Originally published January 2 2006
Murder charges against army officer suspected in Iraqi civilian deaths have been dropped
by Mike Adams, the Health Ranger, NaturalNews Editor
The Army dropped murder charges against Second Lt. Erick J. Anderson, 26, of Twinsburg, Ohio, who was alleged to have given his platoon permission to execute two Iraqi civilians.
The Army dropped murder charges Monday against an officer accused of giving soldiers in his platoon permission to kill two Iraqi civilians.
"Today's a pretty good day," Anderson said in a telephone interview.
All charges were dropped after an Army investigator who presided over a hearing last month recommended that Anderson not face a court-martial.
At the hearing, one soldier who had accused Anderson changed his story, and another refused to testify.
In later statements to Army investigators, two soldiers said Anderson gave them the go-ahead to kill civilians, including in one incident described as a "mercy killing."
Michael Williams, of Memphis, Tenn., said he only implicated Anderson to get prosecutors to reduce his own life sentence to 25 years.
Williams said he shot the Iraqi three times before Anderson arrived in the building that was being searched for weapons and insurgents.
Johnny Horne Jr., refused to testify unless he was granted immunity from prosecution.
Cardenas Alban, of Inglewood, Calif., were sentenced to one year in prison for shooting the teenager, who was severely wounded.
Alban testified last month that he was told by Horne that Anderson gave permission to put the boy "out of his misery."
Neal Puckett, a former Marine Corps judge who defended Anderson, said the case never should have reached a hearing.
"I think we need to start with (the fact) the lieutenant is supposed to do what he's trained to do.
We have to have a high standard of evidence before we give any credence of charges of war crimes," Puckett said.
The case against Anderson is closed and the investigation is over "unless any new significant and substantially credible information comes to light," said Lt.
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