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The following provides background information on the 2005 killings of 24 civilians in Haditha, Iraq.
Haditha is a city on the Euphrates River northwest of Baghdad, Iraq.
Eight U.S. Marines faced charges over the deaths, but only one was convicted of a crime: dereliction of duty.
November 19, 2005 – Roadside bomb kills 20-year-old Lance Cpl. Miguel Terrazas in the Haditha neighborhood of Al-Subhani.
November 19, 2005 – At least 24 Iraqi civilians, including women and children, are killed. Suspicion falls on the Marines of Kilo Company of the 3rd Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment.
March 19, 2006 – Time.com publishes the murder allegations for the first time. The story also appears in the magazine's March 27 issue.
April 8, 2006 – The commander of 3rd Battalion, 1st Marine Regiment and two company commanders are relieved of command and placed on staff duties during the investigation.
May 29, 2006 – Gen. Peter Pace, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, tells CNN there are two investigations: one into what happened and another into why the military didn't know about the incident sooner.
December 21, 2006 – Eight Marines face criminal charges or administrative sanctions in connection with the incident.
– Sergeant. Frank Wuterich, who led the Marine detachment accused of being involved in the incident, is charged with 13 counts of unpremeditated murder, making false statements to investigators and trying to persuade others to do the same. The murder charges include 12 counts of unpremeditated murder against people and one count of murdering six people “while engaged in an act inherently dangerous to others.”
– Lance Corporal. Justin Sharratt is charged with one count of unpremeditated murder, with three specifications (one for each fatality).
– Lance Corporal. Stephen Tatum is charged with negligent homicide and assault.
– Sergeant. Sanick Dela Cruz is charged with unpremeditated murder and making a false statement.
– Lt. Col. Jeffrey Chessani is charged with one count of violation of a lawful order and two counts of dereliction of duty.
– Captain Randy Stone is charged with dereliction of duty and violation of a lawful order.
– Captain Lucas McConnell is charged with dereliction of duty.
– First Lieutenant Andrew Grayson is charged with obstruction of justice, dereliction of duty and false statement.
January 6, 2007 – The Washington Post publishes photos and information about the Haditha incident. Photos show five dead Iraqis near a taxi. Shortly afterward, lawyers for the accused Marines call for an investigation to determine who leaked the photos, claiming that their clients will not receive a fair trial because of them. U.S. criminal investigators say they have found no evidence to support the Marines' claim that the five Iraqis were shot after trying to flee the scene. Investigators say the five Iraqi men were shot no more than 18 feet from the taxi they were ordered out of and within an arm's length of each other.
April 2, 2007 – Charges against Dela Cruz are dropped in exchange for his testimony.
August 9, 2007 – Charges against Sharratt and Stone are dropped after Lt. Gen. James Mattis rules they did not act inappropriately under the circumstances.
August 23, 2007 – Lt. Col. Paul Ware, the investigating officer, recommends that all charges against Tatum be dropped, saying the evidence is too weak for a court-martial.
September 5, 2007 – Maj. Gen. Richard A. Huck, former Commanding General of the 2nd Marine Division; Col. Stephen W. Davis, former commander of Regimental Combat Team 2, 2nd Marine Division; and Colonel Robert G. Sokoloski, former chief of staff of the 2nd Marine Division (Advanced), receive letters of censure from the Secretary of the Navy in connection with the Haditha investigation.
September 18, 2007 – Mattis drops charges against McConnell.
October 4, 2007 – Ware, the investigating officer, recommends that the murder charges be dropped in Wuterich's case, but that he be tried for the lesser offense of negligent homicide.
October 19, 2007 – The Marine Corps announces that Chessani and Tatum will face a court-martial.
December 31, 2007 – Grayson is court-martialed on charges of making false official statements, obstruction of justice, and attempting to fraudulently separate from the Marine Corps.
December 31, 2007 – The Marine Corps announces that Wuterich will face a court-martial on charges of voluntary manslaughter, aggravated assault, reckless endangerment, dereliction of duty and obstruction of justice.
March 28, 2008 – The US military announces that all charges against Tatum are dropped.
May 7, 2008 – “Battle for Haditha” is released, a film that dramatizes the events of November 19, 2005.
June 4, 2008 – Grayson is found not guilty of all charges.
June 17, 2008 – All charges against Chessani are dropped after a judge rules that a general overseeing the case may have been improperly influenced by a prosecutor.
January 12, 2012 – After years of delay, the court-martial of Wuterich, the last of the eight accused Marines, begins jury selection. He is charged with nine counts of voluntary manslaughter and other crimes.
January 23, 2012 – Wuterich pleads guilty to one count of dereliction of duty.
January 24, 2012 – Wuterich is sentenced to 90 days in prison and a reduction in pay and rank, from sergeant to private.
May 30th, 2013 – A Defense Department panel appointed by Defense Secretary Leon Panetta and Pentagon General Counsel Jeh Johnson releases its report on investigations and prosecutions of U.S. troops implicated in the abuse or murder of civilians in war zones . The panel recommends that future criminal proceedings be handled by the senior commander in the combat theater and not by the accused soldier's military branch. The panel was created after the investigation into the Haditha massacre yielded no serious consequences for the accused soldiers.
