JustinSharratt

Congratulations to the entire Sharratt family.

We have had the pleasure of speaking with Justin’s father Darryl on Pundit Review Radio twice in recent weeks. In the first interview, we provided a detailed overview of the case and the toll it has taken on the family.

In the second interview, we discussed Darryl’s uncomfortable and unsatisfying phone conversation with Congressman Murtha, who convicted Justin and the other Haditha Marines repeatedly in the media. Making this nightmare even worse, Murtha is the Sharratt’s congressmen. It took Darryl Sharratt 53 phone calls over 18 months to get Murtha on the line.

I am thrilled for the Sharratt family today.

SharrattFamily

All charges against Lance Cpl. Justin Sharratt dropped by general

LOS ANGELES – All charges were dropped Thursday against Marine Lance Cpl. Justin L. Sharratt, who had been accused of killing three Iraqi brothers in response to a roadside bomb attack in Haditha in 2005.

“The evidence does not support a referral to a court-martial,” Lt. Gen. James Mattis wrote in his written decision. Under military law, a commanding general has total jurisdiction over a case.

Sharratt, 22, of Canonsburg, Pa., had been charged with murder in the deaths of three of those killed after the bomb attack on Nov. 19, 2005.

The decision to drop the charges followed an earlier recommendation from a hearing officer who listened to evidence in the case.

In his recommendation, Lt. Col. Paul Ware said murder charges brought against Sharratt were based on unreliable witness accounts, insupportable forensic evidence and questionable legal theories.

“The government version is unsupported by independent evidence,” Ware wrote in an 18-page report. “To believe the government version of facts is to disregard clear and convincing evidence to the contrary.”

UPDATE: Gary Gross at Let Freedom Ring has a posted a message from Darryl Sharratt, check it out.

UPDATE II: Here’s Ralph Peters from this past Sunday night on this very topic,

UPDATE III: Darryl Sharratt will be returning to Pundit Review Radio this Sunday evening at 9:20pm EST. You can stream the show live at WRKO and call with questions or comments at 877-469-4322.