Rep. Jack “Abscam” Murtha may need to join the TNR vacation.
Charges against Lance Cpl. Justin Sharratt and Capt. Randy Stone were dismissed based on a review of the facts in the case, Lt. Gen. James Mattis said in a statement.
Sharratt and Stone were among eight U.S. Marines originally charged in the Haditha case, which stemmed from the death of 24 men, women and children in the western Iraqi town. Sharratt was charged with unpremeditated murder and Stone with dereliction of duty.
Why were the charges dropped?
In his recommendation, Lt. Col. Paul Ware said murder charges brought against Sharratt were based on unreliable witness accounts, poor forensic evidence and questionable legal theories.
“The government version is unsupported by independent evidence,” Ware wrote in an 18-page report. “To believe the government version of facts is to disregard clear and convincing evidence to the contrary.”
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