CAMP PENDLETON, Calif. - The lone Marine convicted in his squad’s killing of two dozen unarmed civilians in one of the Iraq war’s defining moments escaped jail time yesterday after defending his order to raid homes in Haditha as a necessary act “to keep the rest of my Marines alive.’’
Staff Sergeant Frank Wuterich’s sentence ends a six-year prosecution for the 2005 attack that failed to win any manslaughter convictions. Eight Marines were initially charged; one was acquitted and six others had their cases dropped.
Wuterich, who admitted ordering his squad to “shoot first, ask questions later’’ after a roadside bomb killed a fellow Marine, ended his manslaughter trial by pleading guilty Monday to a single count of negligent dereliction of duty.
The deal that dropped nine counts of manslaughter sparked outrage in the besieged Iraqi town and accusations that the United States didn’t hold the military accountable.
“I was expecting that the American judiciary would sentence this person to life in prison and that he would appear and confess in front of the whole world that he committed this crime, so that America could show itself as democratic and fair,’’ said survivor Awis Fahmi Hussein, showing his scars from a bullet wound to the back.
Military judge Lieutenant Colonel David Jones initially recommended the maximum sentence of three months for Wuterich, saying: “It’s difficult for the court to fathom negligent dereliction of duty worse than the facts in this case.’’
But after opening an envelope to look at the terms of the plea agreement as is procedure in military court, Jones announced the deal prevented any jail time for the Marine.
Jones did recommend that the sergeant’s rank be reduced to private, but decided not to cut two-thirds of his pay because the divorced father has sole custody of his three daughters. The rank reduction has to be approved by a Marine general, who already signed off on the plea deal.
Wuterich read a statement apologizing to the victims’ families and said he never fired on or intended to harm innocent women and children. But he said his plea should not be seen as a statement that he believes his squad dishonored their country.
“When my Marines and I cleared those houses that day, I responded to what I perceived as a threat and my intention was to eliminate that threat in order to keep the rest of my Marines alive,’’ he said. “So when I told my team to shoot first and ask questions later, the intent wasn’t that they would shoot civilians, it was that they would not hesitate in the face of the enemy.’’
“The truth is I never fired my weapon at any women or children that day,’’ Wuterich told Jones.
The contention by Wuterich, 31, of Meriden, Conn., contradicts prosecutors and counters testimony from a former squad mate who said he joined Wuterich in firing in a dark back bedroom where a woman and children were killed.
Prosecutors argued that Wuterich’s knee-jerk reaction of sending the squad to assault nearby homes without positively identifying a threat went against his training and caused needless deaths of 10 women and children.
“That is a horrific result from that derelict order of shoot first, ask questions later,’’ said Lieutenant Colonel Sean Sullivan.
Defense attorney Neal Puckett said Wuterich has been falsely labeled a killer who carried out a massacre in Iraq and insisted he only intended to protect his Marines in an “honorable and noble’’ act.
“The appropriate punishment in this case, your honor, is no punishment,’’ Puckett said.
Wuterich directly addressed family members of the Iraqi victims, saying there were no words to ease their pain.
“I wish to assure you that on that day, it was never my intention to harm you or your families. I know that you are the real victims of Nov. 19, 2005,’’ he said.
Wuterich, who hugged his parents after he spoke, declined to comment on Jones’s decision.
Military prosecutors worked for more than six years to bring Wuterich to trial on manslaughter charges that could have sent him away to prison for life. But only weeks after the long-awaited trial started, they offered Wuterich the deal that stopped the proceedings.
It was a stunning outcome for the last defendant in the case once compared with the My Lai massacre in Vietnam.
The Haditha attack is considered among the war’s defining moments, further tainting America’s reputation when it was already at a low point after the release of photos of prisoner abuse by US soldiers at Abu Ghraib prison.