Military judge dismisses charges in Haditha killings

CAMP PENDLETON, Calif. (AP) - June 17, 2008 Col. Steven Folsom dismissed charges against Lt. Col. Jeffrey Chessani after finding that a four-star general overseeing the case was improperly influenced by an investigator probing the November 2005 shootings by a Marine squad in Haditha.

"Unlawful command influence is the mortal enemy of military justice," said Folsom, reading aloud from previous case law.

Then, turning to the courtroom, he said: "In order to restore the public confidence, we need to take it back. We need to turn the clock back."

Chessani, of Rangely, Colo., was the highest-ranking officer to face a combat-related court-martial since the Vietnam War.

The charges were dismissed without prejudice, meaning they can be refiled, but Folsom barred Marine Forces Central Command from future involvement in the case.

The judge gave the prosecution 72 hours to file a notice of intent to appeal. The prosecutors did not make themselves available for comment.

Chessani's civilian attorney, Brian Rooney, said later that the case was far from over.

"It's almost as if you're looking into the abyss," he said. "We don't know what is going to happen."

Chessani has served in the military for more than 20 years and has filed paperwork to retire. He is being held in the Marine Corps pending the outcome of the case.

Of eight Marines originally charged in the case, only one is still facing prosecution in the biggest U.S. criminal prosecution involving Iraqi deaths to come out of the war.

The incident occurred after one Marine was killed and two others were wounded by a roadside bomb.

Staff Sgt. Frank Wuterich, who faces voluntary manslaughter charges, and a squad member shot five men by a car at the scene. Investigators say Wuterich then ordered his men to clear several houses with grenades and gunfire, leaving women and children among the dead.

Wuterich has pleaded not guilty.

Folsom's ruling comes two weeks after Gen. James Mattis took the stand - a rare courtroom appearance for such a high-ranking officer - to address the judge's initial finding that there was evidence of unlawful command influence in the case.

Col. John Ewers, the military lawyer who investigated the killings and took Chessani's statement, later became a top legal adviser to Mattis and sat in on briefings that helped Mattis decide who would be charged.

Mattis testified he never talked with Ewers about Haditha, although Ewers was present during a number of legal meetings where Haditha and Chessani were discussed.

Military policy prohibits Ewers from offering legal advice because he also was an investigator in the case.

Mattis approved the filing of charges against Chessani when he was both commander of the Marine Corps Forces Central Command and the commander of the 1st Marine Expeditionary Force at Camp Pendleton. He has since been promoted and serves as commander of NATO's Supreme Allied Commander Transformation and of U.S. Joint Forces.

Four enlisted Marines were originally charged with counts related to the killings and four officers were charged in connection with the investigation, including Chessani.