Ilario Pantano cleared: and every sonofabitch in the Marine Corps and NCIS

involved in screwing this man over ought to be canned.
At the Dover morgue a year later, Mr. Rodriguez was troubled by all the murmuring of “guilty” he heard from investigators as he began to scrutinize the skeletons of Ali Hamaady Kareem and Tahah Ahmead Hanjil.

He also wondered why the Marine Corps lodged premeditated murder charges against Lt. Pantano without benefit of an autopsy of the two dead men — the chore he was now performing after the officer endured a grueling pretrial hearing.

“I think there was a rush to judgment,” Mr. Rodriguez, who retired last month, told The Washington Times.

“In a case like this, if I was charged with something, I would insist that the forensic evidence be looked at before I would be found guilty. They were looking at really going after him, making an example of him.

“People were kind of second-guessing the soldier in the field in a wartime situation. That to me, personally, upset me for people try to second-guess a soldier who’s in the field facing danger every day, not knowing who is their friend or foe.”
...
“When the remains arrived, I didn’t expect the large crowds of people to [be] present at the mortuary,” Mr. Rodriguez said. “Most were NCIS agents and various representatives of the Marines.

“Prior to the exams, there was much discussion concerning the case, talk of court-martial, prosecution and being guilty. The image that came to my mind … was that of a lynch mob: ‘Let’s make an example of him.’ “

Charles Gittins, the civilian lawyer who represented Mr. Pantano, said it is unusual for a military medical examiner to take on the high command.

“The medical examiner’s letter underscores the fact that [the] government proceeded to murder charges and the hearing without doing their homework,” he said. “For the medical examiner to contact Ilario Pantano demonstrates a concern the doctor had for the political ramifications for the case.”
...
On May 12, 2005, a Marine hearing officer recommended that the Corps drop the murder charges. He said Mr. Pantano’s chief accuser was disgruntled over being demoted within the platoon and repeatedly changed his story.

No autopsy reports were submitted into evidence. Mr. Gittins said he was told that it was too dangerous for Navy investigators to try to exhume the bodies.

After the hearing verdict jolted and embarrassed the high command, things changed. The military won approval from the wives and village elders and dug up the remains.
And found the accuser lied. Repeatedly, and under oath. Which, if this so-called 'investigators' had done their friggin' jobs, would have been known a long time ago. Of course, that would have required the lawyers and politicians in uniform to be more concerned with FINDING THE FACTS instead of doing what they thought would make them popular with the 'right' people...

This kind of shit puts a really nasty stain on the Corps.