Unused Laws – Moon of Alabama

October 5, 2007

Unused Laws

A screen-capture from the homepage of the New York Times …

… which leads me to predict one of next year’s headlines:

Charges Will Be Dropped for Contractor in Iraq Killings
Investigators have recommended dropping murder charges against a security contractor charged with killing 17 apparently unarmed Iraqis in the volatile city of Haditha nearly a year ago, a defense lawyer in the case said Thursday.

Posted by b on October 5, 2007 at 08:24 UTC | Permalink

Comments

“The commanding general, James N. Mattis, has dismissed the charges against one of the lance corporals but has not yet ruled on the other case.”
Same general that was recorded saying:
“Actually it’s quite fun to fight them, you know. It’s a hell of a hoot,” Mattis said, prompting laughter from some military members in the audience. “It’s fun to shoot some people. I’ll be right up there with you. I like brawling.”
And true to form, the media will never make this connection.

Posted by: anna missed | Oct 5 2007 8:57 utc | 1

yep, mercs will now receive the same gentle slap on the wrist (if not a Medal of Freedom) that the vast majority of GIs get for murdering Iraqis in cold blood.
the lives of Iraqis we’re “liberating” simply don’t matter.

Posted by: ran | Oct 5 2007 11:51 utc | 2

same deal as when the IDF routinely murders Palestinians. can’t get too sentimental about the people whose land and resources you’re stealing.

Posted by: ran | Oct 5 2007 11:56 utc | 3

More evidence that Isr-USA symbiosis is incredibly all-pervasive – and toxic.

Posted by: Bea | Oct 5 2007 13:54 utc | 4

Why would the US try him? For example, if a guy from Colombia was in the US working for a Colombian company and got tanked up one night and went out and shot and killed a cop, do you honestly think we are going to send him home to Colombia to be tried under their law? Hell, no! He is going to be tried in an American court. So, why shouldn’t Blackwater guards and other civilians working for US or other countries in Iraq not be tried in Iraqi courts? If the Iraq justice system was good enough to execute Saddam, why can’t it handle a simple shooting?
I’ve worked outside of the US for many years for mostly European entities, and I was always aware that if I broke any laws that I would be tried by the country I was in. What makes Blackwater and the others different?

Posted by: Ensley | Oct 5 2007 14:05 utc | 5

Come on people, show your support: Blackwater onsies for all the special babies in your life.

Posted by: Uncle $cam | Oct 5 2007 16:10 utc | 6

If you are traveling later this month and you can divert and stop in Tucson, you are invited to attend this torture-related event: (pdf file) http://tortureontrial.org/art/TOTevent.PDF

Posted by: Jake | Oct 5 2007 17:30 utc | 7

It’s all just farce dressed up in political speak. If your a Merc in Iraq and you shoot an Iraqi guard that is actually guarding the government the US is trying to install, it’s not only okay, but the US will actively cover it up for you:
Because the State Department and Blackwater kept the incident quiet and out of Moonen’s personnel records, CSA was unaware of the December incident when it hired Moonen.
After all it’s just another dead raghead so who cares that we call them friends and allies in the WOT:
Moonen is accused of fatally shooting an Iraqi guard who was on duty near the Iraqi prime minister’s compound, according to a Congressional memo describing the investigation report. The guard was struck three times and Moonen fled the scene, according to the memo.
Moonen had been at a Christmas Eve party in Baghdad’s Green Zone, the memo said. Witnesses said he was drunk.
And oh how they dance:
Moonen’s case was discussed at length at a hearing on Capitol Hill this week, during which State Department officials conceded the Justice Department was still trying to determine whether they had jurisdiction to prosecute Moonen.
What does jurisdiction have to do with identity?
His identity had been kept private by government authorities and Blackwater, but the New York Times disclosed his name in a morning report Thursday.
A license to kill Iraqis
But if you get caught with child porn it’s an entirely different matter:
A Vidor man has been sentenced to nearly two years in federal prison for possession of child pornography. 39-year-old Robert Toutcheque pleaded guilty to the charge back in May. Army personnel found a small computer hard drive in the civilian contractor’s belongings at a base in Iraq. A review of materials on the drive revealed child porn.
No cover up no jurisdiction problems
Ah yes child porn bad, killing friendly Iraqis good. How noble?

Posted by: Sam | Oct 5 2007 19:39 utc | 8

The Erosion of a Murder Case Against Marines in the Killing of 24 Iraqi Civilians

Last year, when accounts of the killing of 24 Iraqis in Haditha by a group of marines came to light, it seemed that the Iraq war had produced its defining atrocity, just as the conflict in Vietnam had spawned the My Lai massacre a generation ago.
But on Thursday, a senior military investigator recommended dropping murder charges against the ranking enlisted marine accused in the 2005 killings, just as he had done earlier in the cases of two other marines charged in the case.
…
Experts in military justice say the Haditha prosecutions were compromised by several factors having to do with the quality of the evidence, including a delayed investigation and the decision to conduct hearings in the United States, far from the scene of the killings and possible Iraqi witnesses.
…
“It does surprise me to see that the killing of seven women and children by grenades and rifles, for the purposes of clearing structures, is being treated the way this investigating officer has treated it,” said Eugene R. Fidell, an expert in military law in Washington.
In an unusual departure from the analysis of the facts in Lance Corporal Sharratt’s case, Colonel Ware warned that putting marines on trial for murder without having the evidence to prove it could “erode public support of the Marine Corps and mission in Iraq.”

You see – being prosecuted for murdering civilians without reason is bad for moral … can’t have that …

Posted by: b | Oct 6 2007 6:16 utc | 9

fucking jarheads being in iraq in the first place erodes any public support for ’em. murderers all of them. by design.

Posted by: b real | Oct 6 2007 6:34 utc | 10

Sam, meanwhile here at home…
Federal Prosecutor Accused In Sex Sting Commits Suicide

MILAN, Mich. — John D.R. Atchison, the federal prosecutor who was arrested in an Internet sex sting after he allegedly traveled to Michigan from Florida to have sex with a 5-year-old girl, hung himself in a Michigan federal prison Friday morning.
Atchison, 53, was put on suicide watch after he used a bed sheet in an attempted suicide in September.
Detroit police confirmed Atchison’s suicide death at 10:14 a.m. Friday. They have not released any details.
Atchison was a married father of three and a respected figure who coached girls’ softball and basketball in a park a few blocks from his home in this well-to-do beach community.
Atchison had been communicating with an undercover sheriff’s detective from Macomb County, Mich., who was posing online as the fictitious girl’s mother and arranged for him to have sex with the child, police said.
He was arrested carrying presents for her, including a doll and earrings, and sexual materials, officials said.
“There were no red flags. He was normal. He went to work at the courthouse Monday through Friday. It’s not like he carried dolls to the ballpark,” said police Lt. Rick Hawthorne, who knew Atchison for more than 10 years and coached softball.
In the community that once applauded Atchison for his dedication to youth sports, people now worry that the assistant U.S. attorney might have held other secrets. But authorities have so far found no cases of child molestation in Florida involving Atchison.
The mayor has tried to reassure parents and other residents alarmed by Atchison’s arrest. “There was nothing involving local children and there should be no implication that there is,” he said.
As a federal prosecutor, Atchison mostly worked on tax and financial crime cases. According to court records, it appears he never prosecuted child sex abuse cases.
Atchison’s attorney, James C. Thomas, released a statement Friday: “We are deeply saddened to learn the death of John Roy Atchison. Our heartfelt regrets go out to his wife and children, his parents and his brothers and sisters. This is a man who has done a lot of good in his life. Unfortunately, he is going to be judged by his most recent charges and what we have read in the media, and not by the goodness, hard work or by the love of his family. I expect to be filing a Suggestion of Death and will request the federal judge to dismiss the case once I receive the necessary documents.”
Atchison was charged with three felonies, the most serious of which is crossing state lines with intent to have sex with someone under 12. Conviction carries a minimum 30-year prison sentence and a maximum of life.

Complete speculation, but according to this article he was under watch. I can’t prove it, but I highly suspect he was either suicided with help or encouraged or someone looked the other way while he offed himself. Further, I suspect women and child trafficking, sex slaves and forced prostitution is rampant
in our most elite law makers. Truth be known, it would sicken us.

Posted by: Uncle $cam | Oct 6 2007 7:54 utc | 11

Sam, meanwhile here at home…
Federal Prosecutor Accused In Sex Sting Commits Suicide

MILAN, Mich. — John D.R. Atchison, the federal prosecutor who was arrested in an Internet sex sting after he allegedly traveled to Michigan from Florida to have sex with a 5-year-old girl, hung himself in a Michigan federal prison Friday morning.
Atchison, 53, was put on suicide watch after he used a bed sheet in an attempted suicide in September.
Detroit police confirmed Atchison’s suicide death at 10:14 a.m. Friday. They have not released any details.
Atchison was a married father of three and a respected figure who coached girls’ softball and basketball in a park a few blocks from his home in this well-to-do beach community.
Atchison had been communicating with an undercover sheriff’s detective from Macomb County, Mich., who was posing online as the fictitious girl’s mother and arranged for him to have sex with the child, police said.
He was arrested carrying presents for her, including a doll and earrings, and sexual materials, officials said.
“There were no red flags. He was normal. He went to work at the courthouse Monday through Friday. It’s not like he carried dolls to the ballpark,” said police Lt. Rick Hawthorne, who knew Atchison for more than 10 years and coached softball.
In the community that once applauded Atchison for his dedication to youth sports, people now worry that the assistant U.S. attorney might have held other secrets. But authorities have so far found no cases of child molestation in Florida involving Atchison.
The mayor has tried to reassure parents and other residents alarmed by Atchison’s arrest. “There was nothing involving local children and there should be no implication that there is,” he said.
As a federal prosecutor, Atchison mostly worked on tax and financial crime cases. According to court records, it appears he never prosecuted child sex abuse cases.
Atchison’s attorney, James C. Thomas, released a statement Friday: “We are deeply saddened to learn the death of John Roy Atchison. Our heartfelt regrets go out to his wife and children, his parents and his brothers and sisters. This is a man who has done a lot of good in his life. Unfortunately, he is going to be judged by his most recent charges and what we have read in the media, and not by the goodness, hard work or by the love of his family. I expect to be filing a Suggestion of Death and will request the federal judge to dismiss the case once I receive the necessary documents.”
Atchison was charged with three felonies, the most serious of which is crossing state lines with intent to have sex with someone under 12. Conviction carries a minimum 30-year prison sentence and a maximum of life.

Posted by: Uncle $cam | Oct 6 2007 8:07 utc | 12

even though Uncle posted it twice, I think this goes along with the ugliness of these republicans. btw, this guy was appointed by Abu Gonzales…what a shock!

DETROIT — A U.S. Justice Department official has been arrested on suspicion of traveling to Detroit over the weekend to have sex with a minor.
John David R. Atchison, 53, an assistant U.S. attorney from the northern district of Florida, was arraigned in U.S. District Court in Detroit Monday afternoon.
An undercover officer posed as a mother offering her child to Atchison for sex, according to police.
The undercover detective expressed concern about physical injury to the 5-year-old girl as a result of the sexual activity. Detectives said Atchison responded, ” I am always gentle and loving; not to worry, no damage ever, no rough stuff ever. I only like it soft and nice.”
The undercover detective asked how Atchison can be certain of no injury. He responded, “Just gotta go slow and very easy. I’ve done it plenty,” according to detectives.

link

Posted by: dan of steele | Oct 6 2007 8:19 utc | 13

State Rep. Matthew Barrett Shows His Porn Instead of Civics Lesson

He was giving a civics lesson Tuesday when he inserted a data memory stick into the school computer and the projected image of a topless woman appeared instead of the graphics presentation he had downloaded.

John David R. Atchison, John Bryan , Ted Klaudt, Joseph Monteleone Jr., Jeffrey Nielsen, Patrick Lee McGuire, Larry Corrigan, Jeffrey Kyle Randall, Brent Schepp, Mark Foley, Randall Casseday, Lou Beres, Larry Dale Floyd, Mark Pazuhanich, Bobby Stumbo, Tom Randall, Armando Tebano, John Collins, Mark Seidensticker, Philip Giordano, Tom Adams, John Gosek…It’s interesting how so many members of the “moral majority” end up being outed as paedophiles, pederasts, adulterers, self-hating homosexuals, and clients of prostitutes.
k, lets continue this on the ot so as to not incur b’s wrath…lol

Posted by: Uncle $cam | Oct 6 2007 8:40 utc | 14

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