I am also afraid there has been a movement over the years the upper crust of the military branches to have become more and more political, more about personal gain among the higher ups forgetting the purpose of their entering the service in the 1st place.
Just one more decision that negatively impacts troop morale. Split second decisions in the heat of battle that protect OUR troops, should not be the subject of criminal prosecution. Oversight, and corrective action, yes… prosecution no.
War is hell…and this type of incident happens in war. I pray for our military. They have to fight a war back home, against enemies more devious and insidious that the ones they faced in actual combat.
Actually, he is the bastard who first claimed he was involved in the waterboarding, but then changed his testimony to say that he had heard we waterboarded later.
I’d be proud to have the SSGT, how do they say it now? “Take my six”. We used to call it in the old Corps… have my back.
Leftist trolls = food for scum-sucking slugs and other various parasites…
On January 23, 2012 at 06:01 pm, right_on said:
I think if some shyster or ACLU-type JAG officer wants to second guess soldiers in combat over decisions made to keep themselves alive, they should be in combat right along side them.
To get an accurate picture of what they think is a crime scene.
I get the same dissatisfied feeling I got from Bush’s half-hearted semi-pardon of the two Border Patrol agents. Why do the “compassionate conservatives” on our side always hang people out to dry like this? It’s not as if the lefties are are ever going to be “nice guys” if we act gentlemanly toward them. They are seething, resentful people trying to destroy every tradition and moral in this country. They will destroy anyone in the military just for BEING in the military. We should never allow things like this to happen.
‘compassionate conservative’=progressive
Odds on they were not inncoents. Know your enemy. This Marine probably did.
Put men in impossible life and death situations then drop them off the dogsled for the wolves to devour when the crap hits the fan. Yeah, great way to simultaneously honor your warriors and encourage military recruitment. Backseat referees. A little late. Compare this to Allied actions in WWII. They shot first and asked questions later. They deliberately wiped out entire German and Japanese cities. War is bad, politicians alone need to absorb the repercussions.
This is the kind of event senior officers and political leaders need to step up and address while shielding their young warriors. Instead they cut and run. How many men have lost their lives due to subsequent Nancy pants changes to the ROE?
ModerateSucessfulRegressive cannot have a clue about war, about intel, about anything associated with winning wars. His strawman argument is just more bs liberal talking points about the failed ROE policies made by his messiah, Obeyme.
Lay off, MSR, regarding Hangfire, who can give you a real understanding of patriotism.
Washington is corrupt. I watched as Bush sent men and women into harm’s way and then abandoned them as soon as the media started throwing allegations of misconduct of one sort or another. So many members of the armed forces did a dirty, thankless job, only to have the Bush, and later the Obama administrations try to punish them for their attempts to do their duty.
Sure, criminal conduct should be punished, and no one is saying every serviceman or woman is pure as the driven snow, but I saw Washington trying to curry favor with the press and the Left (but I repeat myself) with prosecutions that were mostly political at the source.
Bush was a better president than Obama by miles, but I will never forgive the way he treated our troops when they needed him to stand up for them.
Sad.
And, unfortunate
If the plea deal means all other charges are dropped if he accepts the so-called misdemeanor and ‘case closed’ can you blame him for taking it?
I can’t.
What is sad and unfortunate? The fact that the last Haditha Marine, SSgt Wuterich, took a plea deal?
Can’t say that it’s a matter of blaming him for anything; it’s just that today, especially when the Army and Marines are already talking about significant personnel cutbacks, to stay on the promotion path your record pretty much has to be spotless.
Otherwise, in the “Up-or-Out” system that our military uses, getting passed over a couple of times means in all probability being denied re-enlistment.
That’s what led me to wonder if, regardless of outcome, SSG Wuterich had already made up his mind that he wasn’t going to stay in. His acceptance of the plea bargain is tantamount to career suicide; if he planned on staying in such acceptance would have made little sense.
I don’t think the US government makes it policy to “torture” their own service members. So, in that context, waterboarding isn’t torture.
If you’re fit enough to laugh and have a beer and watch a ballgame instead of looking for stitches and painkillers minutes after a “torture” session it ain’t “torture”.
James Greenidge
Queens NY
FIFY