Civilian jury to hear Marine shooting case

RIVERSIDE, Calif., Aug. 18 (UPI) -- The U.S. government will be asking a civilian jury to convict a former U.S. serviceman on a charge of manslaughter stemming from a military incident in Iraq.

When the trial begins Tuesday in a federal court in Riverside, Calif., against former Marine Sgt. Jose L. Nazario Jr., for his role in an incident in Fallujah, jurors who may lack a military background will be asked to determine whether action taken on a battlefield was legitimate, the San Diego, Calif.-area North Country Times reported.

Nazario is accused of voluntary manslaughter in the shooting of two captives and allegedly directing squad members to shoot two others Nov. 9, 2004. If convicted he could face up to 10 years in prison.

Twenty Camp Pendleton, Calif., Marines and one sailor have been prosecuted on charges related to unlawful killings in Iraq since the 2003 invasion, but Nazario is the only one to be prosecuted in a civilian court

"To second-guess the mind-set of a young man in the heat of battle four years later, and to put the question in a (civilian court) system that can't even remotely comprehend the battlefield, is shameful for this government," Joseph Preis, one of Nazario's attorneys, told the newspaper.