Maggie's Farm

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….

 

Puckett said the resolution of the trial that started at Camp Pendleton on Jan. 9 is a "fair and just conclusion."

 

"No one denies that the events .... were tragic, most of all Frank Wuterich," Puckett said in exclusive comments to the newspaper. "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 the last six years, he has had his name dragged through the mud. Today, we hope, is the beginning of his redemption."

 

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."

 

The plea deal had to be approved by Camp Pendleton Lt. Gen. Thomas Waldhauser, who is overseeing the case as the "convening authority" under the Uniform Code of Military Justice, under which the Marine Corps prosecuted Wuterich.

 

Wuterich told the North County Times on the eve of his trial that he was anxious for a resolution, but believed that the testimony from Marines at Haditha that day would show there was much more to the story than he and his squad running amok and shooting everything they saw.

 

John Lilyea comments about the court martial: “…in regards to the incident in Haditha, to which the entire Bush Derangement Syndrome community had pinned their hopes for this generation’s My Lai Massacre….There was no comment from John Murtha.”

Sentencing is expected this week for Wuterich. (Nat Helms clarifies: "The maximum sentence recommended by the prosecution is three months confinement with loss of 2/3 pay during confinement. However, Judge LtCol David Jones will have to decide whether to impose that sentence or recommend a lesser sentence, up to and including no confinement, loss of pay.") Murtha’s death precludes a sentence for him other than he and the other howling mob that prejudged Haditha rotting in the hell of truth.

UPDATE: Local reporter Daniel Woolfolk adds what transpired in the court room this morning:

He admitted to unintentionally influencing the Marines he commanded to believe they could operate beyond the military's rules of engagement....

In a Monday morning hearing confirming the specifications of his charges, Wuterich leaned forward and told the judge, Lt. Col. David Jones, in a calm tone how he was negligent in leading the team on the fatal house-to-house hunt.

“I took a team of Marines to clear houses to the south and did use the words ‘shoot first, ask questions later’ — or something to that effect — prior to clearing or entering those homes,” he said.

He was not willfully negligent, the judge told the court, but the instructions he gave Marines were misleading.

“They might have taken that advice and would take that as marching orders,” he said....

Jones told the court that Wuterich's words influenced his Marines in violating the engagement rules.

“By saying those things to those Marines — that was negligent,” he said. “It sounds [like] they did take [the instructions] by shooting people they shouldn’t have shot or not giving the same paramount importance to the rules of engagement.”

The judge also asked Wuterich what he should have told the Marines instead.

“I honestly probably should have said nothing,” Wuterich said. “I think we all understood what we were doing. I probably should have said nothing.”

Wuterich said the team should have relied on the training they were given before and during the deployment instead of his instructions.

“I offered those words of advice and I shouldn’t have done that and it resulted in a tragic end,” he said.

The prosecution got a small symbolic pound of flesh. (It is important to note that the single count to which Wuterich pleaded is negligent dereliction of duty, lesser than the charges of willful dereliction of duty. The prosecution just didn't have much of a case.) Wuterich can walk away proudly.

Wuterich is originally from Connecticut. Throughout his Marine Corps career he has displayed responsibility, courage and leadership, being praised by those above and below his rank. While awaiting this court martial, Wuterich has completed a college degree. Employers should be jumping at the opportunity to offer him a good job once he exits the Marine Corps.