US serviceman acquitted of Haditha charges

The US Marine Corps has dropped charges and given full immunity to a serviceman who was accused of involuntary manslaughter in a squad’s killing of 24 Iraqis in Haditha in 2005.

The case against Lance Corporal Stephen Tatum, 26, was dismissed as jury selection was about to begin for his court-martial.

The government has been seeking L/Cpl Tatum’s testimony against the squad leader, Staff Sergeant Frank Wuterich, in the largest prosecution of US troops in the Iraq war. However, the case has shrunk over time, including the removal of all murder charges.

Prosecutors say Wuterich directed the assault immediately after a roadside bomb killed one Marine and wounded two others in a convoy. Wuterich and another Marine shot five men nearby before the squad leader ordered his men to clear homes with grenades and gunfire, killing unarmed civilians.

In February, Tatum received an order to testify against Wuterich and an unrequested immunity order that said anything to which he testified would not be used against him in his court-martial. On Friday, a new immunity order was issued, along with the dismissal of charges.

“Lance Cpl Tatum will testify truthfully if called as a witness,” said his attorney, Jack Zimmerman.

Tatum was relieved by the news and considered it an affirmation of his contention that he and his squadmates responded to a perceived threat as they had been trained to do, Zimmerman said.

“It has been a very happy morning,” he said.

Tatum was the third enlisted Marine to have all charges dismissed.

Four enlisted Marines were initially charged with murder, and four officers were charged with failing to investigate the deaths.

Only two officers remain charged.