Military Judge Narrows Issues in Chessani Court-Martial; Trial Moved to June 17th
April 29, 2008 · Print This Article
- Unraveling Haditha
- Military Judge Narrows Issues in Chessani Court-Martial; Trial Moved to June 17th
- Military Judge to Hear Critical Motions in Haditha Case Tomorrow
- Three Iraqis to Testify About Haditha
- ‘Battle For Haditha’ Throws Truth Out the Window
- General Mattis to Testify Against Chessani in Undue Command Influence Hearing
- Major Setback for Prosecutors in Chessani Trial; Judge Finds Evidence of Unlawful Command Influence
- Landmark Decision in Chessani Case Tuesday
- VICTORY: All Charges Dismissed Against Lt Col Jeffrey Chessani
- Prosecutors Appeal Decision to Dismiss Charges Against Chessani
In what is perhaps the most asinine travesty of justice I’ve seen in quite some time, the judge presiding over Lt. Col. Jeffrey Chessani’s court-martial in the Haditha case has, in the immortal slang of some of my friends, “stepped on his crank.”
Amid the flurry of arguments in the hearing on several motions earlier in the month, comments by military judge, Colonel Stephen Folsom, USMC, has shed some light on how he will conduct the trial of Lt. Colonel Jeffrey Chessani. According to the judge, it makes no difference whether the Marines in LtCol Chessani’s battalion did or did not kill civilians in cold blood – the issue for the jury will be whether LtCol Chessani should have reasonably suspected his Marines killed civilians in cold blood. [...]
Observed Thompson, “A military jury could find LtCol Chessani guilty even if it concluded that his Marines did not kill civilians in “cold blood,” no Law of War violation actually occurred, and his decision not to conduct a formal written investigation on the November 19, 2005 Haditha incident, was the right decision based on the actual facts – all prosecutors would have to show is that LtCol Chessani should have suspected a violation in order to find him criminally guilty.”
What kind of justice is this? None. This is a disgusting mockery of law, and because of it, a decorated, honorable officer who has served his country well for many years will suffer even more than he has already.
[...] MetaDealer wrote an interesting post today onHere’s a quick excerptJeffrey Chessani’s court-martial in the Haditha case has, in the immortal slang of some of my friends, “stepped on his crank.” Amid the flurry of arguments in the hearing on several motions earlier in the month, comments by military … [...]
[...] historically in these cases, that means nothing. Let’s keep in mind that this particular judge has ruled that in order for Chessani to be found guilty, the prosecution does not need to prove that the [...]