Former Marine Staff Sgt. Jose Luis Nazario walked free from a Riverside courtroom Thursday after a civilian jury acquitted him on charges of killing unarmed detainees four years ago during one of the fierces battles of the Iraq war.
The jury took six hours over two days to find Nazario, 28, innocent of charges that he killed or caused others to kill the four men in Fallujah, Iraq, on Nov. 9, 2004. The verdict left Nazario in tears. His mother, family and friends cried, and spectators applauded so loudly the judge smacked his gavel in a call for order.
“It's been a long, hard year for my family,” Nazario said, standing outside the courtroom. “I need a moment to catch my breath and try to get my life back together.”
The trial broke new legal ground in several ways.
It was the first time a civilian jury has judged whether the actions of a former military service member in combat violated the law of war. And it was a rare case – perhaps unique – of a trial for a killing in which there was no physical evidence of the crime, nor was any specific victim identified.
The case against Nazario rested primarily on the accounts of his former comrades, including two who have been found in contempt of court and now face jail terms for refusing to testify. Other former Marines testified during the five-day trial that they did not see Nazario kill the detainees, but heard the gunshots.
“It's the verdict we hoped and prayed for. It's the verdict we felt was morally correct,” said Joseph Preis, of the law firm Pepper Hamilton in Irvine, one of four lawyers who represented Nazario.
Jury forewoman Ingrid Wicken said the panel of nine women and three men – only one of whom had served in the military – found Nazario not guilty because there was not enough evidence against him.
“I think you don't know what goes on in combat until you are in combat,” said Wicken, who hugged Nazario's sobbing mother, Sandra Montanez, following the verdict.
The charges were filed under a law passed in 2000 to provide a venue for the prosecution of civilians who commit crimes overseas, particularly on military bases.
“This verdict will cause civilian prosecutors in other parts of the country to give pause before filing similar cases,” said Gary Solis, a former military lawyer who is now in the Georgetown School of Law. “I don't believe the law was enacted for the purpose of having civilian jurors assess the conduct of troops under fire during battle.”
The trial was held in Riverside, where Nazario was working as a probationary police officer until his arrest in August 2007. He was subsequently fired.
Preis said Nazario visited the police department immediately after the verdict to see about getting his job back.
“We have every confidence that they'll do the right thing,” Preis said.
This report was compiled from The Associated Press and Union-Tribune staff writer Steve Liewer.
