MSNBC: "Plea deals pile up in Iraq murder cases" - What's going on here??

[AZBlue]

In the beginning, there were eight. A squad of seven Marines and a Navy corpsman charged with kidnapping and murdering an Iraqi man, a crime described by a prosecutor as especially brutal.

They faced military trials; the death penalty was possible.

And now there are four. In the six months the men have been held at the Camp Pendleton brig, the profile of the Hamdania cases has changed dramatically. The death penalty is off the table and four of the defendants have struck plea bargains.

Some observers of the military justice system find the developments mystifying.

Gary Solis, a former Marine Corps prosecutor and judge who teaches law of war at Georgetown University Law Center, said he was surprised by the number of plea agreements in this case.

“It’s a wonderment to me that it’s happening in the military system,” he said.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/15787012/

What the hell is going on??!

[msongs]

1. your article quote says there are plea agreements, thats whats going on nt

[AZBlue]

4. Yes, I obviously know that. But why??????????????

eom

[Kagemusha]

2. The military doesn't want to execute soldiers in a time of war

Drops morale and offends politicians and stuff.

[acmejack]

8. Exactly.

"Away the Morale Suppression Team"...

[patrice]

3. The public is angry about Abu Ghraib being blamed mostly on Enlisted.

Officers don't seem to have any responsibility.

[AZBlue]

5. And I agree with that sentiment. But this has nothing to do with Abu Ghraib.

I don't care what rank these 8 hold - they did this on their own and need to be held accountable for their actions.

[patrice]

6. I don't understand it either. Is there something we don't know aobut it?

I can't imagine what would mitigate them picking someone out of the neighborhood and killing him.

[Dr.Phool]

7. Very simple. Cop a plea. No public testimony. No death penalty.

The last thing these rats want is a public airing, in this case, a trial, of all the dirty laundry.

Keep the damage down to a few "bad apples", and the whole chain of command gets off scott-free.

Talk, and you get executed.