US Marines drop charges against officer who shot Iraqis News
US Marines drop charges against officer who shot Iraqis

[JURIST] The US Marine Corps said Thurday that all charges against 2nd Lt. Ilario G. Pantano [advocacy website profile], accused of murdering two Iraqis during a vehicle stop, would be dropped. The statement out of Camp Lejeune in North Carolina said that after an investigation by Maj. Gen. Richard Huck [official profile], the charges of premeditated murder were dismissed. Pantano, a veteran of the first Gulf War, shot two Iraqis who refused to stop after being instructed to do so for fear that they were trying to detonate explosives remotely. The serious charges, which could have resulted in the death penalty for Pantano, were first made in February 2005 [JURIST report]. Reuters has more.