Arraignment set in Fallujah POW slayings

CAMP PENDLETON, Calif., Dec. 12 (UPI) -- A U.S. Marine will be arraigned next week on a murder charge in connection with the death of prisoners during the battle for Fallujah, the Corps announced.

Sgt. Jermaine Nelson will appear Monday at Camp Pendleton, Calif., to enter a plea to charges of dereliction of duty and unpremeditated murder in the slayings that occurred Nov. 9, 2004, as Marines and insurgents battled in the Iraqi city.

The Marine Corps said in a written statement that the charges were based on evidence developed during an investigation and a military hearing last spring.

Nelson was charged in August with taking part in an incident in which he and two members of his squad allegedly shot four unarmed prisoners. The case has centered on an uncertainty over whom, if anyone, gave an order to kill prisoners amid the heat of battle.

One of the other Marines charged with taking part in the shooting, Jose Luis Nazario, was acquitted in a civilian court earlier this year.