BREAKING NEWS.... Defend Our Marines has learned from LCpl Stephen Tatum's attorney that the Investigating Officer has recommended that all charges be dropped against Tatum!
That means 4 out of 5 that have gone through the Article 32 Hearings have had their charges dropped. Two of those were charged with murder.
Now - What say you Mr. Murtha?
Update 1 8/23/07 2200 est
Here's a link to Lt. Col Paul Ware's report. It is thorough and completely blows the testimony of Mendoza out of the water. Notice also that Mr. Zimmerman, Tatum's attorney, got a dig in about Murtha during the trial and it made it to the IO's report...
Update 2 8/23/07 2210 est:
The AP already has a story up and online. Here's a few snippets from the IO report as quoted in the AP article...
Investigating officer Lt. Col. Paul Ware found the evidence was too weak for a court-martial. Tatum, shot and killed civilians, but "he did so because of his training and the circumstances he was placed in, not to exact revenge and commit murder," Ware wrote.
"I believe ... Tatum's real life experience and training on how to clear a room took over and his body instinctively began firing while his head tried to grasp at what and why he was firing," Ware wrote. "By the time he could recognize that he was shooting at children, his body had already acted.
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