Ex-Marine Questions Prosecution in Civilian Court

[Freebird]

Do you think a Military tribunal would not be overly sensative to a fellow soldier?

Let me ask you ex-military {or current} members some questions then if I may.

If the soldier did exactly what is alleged, shot surrendered prisoners who were non-aggressive compliant, what should be the punishment?

Can his behavior be excused because "he was only following orders"?

What about soldiers who commit awful crimes against civilians {murder rape etc}, can they claim that it was the result of combat related stress? Should that be accepted the same way as sometimes claimed by the defendant in civilian court "I was drunk, I don't remember doing that crime"?

 

[Matt308]

It has been well documented that following orders that are morally or legally improper is not supported by the UCMJs.

For the sake of discussion, and ONLY for the sake of discussion, the DAs in AbuGrab should have been discharged for being stoopid and jeopardizing US credibility. Nothing more. College hazing if you ask me.

Now the guys who raped the Iraqi girl and killed her. Death.

Does that make my position clear?

 

[ToughOmbre]

It has been well documented that following orders that are morally or legally improper is not supported by the UCMJs.

For the sake of discussion, and ONLY for the sake of discussion, the DAs in AbuGrab should have been discharged for being stoopid and jeopardizing US credibility. Nothing more. College hazing if you ask me.

Now the guys who raped the Iraqi girl and killed her. Death.

Does that make my position clear?

Crystal!

And I agree 100%.

TO

 

[RabidAlien]

Military members who commit crimes or are alleged to have committed crimes should be tried by a military tribunal only. Civil courts are not the place to try these kinds of cases because people who have never worn a uniform can not fully understand a lot of things about the military structure and culture.

Trying a military case in a civil court is a recipe for disaster. Our troops deserve better.

Amen. 100% agreed.

Did the incident occur on the last day of the guy's enlistment? If not, then if the military didn't find anything wrong (and assuming that nobody asked any questions, from batallion CO to platoon leader, is rather silly), then dragging this poor guy into a civilian court sounds suspiciously of "news is lax, we need another military scandal, quick call that former Hollywood screenwriter to drum something up for us". Otherwise known as BS. As far as civilians trying a military case....it'd be like me tryin to judge an Olympic female gymnastics competition. I have no idea what's going on, what went into the event, and my focus would be completely distracted by bouncing boobies.

 

[pbfoot]

So just let the guy walk ?
The guy is supposed to be a professional soldier in a supervisory position if he did as stated he needs to be disciplined . I agree that a civilian court is not the place but that is the only alternative

 

[ToughOmbre]

Not Guilty!

Former Marine Acquitted of Iraqi Killings in Landmark Trial
Thursday, August 28, 2008

Former Marine Sgt. Jose Luis Nazario Jr., 28, of New York.
IRVINE, Calif. — A former Marine accused of killing unarmed Iraqi detainees was acquitted of voluntary manslaughter Thursday in a first-of-its-kind federal trial.

The jury took six hours to find Jose Luis Nazario Jr. not guilty of charges that he killed or caused others to kill four unarmed detainees on Nov. 9, 2004, in Fallujah, Iraq, during some of the fiercest fighting of the war.

FOXNews.com - Former Marine Acquitted of Iraqi Killings in Landmark Trial

TO

 

[evangilder]

I read about it yesterday. There were a lot of parts of this case that would have been difficult to try for a military tribunal, even worse for a civil trial. Did he do it? God only knows, and he's not talking.

Having read about, and talked to some of the vets of Falluja, I can tell you it was serious bad-guy land, even for a hard-core seasoned soldier. It was a CF from the beginning, and only got worse.

 

[ccheese]

Not Guilty!

Former Marine Acquitted of Iraqi Killings in Landmark Trial
Thursday, August 28, 2008

TO

Good call. The civilian court had no business in this case. If he was to be
tried, it should have been in a military court.

Charles

 

[RabidAlien]

Agreed. Tried by a jury of his peers....wonder how many on the jury had been in combat. I'm a military vet, but never a front-line soldier. Civilians have no idea what goes on up in the trenches!

I also have a feeling that a military tribunal would have been even more difficult, especially if the case were plastered across the media headlines. If they found him "not guilty", would the world look on that as "protecting one of their own"? If found guilty, would the military look on that as "oh, they're just bending to the will of the civvies"? This was a baaaaaaaad situation no matter which way you look at it.