Haditha Officer’s Charges Dismissed

This is a good ruling.

A Marine officer on Tuesday became the seventh person cleared of charges related to the deaths of 24 Iraqi civilians in Haditha, Iraq.

A military judge dismissed charges against Lt. Col. Jeffrey Chessani, who was charged with dereliction of duty and violation of a lawful order for failing to report and investigate the incident.

Col. Steven Folsom found that a four-star general overseeing the case was improperly influenced by an investigator probing the November 2005 shootings

“Unlawful command influence is the mortal enemy of military justice,” said Folsom, reading aloud from previous case law, The Associated Press reported.

Chessani was the highest ranking officer involved in the Haditha incident. Twenty-four civilians were killed in what military prosecutors said was a house-to-house rampage by Marines after a roadside bomb killed their comrade, 20-year-old Lance Cpl. Miguel Terrazas.