Highest-ranking officer to face criminal charges following Haditha killings walks free
LOS ANGELES: Charges against a senior US Marine officer accused of failing to properly investigate the deaths of 24 Iraqi civilians were dismissed Tuesday, a military spokesman confirmed.
Lieutenant Colonel Jeffrey Chessani was the highest-ranking officer to face criminal charges following the killings in Haditha in November 2005, but walked free after a hearing at the Marine Corps Camp Pendleton base near San Diego.
The 44-year-old was cleared after Judge Colonel Steven Folsom ruled the case had been "tainted" by the possibility that the general who approved charges may have been influenced by a legal adviser who was a prosecution witness.
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