Posted by Tina
Ex-Marine Acquitted in Iraq Killings, by Chelsea J. Carter, AP
RIVERSIDE, Calif. A former Marine accused of killing unarmed Iraqi detainees was acquitted of voluntary manslaughter Thursday in a first-of-its-kind federal trial. *** 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, during some of the fiercest fighting of the war. *** Thursday’s verdict marks the first time a civilian jury has determined whether the alleged actions of a former military service member in combat violated the law of war. *** Wicken said the panel acquitted Nazario because there was not enough evidence against him. “I think you don’t know what goes on in combat until you are in combat,” she said. *** Prosecutors alleged that Nazario either killed or caused others to kill four unarmed Iraqi detainees in Fallujah during “Operation Phantom Fury,” which resulted in house-to-house fighting. *** 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. He also argued that a guilty verdict would only make service members second-guess their actions in combat.