Marine faces 13 murder raps
2006-12-21 22:10
Washington - A US marine sergeant has
been charged with 13 counts of murder in the killings of
unarmed civilians in Haditha, Iraq, one of his defence lawyers
said on Thursday.
Mark Zaid, an attorney for accused ringleader Frank Wuterich, said the military charges served against his
client did not allege premeditated murder and carry a maximum
penalty of life in prison.
"The death penalty is not on the table," Zaid told
Reuters.
Other marines investigated in the case had yet to receive
word on any possible charges, Zaid said.
Wuterich was at the centre of a US military investigation
into what Iraqi witnesses have described as a massacre of 24
unarmed civilians on November 19 2005.
Zaid said his client had been charged in 12 individual
deaths, adding that a 13th count involved the deaths of six
people.
"I presume these are part of the 12, but it's impossible
for me to tell from the charge sheet if that's the case," Zaid
said as he read from the document.
- Reuters