Marines Charged in Iraqi Killings
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.

CAMP PENDLETON, Calif. (AP) – A Marine Corps squad leader from Connecticut was charged Thursday with murdering 12 people and ordering Marines under his command to kill others during an incident that left 24 civilians dead in the Iraqi town of Haditha last year, his attorney said.
Two other Marines also have been charged, their attorneys said Thursday.
In all, eight Marines could face charges in the biggest U.S. criminal case involving killings to arise from the war in Iraq.
Staff Sgt. Frank D. Wuterich, the 26-year-old squad leader, was charged with fatally shooting 12 people while having “intent to kill or cause great bodily harm,” according to charging sheets released by defense attorney Neal Puckett. Mr. Wuterich also was accused of telling Marines “to ‘shoot first and ask questions later’ or words to that effect,” the charging sheet stated.
Mr. Wuterich, of Meriden, Conn., also was charged with soliciting a corporal to make false statements and making another staff sergeant make a false official statement.
Mr. Puckett said his client is not guilty and acted lawfully.
Lance Cpl. Justin Sharratt, 22, of Carbondale, Penn., was accused of one charge of murder involving unpremeditated killings of three males in a house, said his attorney, Gary Myers.
“Our view has been and continues to be that these are combat-related deaths,” Mr. Myers said.
Lance Cpl. Stephen Tatum, 25, of Edmund, Okla., also was charged, but his attorney, Jack Zimmerman, declined to specify the allegations before the government’s announcement.
The Marines all belonged to Kilo Company of the Camp Pendleton-based 3rd Battalion, 1st Marines Regiment, and have been under investigation since March for the deaths.
The Iraqi civilians were killed in the hours following a roadside bomb that rocked a Marine patrol on the morning of Nov. 19, 2005. The blast killed one Marine and injured two others.
In the aftermath, five Iraqi men were shot as they approached in a taxi and others – including women and children – died as Marines went house to house in the area, clearing homes with grenades and gunfire.
Defense attorneys have said their clients were doing what they had been trained to do: responding to a perceived threat with legitimate force. The Marines remained in combat for months after the killings.
A criminal probe of the Haditha incident was launched after Time magazine reported in March, citing survivor accounts and human rights groups, that innocent people were killed.
The Marine Corps initially reported that 15 Iraqis died in a roadside bomb blast, and Marines killed eight insurgents in an ensuing fire fight. That account was widely discredited and later reports put the number of dead Iraqis at 24.
The case sparked an international outcry when it was first reported. It is one of several cases of alleged American misconduct to have emerged from the Iraq war and the second time in six months that Pendleton officials have held a press conference to say they are charging their own in allegedly unlawful killings.
A parallel military investigation examined whether officers in the Marines’ chain of command tried to cover up the events. Results of that probe have not been made public.
As word that charges in the case were imminent, some Iraqis said Thursday that American troops should face justice in Iraq.
“The trial they are talking about is fake. The American troops should be brought here, in front of an Iraqi court,” Naji al-Ani, a 36-year-old laborer, said by telephone from Haditha. “They committed a horrible crime against innocents.”
Other residents of Haditha agreed, saying they believed the servicemen were guilty and should face the death penalty.
“Are they terrorists or are they fighting terrorism?” said Jamal al-Obaidi, a 40-year-old teacher. “The trial is not fair because it is taking place in America. Executing them is the minimum penalty.”
A spokesman for the Iraqi Defense Ministry said the Iraqi government supports the decision of the U.S. military to prosecute the troops.
Sharratt’s sister, Jaclyn, 25, said she spoke to him shortly after the charges were filed. She said he was planning to go to work at the base gymnasium Thursday. He and the other Marines were not expected to be held in pretrial confinement.
“He sounded good – he’s been preparing for this since March,” she said. “He didn’t do anything wrong, so we just have to have faith.”