Breaking News
May 26, 2005 — ASSOCIATED PRSS
Murder Charges Dropped Against Marine
The Marine Corps dropped murder charges Thursday against an officer accused of riddling two Iraqis with bullets and hanging a warning sign on their corpses as a grisly example to other suspected insurgents.
Autopsies conducted on the Iraqis' exhumed bodies backed 2nd Lt. Ilario Pantano's assertion that he shot them in self-defense after the men disobeyed his instructions and made a menacing move toward him, Marine officials said.
"The initial findings of the autopsies did not support the allegation that 2nd Lt. Pantano committed premeditated murder," Marine spokesman 2nd Lt. Barry Edwards said. "Rather, the initial findings corroborated 2nd Lt. Pantano's version of the events."
The decision to drop the charges was made by Maj. Gen. Richard Huck, commander of the 2nd Marine Division based at Camp Lejeune. The move ends the prosecution of Pantano, a former Wall Street trader who rejoined the Marines after the Sept. 11 attacks.
"Down at the unit level, there was never a question about Ilario's conduct and whether or not he did the right thing," said Charles Gittins, Pantano's civilian lawyer. "It was up in the higher echelons. The people removed from combat situations needed to put more trust in their officers rather than assuming they're guilty."