The original content of Democracy Now! Headlines appears under the Creative
Commons BY-NC-ND 3.0 License (United States). For more, including their other
shows and media, visit www.democracynow.org.
January 25, 2012

No Jail Time for Marine Alleged to Have Led Haditha Massacre 
-------------------------------------------------------------



Iraqis are voicing outrage over the plea deal sentencing of the last of
the U.S. marines charged in the 2005 Haditha massacre of 24 Iraqi
civilians. On Tuesday, Staff Sergeant Frank Wuterich walked away with no
jail time after pleading guilty to dereliction of duty and avoiding
charges of involuntary manslaughter. Under his sentencing, Wuterich now
faces a maximum penalty of a demotion to the rank of private. The
Haditha killings marked one of the most notorious massacres by U.S.
forces during the Iraq war. The victims, including women and children,
were killed when the marines burst into their homes and shot them dead
in their nightclothes. In Haditha, an Iraqi survivor of the attack
condemned Wuterich's lenient sentencing.

Awis Fahmi: ''I was expecting that the American judiciary would sentence
this person to life in prison and he should appear and confess in front
of the whole world that he committed this crime so that America could
show itself as democratic and fair.''

Wuterich allegedly led the Haditha massacre and was the last defendant
to face charges. Six other marines have had their charges dropped or
dismissed, while another soldier was acquitted.



.