The government’s case against a Marine accused of fatally shooting Iraqi civilians in the town of Haditha lacks sufficient evidence to go to a court-martial and should be dropped, a hearing officer determined.

The murder charges were brought against Lance Corporal Justin Sharratt for killing three Iraqi brothers in November 2005.

The hearing officer, Lieutenant Colonel Paul Ware, wrote in a report released by the defenseTuesday that those charges were based on unreliable witness accounts, insupportable forensic evidence, and questionable legal theories. He also wrote that the case could have dangerous consequences on the battlefield, where soldiers might hesitate during critical moments when facing an enemy.

“The government version is unsupported by independent evidence,” Colonel Ware wrote in the 18-page report. “To believe the government version of facts is to disregard clear and convincing evidence to the contrary.”

Prosecutors allege Corporal Sharratt and other members of his battalion carried out a revenge-motivated assault on Iraqi civilians that left 24 dead after a roadside bomb killed a fellow Marine nearby.

Corporal Sharratt contends the Iraqi men he confronted were insurgents and at least one was holding an AK–47 rifle when he fired at them.

In addition to Corporal Sharratt, two other enlisted men are charged with murder and four officers are accused of failing to investigate the incident — the largest single Iraqi civilian death case of the war. Corporal Sharratt’s case is the first among the three charged with murder to go to a hearing known as an Article 32 investigation, the military equivalent of a grand jury.

“Whether this was a brave act of combat against the enemy or tragedy of misperception born out of conducting combat with an enemy that hides among innocents, Lance Corporal Sharratt’s actions were in accord with the rules of engagement and use of force,” Colonel Ware wrote.