Hearing Begins For Marine Charged in Slaying
This article is from the archive of The New York Sun before the launch of its new website in 2022. The Sun has neither altered nor updated such articles but will seek to correct any errors, mis-categorizations or other problems introduced during transfer.
OCEANSIDE, Calif. — Eager to see the world and looking for adventure, Jerry Shumate Jr. joined the Marine Corps straight out of high school. Now the 21-year-old lance corporal is in the brig.
Mr. Shumate is accused, with eight others, of kidnapping and murdering an Iraqi man in Hamdania, west of Baghdad. His preliminary hearing was scheduled to begin yesterday.
Mr. Shumate, along with six other Marines and a Navy Corpsman are accused of entering 52-year-old Hashim Ibrahim Awad’s house on April 26, kidnapping him, and taking him to a roadside hole. There, prosecutors say, several troops shot him. Mr. Shumate fired his M-16 at Awad, then lied to investigators about what had happened, according to charging documents. Mr. Shumate also is one of several Marines accused of assaulting a different Iraqi man in a separate incident April 10.
“We’re devastated. We’re just taking it day by day,” Mr. Schumate’s father, Jerry Shumate Sr., who drove 1,200 miles from Matlock, Wash., with his son’s mother Diann Shumate, said.
Family members have previously said their sons are innocent, and defense attorneys have questioned the credibility of the Iraqis who reported the murder to American authorities. The troops could face the death penalty if convicted, although, during an earlier hearing, prosecutors said they would not pursue a capital sentence against that defendant. Mr. Shumate’s civilian attorney, Steve Immel, said he hoped his client would be treated fairly.
“We would ask everybody to let the process work itself out and let Jerry have the full protections of the Constitution,” Mr. Immel said. “Especially because he was over there defending the Constitution.”
The preliminary hearings form part of a so-called Article 32 investigation, where an officer determines whether to recommend that defendants face courtsmartial. The final decision rests with a commanding general. Two Article 32 hearings were held August 30 for Private First Class John Jodka III and Corporal Marshall Magincalda, both accused in the Awad case. Hearings for the other accused troops are to come.
