[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 153 (2007), Part 11]
[House]
[Page 15309]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




  SUPPORTING THE PRESUMPTION OF INNOCENCE FOR ACCUSED CAMP PENDLETON 
                                 TROOPS

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentleman from North Carolina (Mr. Jones) is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mr. JONES of North Carolina. Madam Speaker, only those who have been 
to war can truly understand the hell of war. I have not been to war, 
but I have spoken to those who have served our country in both Iraq and 
Afghanistan. I know enough to understand that those who serve in harm's 
way face grave dangers, and they are under extreme pressure.
  Most of us cannot imagine the stress that those in uniform undergo 
when they have to make a split-second decision whether to fire or be 
fired upon, to kill or be killed.
  In June 2006, seven Marines and one Navy corpsman from Camp Pendleton 
were charged with murder in an April 2006 incident involving the death 
of an Iraqi man. The troops were staking out an intersection while 
looking for insurgents placing explosives along the road.
  The squad of eight is accused of kidnapping the Iraqi man from a 
nearby home, killing him, and then staging the scene to frame him as an 
insurgent planting a bomb.
  Four of the troops struck plea deals and received sentences of 21 
months or less in exchange for their testimony against their squad 
mates. One of the troops also pled guilty to lesser charges but 
received an 8-year sentence. The three remaining Marines all face 
courts martial this summer and life in prison if convicted of 
premeditated murder.
  One of these three Marines is a constituent of Congressman Bill 
Delahunt, who brought the details of this case to my attention.
  Madam Speaker, 3 years ago, I came to this floor night after night to 
speak about what I felt was an unfair prosecution of Lieutenant Ilario 
Pantano, a Marine who was charged with shooting an insurgent in Iraq. 
Not because of my concern, but because the charges against Lieutenant 
Pantano were not justified, the Marine Corps dropped the charges.
  Because of my great respect for the men and women who serve in the 
United States Marine Corps, it is my hope that these Marines will 
receive the due process and justice they deserve as American citizens 
and as heroes.
  President Teddy Roosevelt once said, ``A man who is good enough to 
shed his blood for his country is good enough to be given a square deal 
afterwards. More than that no man is entitled, and less than that no 
man shall have.''
  The same men and women who risk their lives to preserve the rights of 
all American citizens deserve the protection of those same rights. 
Those who fight for justice deserve justice in return.
  Madam Speaker, our military servicemembers, the military family, and 
certainly these Marines, deserve no less.
  And Madam Speaker, with that, I close by saying, God, please continue 
to bless our men and women in uniform and their families, and please, 
God, continue to bless America.

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