Marine acquitted in Hadithah cover-up case - Marine Corps News | News from Afghanistan & Iraq - Marine Corps Times

Marine acquitted in Hadithah cover-up case

CAMP PENDLETON, Calif. — A Marine intelligence officer accused of trying to cover up the killings of 24 Iraqis appeared stunned at first when a jury acquitted him of the charges.

For more than two years, 1st Lt. Andrew Grayson had been under suspicion, accused of ordering the destruction of evidence in the biggest U.S. criminal case involving Iraqi deaths to come out of the war.

“I didn’t really believe it was going to end until they said not guilty,” Grayson said in his first public comments on Wednesday’s verdict. “The case was so volatile, you didn’t know which way it was going to go.”

Grayson had always maintained his innocence. On Wednesday, a military jury agreed with him.

Cheers erupted as the jury found him not guilty of ordering a sergeant to delete photographs of the bodies from a digital camera and laptop computer.

The judge, Maj. Brian E. Kasprzyk, admonished the courtroom, telling them: “There will be no more of that.”

It was a reflection of the contentious nature of a case that saw Grayson painted by prosecutors as a liar who hindered an investigation. His attorneys said he was a fall guy for a botched investigation.

Grayson was the first of three Marines to be court-martialed in connection with killings of men, women and children on Nov. 19, 2005, in Hadithah.

He was not present at the killings that occurred after a roadside bomb struck a convoy, killing a Marine and wounding two others.

Investigators allege that after the bombing, Staff Sgt. Frank Wuterich and a squad member shot five men by a car at the scene. Wuterich then allegedly ordered his men into several houses, where they cleared rooms with grenades and gunfire, killing more Iraqis in the process.

Four enlisted Marines initially were charged with murder and four officers were charged with failing to investigate the deaths. Charges were dropped against five of the Marines.

Grayson, of Springboro, Ohio, was found not guilty of two counts of making false official statements, two counts of trying to fraudulently separate from service, and one count of attempt to deceive by making false statements. He would have faced up to 20 years in prison if convicted on all counts.

Grayson’s attorney, Joseph Casas, said he believed the verdict would set a tone for pending prosecutions.

“I think it sets the tone for the overall whirlwind Hadithah has been. It’s been a botched investigation from the get-go,” he said. “I believe, in the end, all of the so-called Hadithah Marines who still have to face trial will be exonerated.”

Prosecutors said Grayson, whose job was to analyze intelligence, ordered the photos deleted in an effort to protect the Marines.

But outside the courtroom, Grayson said the charges appear to be the result of a misunderstanding. He has always maintained he was following Marine Corps policy that prohibits the keeping of pictures of Iraqi bodies on personal computers.

Grayson fought back tears as he described the months leading up the trial.

He said he first found out he was under suspicion when he got a call from his commander months after the killings. A short time later, he was read the charges.

“It was surreal,” he said. “You can’t quite believe you are hearing all this.”

Grayson’s life was thrown into turmoil. He was barred from leaving the Marine Corps until the case was adjudicated. He had been scheduled to get out in June 2007.

Grayson said early on in the case that he refused a deal that would have reduced charges and kept him out of prison.

“I was the one that had to look at myself in the mirror. To take the easy way out, you are the one that has to live with that,” he said.

During the darkest moments of the case, he said he leaned on his wife. The couple married in the middle of the investigation and put off a honeymoon.

His wife, Susan, cried as she said what she had only dared to think about for months: “It’s over.”

Prosecutors did not make themselves available for comment.

Still to face court-martial are Wuterich, of Meriden, Conn., whose charges include voluntary manslaughter, and Lt. Col. Jeffrey Chessani, of Rangely, Colo., who has been charged with dereliction of duty and violation of a lawful order on allegations he mishandled the aftermath of the killings.

Wuterich pleaded not guilty. Chessani has said he didn’t order a formal investigation because he believed the deaths resulted from lawful combat. He has not entered a plea because in the military system, that is not usually done until motions hearings are completed and a court-martial is about to start.