Civilian Jury to Hear Marine Shooting Case
United Press International
The U.S. government will be asking a civilian jury to
convict a former U.S. serviceman on a charge of manslaughter
stemming from a military incident in Iraq.
When the trial begins Tuesday in a federal court in
Riverside, Calif., against former Marine Sgt. Jose L. Nazario Jr.,
for his role in an incident in Fallujah, jurors who may lack a
military background will be asked to determine whether action taken
on a battlefield was legitimate, the San Diego, Calif.-area North
Country Times reported.
Nazario is accused of voluntary manslaughter in the shooting
of two captives and allegedly directing squad members to shoot two
others Nov. 9, 2004. If convicted he could face up to 10 years in
prison.
Twenty Camp Pendleton, Calif., Marines and one sailor have
been prosecuted on charges related to unlawful killings in Iraq
since the 2003 invasion, but Nazario is the only one to be
prosecuted in a civilian court
"To second-guess the mind-set of a young man in the
heat of battle four years later, and to put the question in a
(civilian court) system that can't even remotely comprehend the
battlefield, is shameful for this government," Joseph Preis,
one of Nazario's attorneys, told the newspaper.
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