Federal jury acquits ex-Marine in Iraqis' deathsVerdict is the first time a civilian jury has weighed in on the law of war
RIVERSIDE, Calif. - A former Marine was acquitted Thursday by a civilian jury of voluntary manslaughter in the killings of unarmed Iraqi detainees.
The jury took six hours to find Jose Luis Nazario Jr.
not guilty of charges that he killed or caused others to kill four unarmed detainees on Nov. 9, 2004, in Fallujah, Iraq.
The verdict left Nazario and his family in tears. He cried so loud that the judge smacked his gavel to call for order. Sobs from the Nazario family and friends also went up in the courtroom.
The verdict marks the first time a civilian jury has determined whether the actions of a former military service member in combat violated the law of war.
Not enough evidenceJuror Ingrid Wicken said the panel found Nazario not guilty because there was not enough evidence against him.
"I think you don't know what goes on in combat until you are in combat," said Wicken, who hugged Nazario's sobbing mother, Sandra Montanez, without speaking.
Later, Wicken said, "I watched her all week. She was being tortured every day."
The battle of Fallujah, which included house-to-house fighting, is considered one of the fiercest of the war.
Nazario, 28, had pleaded not guilty to voluntary manslaughter on suspicion of killing or causing others to kill the four unarmed detainees, assault with a deadly weapon and discharging a firearm during a crime of violence. If convicted of all the charges, he could have faced more than 10 years in prison.
Case rested primarily on eyewitnessesOn Wednesday, a prosecutor urged the jury to convict Nazario, saying he violated his duty as a Marine and must be held accountable for his actions in Fallujah.
Nazario's attorney, Kevin McDermott, told jurors they could not convict the former Marine sergeant of an alleged crime in which there were no bodies, no identities and no forensics.
The case against Nazario rested primarily on the accounts of his former comrades, including two who have been found in contempt of court for refusing to testify. Other former Marines testified during the five-day trial that they did not see Nazario kill the detainees but heard the gunshots.
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