Jurors begin first full day of deliberations in ex-Marine's trial
Jose Nazario, 28, is accused in the 2004 deaths of four Iraqi detainees. His case marks the first time that civilians will decide if a former serviceman committed a crime in combat.
Jurors in Riverside federal court today began their first full day of deliberations in the landmark case of former Marine Sgt. Jose Nazario, accused in the killing of four Iraqi prisoners during the battle for Fallouja in November 2004.
The case marks the first time in the modern era that civilian jurors have been asked to decide whether a former member of the military committed a crime during combat.
The jury of nine women and three men deliberated for about two hours Wednesday afternoon. This morning, jurors listened again to a tape recording of a phone conversation between Nazario, who was a squad leader, and one of his men. In it, Nazario, now 28, seems to admit to ordering the killings.
The tape recording of the call, which was made by Sgt. Jermaine Nelson at the behest of the Naval Criminal Investigative Service, was the last piece of evidence presented before prosecutors rested their case. Nazario's defense attorney called no witnesses.
In addition to playing the tape recording, prosecutors called three former Marines who were in the battle with Nazario during the five-day trial.
One of the former Marines said he saw Nazario standing over a dead Iraqi while holding an M-16. Another said Nazario tried to persuade him to help kill the prisoners, and a third testified that he saw four dead bodies in a house that Nazario had left in the insurgent-held Jolan neighborhood.
None testified that they saw Nazario kill the Iraqis.
Prosecutors, however, did not get testimony from two Marines who they had expected to be star witnesses. Nelson, who placed the phone call to Nazario, and another Marine, Sgt. Ryan Weemer, each refused to take the stand against their former squad leader.
U.S. District Judge Stephen Larson declined a prosecutor's request to jail the men, saying he did not believe doing so would compel them to testify. Earlier this year, Larson had jailed Nelson and Weemer for refusing to testify before a grand jury.
Both men face murder charges at Camp Pendleton in the same deaths that Nazario has been charged with in federal court. The two Marines previously gave detailed statements about the 2004 incident, which occurred on the first day of the Marines' bloody, 10-day assault on insurgent strongholds in Fallouja, west of Baghdad.
