September 15, 2010 | 11:04 AM | By

Defense Attorneys Say Marine Corps Helped Haditha Prosecution

FILED UNDER: Life in the Military, San Diego, War, Camp Pendleton, Haditha Killings, Iraq, Marines

Marine holds traffic in Haditha, Iraq

USDAgov/Flickr

Marine holds traffic in Haditha, Iraq

I’ve been covering the infamous Haditha, Iraq civilian murder case for some five years now, and it seems this story will never end because of endless wrangling among prosecutors and defense attorneys.

Staff Sgt. Frank Wuterich, who remains at Camp Pendleton, is the last defendant in this case. The former squad leader is accused of leading his Marines on a rampage that killed 24 civilians in Haditha in November 2005 after a roadside bomb killed a Marine.

As I initially reported nearly five years ago in Newsweek with a team of reporters, eight Marines were initially charged with murder or failing to investigate the killings. Six have since had charges dismissed, and one was acquitted. Wuterich faces reduced charges of voluntary manslaughter and has pleaded not guilty. He said he regrets the loss of human life but insists he was following combat rules when he ordered the attack.

Wuterich’s civilian lawyer, Neal Puckett, told reporters yesterday that he is confident Wuterich would be exonerated if the case goes to trial, but the details that would come out would be devastating to the Marine Corps, its image and the prosecution. Now, defense attorneys for Wuterich allege that the Marine Corps unfairly allowed the prosecution’s team of military lawyers to remain on active duty, but denied the same request for the defense.

Reports the Associated Press:

The Marine Corps refused to postpone the retirement in 2008 of former Marine Haytham Faraj and retired Marine Lt. Col. Colby Vokey as the case dragged on. They continued to represent Wuterich as civilian lawyers but say they were limited in their abilities. “We just don’t have the resources we had when we were in uniform,” Faraj told a military judge at Camp Pendleton.

Faraj accused the government of going to “great lengths” to ensure the prosecution’s legal team stayed together on this high-profile case. They pointed to reserve Marine Lt. Col. Sean Sullivan, a member of the prosecution’s legal team, who was allowed to remain on active duty after he neared retirement because military leaders argued that he was needed for the case. “This was a big deal,” Faraj said. “They were aware enough to ensure prosecutors remain on the case.”

Prosecutors denied that, saying their team has lost two attorneys to retirement and deployment. They said the decision to keep Sullivan on active duty had nothing to do with his involvement in the case.

The trial is set for Nov. 2. “I don’t want it to go to trial, but I want the truth to come out,” Wuterich said after yesterday’s hearing.

Since he was charged, Wuterich has gotten divorced and been relegated to handling maintenance problems at Camp Pendleton. He is studying computer maintenance and repair at a nearby college. Last year, he briefly trained Marines preparing for deployment to Afghanistan on combat skills. He said the training included discussions on combat rules and how to clear houses — two of the issues the prosecution said Wuterich did wrongly in Haditha. The Marine Corps later sent him back to doing base maintenance.

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The military is an integral and vital part of San Diego life. Home Post takes an insider’s look at what’s happening militarily both in San Diego and around the world. The site is curated by Jamie Reno, an award-winning journalist with 25 years' experience who has dedicated much of his career to covering military and security issues. Read more View all posts by Jamie Reno →