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Haditha case: Marine cleared
18/09/2007 22:47 - (SA)
Los Angeles - A marine corps officer accused of failing to properly investigate the alleged massacre of 24 Iraqi civilians in the town of Haditha has been cleared of wrongdoing, the military said on Tuesday.
A statement said all charges against Captain Lucas McConnell stemming from the Haditha investigation had been dropped.
McConnell was one of eight marines facing charges in connection with the Haditha killings in November 2005, the most serious allegations of war-crimes against US troops serving in Iraq.
Four marines were initially charged with murder, while McConnell and three other officers were charged with failing to properly investigate or report the circumstances surrounding the killings.
Prosecutors have alleged that marines went on a killing spree in the town west of Baghdad, shooting unarmed men, women and children in retaliation for the death of a comrade in a roadside bomb on November 19 2005.
An initial press release from marines concerning the incident said that 15 civilians had been killed in the bombing, a statement which was later acknowledged by the military to be false.
The prosecution of marines involved in the case have slowly unravelled however. McConnell and another officer, Captain Randy Stone, have both had charges of failing to investigate the killing withdrawn.
Two soldiers originally charged with murder in the case have also had the allegations withdrawn, while an investigating officer has recommended that charges against a third soldier are also dropped.
That would leave only one soldier, Staff Sergeant Frank Wuterich, facing criminal charges in connection with the deaths.
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