In The News

Mr. Culp, Mr. Darryl Sharratt and Lance Corporal Justin Sharratt (wrongfully charged with murder) in the Haditha trials), discuss the case with Sean Hannity on FOX network's "Hannity's America".

Mr. Culp and Mr. Litka have represented numerous clients in high-profile, media intensive cases, but have also handled serious cases with quiet discretion when required. Their cases have appeared in nearly every major newspaper and news magazine in the United States including TIME, Newsweek, the New York Times, The Washington Post, the Los Angeles Times, and in hundreds of other newspapers across the nation. They have also appeared live on such broadcast network news outlets as CNN, FOX News, and NPR. The following news stories are representative of the articles that have been published about their cases.

Recent News Stories

P.C. Sacrifice  
By Diana West, Washington Times, April 11, 2008

 This is where pounding outrage over an injustice to an American soldier — who at least deserves the benefit of the doubt — turns to a sickening sense that what has gone wrong here is even bigger than Sgt. Vela's personal tragedy.  It may well be as big as the entire U.S. effort to prevail in Iraq.  Let's go back to the scene of the so-called crime: an area outside Iskandariya, which as recently as last May was Sunni "Triangle of Death" Central.

Well, he was. To the question "why," I can only offer more questions: Is it possible that Evan Vela's Baghdad court martial was all for show? And can his punishment be seen as a sacrificial offering to any of our Iraqi "allies"?

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Will Marine Show Trials End?
By Nathaniel R. Helms, Newsmax, March 30, 2008

The tarnished image of the Marine Corps continues to darken as more trials, more acquittals and more scandals corrode the brightly burnished steel that armors America’s premier fighting force.

Defense attorneys and beleaguered Marines say their cherished Corps’ surprise decision Friday to dismiss criminal charges against a Marine infantryman accused of mass murder at Haditha, Iraq, is just another billboard announcing the troubles plaguing Marine Corps morale today. Loyalty up and down the ranks, the bedrock on which the 232-year old fighting force was built, is under attack.

“First the Corps takes their innocence and then the enemy tries to take their life, and then when they finally come home the government tries to take their freedom,” said James Culp, a military defense lawyer in Austin, Texas, who worked on the Haditha case for more than a year.  “When does it ever end?”

It is an honest question. 

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American Sniper Hung Out to Dry
By Marcia Drezon-Trepler, New York Daily News, March 30, 2008

On elevated ground near Iskandariyah, Iraq, two years later, American snipers faced the same dilemma: kill or release two civilians who had discovered their hideout, Genei Nesir Khudair al-Janabi and his 17-year-old son, Mustafa.  The SEALs and snipers, facing stunningly similar situations, would make radically different choices - with radically different results.

Our military should have told the Iraqi government "that sometimes there are hard choices that have to be made" and that civilians will sometimes be killed, Vela's attorney, James Culp, told me.

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Miscarriage of Justice
By Rick Amato, Washington Times, March 6, 2008

Take the case of another American soldier, 24-year-old PFC Corey Clagett of South Carolina, who was accused of murder in connection with the deaths of three Iraqi insurgents he had taken as prisoners. Despite proclaiming his innocence, his JAG attorney " who was defending her first murder trial -- advised him to plead guilty and not risk life in prison without parole. Corey Clagett is now serving an 18-year sentence at Ft. Leavenworth prison and spending 23 hours each day in solitary confinement.

Newly hired attorney Tim Litka dropped this bombshell: "As I began to research the case of Corey, I discovered something which caused my jaw to hit the table. Prior to Corey pleading guilty, two other soldiers had already taken full responsibility for all three Iraqi deaths. The government knew this, his attorney knew this, everybody knew but him, yet they still accepted his guilty plea. I feel he had the right to be told before entering his guilty plea." The case is gaining bipartisan outrage. Mr. Filner of California donated $500 toward the Clagett legal defense and is arranging for the family to make the trip from South Carolina to Ft. Leavenworth to visit their son, whom they have not seen in over a year. Republican congressional candidate Bob Watkins of California donated $1,000 " and added, "This is a story of due process. This young man chose to defend his country and now he cannot afford to defend himself. It is not right."

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High-Profile News Stories

HADITHA

General Dismisses Charges Against 2 Marines in Haditha Case
Associated Press, August 10, 2007  

All charges have been dismissed against two Marines accused in the killings of 24 Iraqi civilians in Haditha, the Marine Corps announced Thursday.

Lance Cpl. Justin L. Sharratt, 22, of Canonsburg, Pa., was charged with murdering three brothers, and Capt. Randy Stone, 35, a battalion lawyer from Dunkirk, Md., was charged with failing to adequately report and investigate the Nov. 19, 2005, combat action in which women and children were among the dead. Sharratt attorney Culp criticized Naval Criminal Investigative Service agents for their role in the case.

"This was a terrible investigation that was biased from the beginning," Culp said. "This Article 32 could have been avoided if the NCIS had not closed their eyes to every single piece of exculpatory evidence that arose."

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General Drops Charges for Two Marines in Haditha Shootings
By Teri Figueroa, North County Times, August 9, 2007

In dismissing the charges facing Sharratt and Stone, Mattis' written statement noted the realities and brutalities of war.  "The experience of combat is difficult to understand intellectually and very difficult to appreciate emotionally," the statement reads. "Where the enemy disregards any attempt to comply with ethical norms of warfare, we exercise discipline and restraint to protect the innocent caught on the battlefield. Our way is right, but it is also difficult." Sharratt's attorney Culp said that Mattis' decision was welcome, and his client is "speechless."

"You have to put yourself in his position. He survived Fallujah. He survived close quarters combat in Haditha. He survived this prosecution," the East Coast-based Culp said in a phone conversation Thursday morning. "I don't know that he will be able to have a clear thought on this for a long time."

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A day when death is on the minds of many at base
A memorial for eight Marines follows final arguments in a hearing on alleged murders.
By Tony Perry, The LA Times, June 16, 2007

The accusations against Sharratt are part of the largest case of alleged war atrocities levied against U.S. troops in Iraq and Afghanistan: Four officers and three enlisted Marines, all from the 3rd Battalion, 1st Regiment, are accused in the killings of 24 civilians in Haditha. After prosecutors made their final pitch to have the case against Sharratt go to court-martial, hearing officer Lt. Col. Paul Ware said he was strongly leaning against making such a recommendation. 

The five-day Article 32 hearing was rife with disagreements about forensic evidence, various witnesses' credibility and the thoroughness of the investigators' work.  But there was one point that prosecutors, defense attorneys and the hearing officer agreed on. No one at the memorial service would have argued about it either.  "Sir," defense attorney James Culp told Ware, "people die in war."

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Hearing Officer:  Evidence Does Not Support Murder Case
By Mark Walker, North County Times, June 15, 2007

Defense attorney James Culp centered his summation, which is similar to a closing argument, on the forensic evidence, saying it fully supports Sharratt's account.

The Marine told Ware on Thursday that he emptied his 9mm pistol in the process of shooting the three men. When his clip was emptied, Wuterich followed into the room, shooting a fourth man with his M-16 rifle.

"The most important element is the forensics," Culp said. "The evidence completely corroborates Lance Cpl. Sharratt's story."  Culp also suggested that the prosecution of his client is colored by politics surrounding the civilian deaths in Haditha, which generated worldwide condemnation when first reported by Time magazine in March 2006.

Until then, the Marine Corps maintained the civilians died when caught up in a bombing and in crossfire from a small arms attack on the troops.  "This is a new kind of war, and this case is a result of the new kind of warfare," Culp said, referring to insurgents who do not wear uniforms and mix within the civilian population. "There's also politics involved here, and the politics of the war is tearing at this nation."

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U.S. Inquiry Hampered By Violence
By Paul Von Zielbauer, New York Times, June 13, 2007

Two naval investigators testified at a military hearing here on Tuesday that their inquiry into allegations that marines killed 24 Iraqi civilians in Haditha in 2005 was hampered by insurgent bombs and gunfire as well as the absence of basic equipment like tape recorders.

Nayda Mannle, a special agent with the Naval Criminal Investigative Service, said she had conducted a hurried group interview of six relatives of the men killed three months earlier, rapidly jotting notes of the translation of their overlapping responses as American troops stood outside, ready to fend off any attack by enemy fighters.

James D. Culp, a civilian lawyer defending Corporal Sharratt, suggested that group interviews had been “contradictory to everything you have been taught.” Ms. Mannle said she did not have time to conduct separate interviews or review her notes before the marines said it was time to leave.  She did not record the interview, she said, because she could not find a recorder, but when pressed by Mr. Culp, she said she never sought to buy one from the post exchange.

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ISKANDARIYA

Idaho Politicians Calling for Clemency for Local Soldier Convicted of Murder
Associated Press, April 5, 2008

Two Idaho politicians are calling for clemency for a local soldier who was court marshaled and convicted of murder without premeditation.  Senator Mike Crapo and Representative Mike Simpson have each written letters to Major General Rick Lynch on behalf of Sergeant Evan Vela of St. Anthony.

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G.I. Gets 10-Year Sentence in Killing of Unarmed Iraqi
By Solomon Moore, The New York Times, February 11, 2008  

“An armed warrior who operates in the backyard of the enemy without sleep is an accident waiting to happen,” Mr. Culp said. “These men were extremely sleep deprived. No one was thinking clearly; no one was acting clearly. You couldn’t expect anything reasonable from these men anymore.”

Sergeant Vela’s adoptive father, Curtis Carnahan, and the sergeant’s wife described a compassionate family man who had never used violence until he became so proficient at it in Iraq. Sergeant Vela used his father’s surname until he joined the military.

Sgt. Anthony G. Murphy, a member of Sergeant Vela’s sniper team and his best friend, said they had gone on at least 45 combat missions together and had been shot at five times.  “It’s a terrible war out there,” Sergeant Murphy said. “And you have to make tough decisions.  This war doesn’t provide that luxury to be perfect.”

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Murder Verdict in Iraq: Sleepless but Guilty
By Jim Frederick, TIME, February 10, 2008

Despite his best efforts to remain vigilant, Vela fell asleep during his one-hour turn guarding the others.  He was awakened by Al-Janabi who had somehow gotten into their hideout and was standing just a few feet from him.  Some of the men were so exhausted that they were difficult to rouse, even when told their position had been compromised.  Once Hensley awoke and processed the seriousness of the situation, he took charge, pinning the man to the ground and searching him.  The men spotted Al-Janabi's 15-year-old son nearby and gestured him into the hideout.  Soon after, however, Hensley ordered everyone but Vela out of the hideout and released the boy.  "I just sat there, in a kind of daze, with my pistol propped on my knee," Vela told the court.  Then, Vela testified, Henlsey moved out of the way and said shoot.  Vela did.  But, said Vela, his response was a reflex and not a conscious decision. "I don't remember pulling the trigger," he said. "It took me a while to figure out that the shot had come from the pistol in my hand."

During closing arguments, Culp recapped several issues introduced during the trial that he said called the murder charge into doubt.  He emphasized a medical expert's testimony about just how dangerous extended sleeplessness can be.  In one study he cited, test subjects whose blood alcohol level was .05 performed better at a driving simulator than those who had been kept awake for 24 hours.  And cognitive function and memory retention declines exponentially as one day without sleep stretches into two and then three.  "This is the elephant in the room," Culp said.  "How completely, utterly, totally sleep deprived these men were.  This killing was not murder, but a horrible accident committed by a severely impaired soldier."

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G.I. Tells of Ordering Unarmed Iraqi’s Death
By Solomon Moore, The New York Times, February 9, 2008

Sergeant Vela’s lawyer, James Culp, of Austin, Tex., did not dispute that his client had shot and killed Mr. Janabi, but emphasized the battlefield stresses the soldiers endured. Mr. Culp argued that Sergeant Vela had had only a few hours of sleep over three days of constant operations.

Mr. Culp also said his client’s superiors pressed his squad to increase their kill rate, while holding out the threat of prosecution for unjust shootings.

“It’s not a case of beyond reasonable doubt,” Mr. Culp said in an interview after Friday’s proceeding. “It’s about giving warriors the benefit of the doubt.” 

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Murder or Exhaustion in Iraq
By Jim Frederick, TIME, February 8, 2008

A trial unfolding in a makeshift courthouse in a dusty corner of the U.S. Army's main Baghdad base camp complex is demonstrating in stark and dramatic terms just how far some American soldiers are being pushed on the battlefield, just how doggedly the Army is willing to pursue serious alleged crimes like murder — and just how interested the Iraqi government is in the process.

As the first day of testimony in what is expected to be a four day trial kicked off on Friday before an eight-person jury of both officers and enlisted soldiers, Vela's civilian defense attorney James Culp argued that his client was not guilty of murdering Genei Nesir Khudair Al-Janabi because, at the time Vela pulled the trigger, he was so sleep-deprived and dehydrated after four days of non-stop battlefield action that he was neither in control of his actions nor fully aware of what he was doing. "It was a terrible accident," Culp said outside the courtroom during a recess, "but Evan didn't intentionally shoot anyone."

Iraq's Minister of Human Rights, Wijdan Mikhail Salim, however, does not see the case as either a justified kill or a horrific accident by an exhaustion-impaired soldier. She was attending today's proceedings, she told TIME, because, "I want to be sure that any American soldier who wrongs an Iraqi will go on trial. [Vela] killed an Iraqi man, an unarmed man. He must be punished."

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Sniper Accused of Murder Disputes Statements
By Ned Parker, The Los Angeles Times, December 8, 2007

According to court testimony and interviews, Vela's sniper unit was revamped in spring after the 1st Battalion of the 25th Infantry Division's 501st Regiment suffered a number of casualties in the Jurf Sakhar region. By June, as many as 20 soldiers had been killed.  In an interview, the unit's leader, Sgt. Michael S. Hensley, who was acquitted of murder charges, said that Sgt. Maj. Bernie Knight brought him in to get more kills.

"The reason I am doing this is I want to start killing some bad guys, I want to increase our kill ratio," Hensley said Knight told him.

Hensley said he agreed on the condition that he would run the section by himself and report directly to the battalion commander. The unit expanded from seven to 13 men. Knight and Lt. Col. Robert Balcavage pushed the soldiers to become more aggressive, Hensley said. "Balcavage and Knight, they would throw out their things like, 'You guys don't need to worry if you feel threatened for a second, don't hesitate to engage.' "

Knight and Balcavage refused to comment for this article. Their commander, Col. Michael Garrett, said they had done nothing wrong. "We were all under pressure fighting an elusive enemy," he said.

"To get me to make a statement, they threatened me that I would never see my family again. After I made the statement, CID actually sat down at the computer and changed my statement without me knowing it," Vela said in an unsworn statement at a hearing last month to determine whether his case would go to trial.

Vela was held for 30 days in Kuwait without seeing a court-appointed lawyer, who then recommended by phone that Vela waive his right to an Article 32 hearing, the equivalent of a grand jury, to determine whether the case should go to court-martial.

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Sniper Team Tells of Pressure From Above
By Ned Parker, The Los Angeles Times, October 5, 2007

Here they were, hardened combat soldiers, grounded on a military base far from the palm groves, canals and marshes where they once prowled.

But at least for a moment this week, they were still the Painted Demons, the elite sniper unit that struck fear in the so-called triangle of death south of Baghdad. That couldn't be taken away: not by breaking them up, as the Army had done, and not even by the murder trials of three of their members at Camp Victory.

They surrounded Sgt. Evan Vela, whose preliminary hearing on murder charges began Sunday morning. Vela, a stocky 23-year-old, bear-hugged them, smiling and laughing. He looked nothing like the man who had broken down on the witness stand days before, at the trial of a fellow sniper.

"Our government is asking our soldiers and Marines to make morally bruising decisions under the most horrific conditions imaginable," Culp added.  "When the government doesn't like the results, they isolate and vilify the soldier while hiding behind security clearances, classifications and unreasonable expectations."

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In Iraq, A Perilous Alliance With Former Enemies
By Sudarsan Raghaven, The Washington Post, August 4, 2007

U.S. commanders are offering large sums to enlist, at breakneck pace, their former enemies, handing them broad security powers in a risky effort to tame this fractious area south of Baghdad in Babil province and, literally, buy time for national reconciliation.

American generals insist they are not creating militias. In contracts with the U.S. military, the sheiks are referred to as "security contractors." Each of their "guards" will receive 70 percent of an Iraqi policeman's salary. U.S. commanders call them "concerned citizens," evoking suburban neighborhood watch groups.

"Officially, we will not deal with those who have American blood on their hands," said Balcavage, 42. "But how do you know? You don't. There's a degree of risk involved. A lot of it is gut instinct. That's what I'm going on. They didn't teach me how to do this at West Point."

The Jenabi splintered. Some sided with the al-Qaeda in Iraq fighters out of fear. Others joined because they wanted to isolate themselves from the region's Shiites and their militias. Those who refused to align were targeted, often by their own tribesmen. "The Jenabi tribe, the problem they're having is that the al-Qaeda is them," Balcavage said.

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RAMADI

Killing by Guardsman in Iraq Called Appropriate
By Josh White, The Washington Post, July 22, 2006

An investigating officer in Baghdad has recommended that commanders drop voluntary manslaughter and conspiracy charges against a Pennsylvania National Guard soldier after determining that he followed appropriate rules of engagement when he killed an Iraqi man in the insurgent stronghold of Ramadi in February.

"It is very rare for an Article 32 investigating officer to recommend the dismissal of all charges against an accused," Culp said yesterday. "The charges against Specialist Lynn were very serious. The investigating officer's well-grounded recommendation in Specialist Lynn's case demonstrates the Uniform Code of Military Justice at its best."

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In Baghdad, a Courtroom for U.S. Troops
By Paul Von Zielbauer, New York Times, June 22, 2006

In a musty courtroom overlooking a weed-choked lake created on orders from Saddam Hussein, Specialist Nathan B. Lynn and Sgt. Milton Ortiz Jr. sat quietly in a military hearing known as an Article 32, accused of crimes against two Iraqi citizens.

Specialist Lynn denied both the manslaughter and conspiracy charges. He said that he had spotted Mr. Zaben emerging from bushes carrying an automatic rifle in the "low ready" position and that he had fired at him. He said he had nothing to do with a scheme to plant a weapon near Mr. Zaben's body.

Specialist Lynn's military lawyer, Capt. James D. Culp, said Article 32 hearings rarely resulted in recommendations for dismissal of serious charges like manslaughter, although he called it appropriate in this case. "It showed that the military justice system does work," he said.

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U.S. military clears soldier of killing Iraqi
Pa. Guardsman had been accused of murder, cover-up in Ramadi
By Reuters, MSNBC, July 23, 2006

Charges were brought against Lynn last month at a time when several murder investigations into U.S. troops in Iraq have prompted questions about their behavior and complaints from the new Iraqi government about a culture of impunity among soldiers.

“The commander ... has withdrawn ... the charges,” a military spokesman said on Saturday. “He is now authorized to rejoin his unit in Pennsylvania.” Lynn, a 21-year-old Pennsylvania National Guardsman, was accused of voluntary manslaughter and conspiracy to obstruct justice over the death of Gani Ahmed Zaben during a raid on a suspect’s house in the western city of Ramadi on Feb. 15. 

“I am very pleased that Specialist Lynn was vindicated this early in the process,” his military counsel, Captain Jim Culp, told Reuters. 

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SERGEANT CHARLES JENKINS

From Hell With Love
By Jim Frederick, TIME, October 17, 2005

Knowing how badly my wife missed Japan, it wasn't long after we were married that I asked her what the Japanese word for "good night" was. Thereafter, every night before we went to bed, I would kiss her three times, and tell her "Oyasumi." Then she would say back to me, "Good night," in English. It became a ritual from which we never varied. We always wished each other a pleasant night's sleep in the other's native language. We did this so we would never forget who we really were and where we came from. Even though we were in love and thankful to be together, we did this to remind ourselves that this place was not really our home, and that no matter what happened, she was still Japanese, and I was still American.

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In From the Cold
By Jim Frederick, TIME, December 5, 2004

During a day of dramatic testimony on Nov. 3, veteran defense lawyer Captain Jim Culp, himself a former infantry sergeant, argued that Jenkins shouldn't do time. Culp presented his client as a broken man who had suffered so severely under North Korea's brutal regime that compassion could only dictate he had already paid for his crimes. Colonel Denise Vowell, the Army's chief judge, apparently agreed. She recommended to the commander of the U.S. Army Japan that the 30-day sentence be suspended for clemency's sake. The commander, Major General Elbert Perkins, ignored the suggestion, although according to standard Army confinement rules, Jenkins' sentence was ultimately reduced by five days for good behavior. "I have made my peace with the U.S. Army," Jenkins said after his release, "and they have treated me very fairly.

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The Long Mistake
By Jim Frederick, TIME, November 4, 2004

In his closing arguments, prosecuting attorney Captain Seth Cohen argued for stern justice, asserting that being a good husband and father was irrelevant to this case. "The bond between a noncommissioned officer and his soldiers is a sacred bond," he maintained, "more sacred perhaps than the bond of marriage." Cohen accused Jenkins of a "deliberate, selfish and despicable act."

In his closing arguments, Culp called Jenkins "America's prodigal son." "Like the Bible story we all know so well," said Culp, "Jenkins took his treasure, in this case, his freedom, and squandered it." But given the first realistic opportunity, Culp maintained, Jenkins returned, to repent and face justice. At the end of the day, and a 40-year journey, Jenkins appeared to be closer to his and his wife's publicly declared desire that he be allowed to live out the rest of his years on Soga's home island of Sado. As he was whisked away by helicopter to begin his confinement at nearby Yokosuka Naval Base, he was one step closer to achieving that dream.

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U.S. Deserter:  Sentence is Fair
By Eric Talmage, Associated Press, November 4, 2004

Former U.S. Army Sgt. Charles Jenkins believes his conviction and sentence to 30 days in jail for desertion after nearly 40 years in North Korea is "very fair," his defense attorney told The Associated Press on Thursday.

Bringing one of the Army's longest desertion cases to a close, Jenkins, now 64 and in poor health, pleaded guilty Wednesday to abandoning his unit early in 1965 and to then aiding the enemy by teaching English to North Korean military officer cadets.

"Sgt. Jenkins and his family believe the sentence was very fair," Capt. James Culp told The Associated Press in an interview.

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Justice Appears Near for Jenkins in Sensitive Desertion Case
U.S. Army Sergeant, Accused of Fleeing in 1965 To North Korea, May Have Struck a Deal
By Donald Greenlees and Jeremy Kirk, Wall Street Journal, October 4, 2004

Sgt. Jenkins has remained tight-lipped about the circumstances of his disappearance. In an exclusive interview with the Review in August, he said he wanted to turn himself in to the military, reunite his family and "clear my conscience.

According to a record of an interview with the Japanese diplomatic mission, published by the Kyodo News Agency in October 2002, Ms. Soga disclosed details of how she was stuffed in a sack and kidnapped from her village by North Korean agents in 1978. Brought to North Korea to train spies in Japanese language and customs, Ms. Soga met and Sgt. married Jenkins in 1980.

Since Sgt. Jenkins's voluntary surrender to the military, he has been on active duty, wearing a uniform and reporting for duty as an administrative assistant. He has been living on the army base with Ms. Soga and daughters Mika, 21, and Brinda, 19. The aim of any plea bargain negotiated by his defense attorney, Capt. Culp, would be to ensure Sgt. Jenkins is either released or that he serves only minimal jail time.

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Four Decades in North Korea
By Jeremy Kirk, Far Eastern Economic Review, September 9, 2004

From 1965 to 1972, on the other side of the DMZ, Jenkins shared a harsh life with three other alleged U.S. Army defectors: Pfc. James Joseph Dresnok, Pvt. Larry Allen Abshier and Cpl. Jerry Wayne Parrish. "At first the four of us lived in one house, one room, very small, no beds--we had to sleep on the floor," Jenkins says. "There was no running water. We had to carry water approximately 200 meters up the hill. And the water was river water." According to Jenkins' discharge request, which was written on his behalf by his military attorney, Capt. James D. Culp, Jenkins and the three other men tried to escape. "In 1966, Sgt. Jenkins even risked his life to leave North Korea by going to the Russian embassy and requesting asylum. Obviously, the Russian government denied the request. That leaves him to face his next challenge: a possible court martial. His lawyer, Culp, says Jenkins can offer details about the use of foreign nationals in the North Korean spy programme. The request for a discharge asserts that Jenkins can confirm that "a number of Americans were used, most often unwillingly, by North Korea to arm spies with English-speaking skills so they could target American interests in South Korea and beyond."

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Still Out in the Cold
By Richard Jerome, Leah Eskin, Bonnie Bell and Andrew Marton, People Magazine, April 15, 1996

In contrast, Charles Jenkins earned "excellent conduct and efficiency ratings," according to the Army. Growing up in tiny Rich Square, N.C. (pop. 1,000), the red-haired, freckled Jenkins was one of seven children born to Clifton and Pattie Jenkins (his father died when he was 13). A poor student, he was kept back at least twice in elementary school.  Recalls Jenkins's classmate Mary Leggett, 53, a homemaker: "He was just a good ole country boy who clearly came from a good, hard-working country family." Jenkins joined the National Guard in 1955 and three years later enlisted in the Army. "The last time I saw him, he had come home for Christmas in 1964," says Wayne Pope, 51, a classmate. "He kept saying that we would never see him again."

Days later, on Jan. 5, 1965, Jenkins, by then a sergeant, was leading a four-man night patrol just south of the DMZ. Around 2:30 a.m., he disappeared. Like Parrish, he left behind a short note. "Dear Mother, I am sorry for the trouble I will cause you..." it began.

Those were Jenkins's last words to his family.

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MAHMUDIYAH

U.S. Soldier Pleads Guilty in Iraqi Rape and Murder Case
By Ryan Lenz, New York Times, November 23, 2006

One of four U.S. soldiers accused of raping a 14-year-old Iraqi girl last spring and killing her and her family pleaded guilty Wednesday and agreed to testify against the others.

Barker, who sat beside his military attorney Cpt. James Culp, told the judge that Green approached him with the plan to attack the family while they were drinking whiskey purchased from Iraqi Army soldiers.  Barker described changing then climbing through backyards as the five left the checkpoint to commit the attack. "I hated Iraqis, your honor," Barker answered. "They can smile at you, then shoot you in  your face without even thinking about it." The soldiers were stationed in a violent area south of Baghdad known as the "Triangle of Death" because of frequent attacks on soldiers patrolling the roads.  Soldiers in Barker's unit, the 502nd Infantry Regiment, were often asked to spend weeks manning remote checkpoints, where several from the unit died. Green was discharged from the Army for a "personality disorder" before the allegations became known, and prosecutors have yet to say if they will pursue the death penalty against him.

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Investigator Recommends Court Martial for 4 Soldiers
By Paul von Zielbauer, New York Times, September 4, 2006

In his recommendation, Col. Dwight D. Warren agreed with military prosecutors that “reasonable grounds exist to believe that each accused committed the offense for which he is charged,” including premeditated murder, which under the Uniform Code of Military Justice could be punishable by death. Defense lawyers said they would file objections to the recommendation, which goes to a convening authority that will decide whether to follow it. Colonel Warren is the investigator in the case, and presided over the initial hearing in the case last month to determine whether enough evidence existed to recommend a court-martial. Prosecutors have told defense lawyers that they intend to pursue the death penalty, said Capt. James D. Culp, a lawyer for Specialist Barker.

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Prosecutors Shun Excuses for Accused G.I.s
By Charles J. Hanley, Associated Press, August 8, 2006

"You're just walking a death walk," Pfc. Justin Cross told a hearing to determine whether five fellow soldiers must stand trial in the March 12 attack near Mahmoudiya. Testimony during the Article 32 hearing, the military equivalent of a grand jury, has painted a picture of a demoralized unit, drained emotionally after the deaths of comrades and exhausted after the frequent attacks in the mostly Sunni Arab area, a stronghold of al-Qaida in Iraq and other religious extremists. "It drives you nuts. You feel like every step you might get blown up," Cross told the hearing. "You just hit a point where you're like, 'If I die today, I die.'" Cross said the unit was "full of despair," and he feared dying at his post before he could go home. "It might influence whether it's sent to trial as a capital case," he told The Associated Press. "That may be what the defense considers the main event here... They may be hoping to have the nature of the charges modified, have the case go to trial as something other than premeditated murder."

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G.I. Crime Photos May Be Evidence
By Robert F. Worth and Carolyn Marshall, New York Times, August 5, 2006

“I know none of that would have happened if he was around,” the sergeant said of the squad leader. At least one staff sergeant in the unit repeatedly complained that checkpoints were under-manned, said David P. Sheldon and Capt. James D. Culp, lawyers who represent Specialist James P. Barker, one of the accused men. He and Pfc. Jesse V. Spielman, Pfc. Bryan L. Howard and Sgt. Paul E. Cortez have been accused of rape, murder and arson. The fifth soldier in the hearing, Sgt. Anthony W. Yribe, is accused of dereliction of duty for not reporting the crime, but he is not thought to have been at the house. Mr. Green is being tried in civilian criminal court. Even relatives back home knew the men were stretched. Pfc. Shane Hoeck, a soldier in the unit, shared his worries with his brother Cody, 16, in frequent e-mail messages. "They lost so many guys they don’t have enough manpower to cover things,” Cody Hoeck said in a telephone interview.

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TIKRIT

Soldier Gets 18 Years for Detainee Murder
By Ryan Lenz, Associated Press, January 25, 2007

A 101st Airborne Division soldier was sentenced to 18 years in prison after pleading guilty Thursday to murdering an Iraqi detainee and taking part in the killings of two others, saying he went along with a plan to make it look like they were escaping. Pfc. Corey R. Clagett, 22, was one of four soldiers from the division's 3rd Brigade "Rakkasans" who were accused in the detainees' deaths during a May 9 raid on the Muthana chemical complex in Samarra, about 60 miles north of Baghdad. "(Sgt. Girouard) said we were going to cut the zip ties loose and kill the detainees," Clagett told the military judge, Col. Theodore Dixon, on Thursday. "I knew it was an unlawful order. I just went along with it." "My client was 100 percent convinced at all times that the individuals that were killed were terrorists," Bergrin told reporters after the sentencing. "His heart is bleeding that he can no longer serve his country."

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4 G.I.s Tell of How Raid Went Wrong
By Paul von Zielbauer, New York Times, August 7, 2006

What happened in the minutes before and after the three Iraqis were shot on May 9 are at the core of the military’s case against Specialist Graber and three other members of the Company C, Third Brigade, 187th Infantry of the 101st Airborne Division. All four soldiers have been charged with murder. All have denied any wrongdoing. Several soldiers have said in sworn statements or testimony at the hearing that senior officers, including the Third Brigade commander, Col. Michael Steele, told them in a gathering the night before the raid to kill any military-age male they encountered on the island, where 20 fighters loyal to Al Qaeda were thought to be. An Army special investigator is weighing what punishment, if any, to recommend to the 101st Airborne commander, Maj. Gen. Thomas R. Turner. If their cases proceed to courts-martial, they could be sentenced to life in prison if convicted.

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G.I.s Say Officers Ordered Killings of Young Iraqi Men
By Paul von Zielbauer, New York Times, August 3, 2006

Four American soldiers from an Army combat unit that killed three Iraqis in a raid in May testified Wednesday that they had received orders from superior officers to kill all the military-age men they encountered. The soldiers gave their accounts at a military hearing here to determine if four colleagues should face courts-martial on charges that they carried out a plan to murder the three Iraqis, whom they had seized after an assault on what they were told was an insurgent stronghold northwest of Baghdad. Three other soldiers gave similar testimony. First Lt. Justin Werheim said Colonel Steele had told 100 soldiers before the raid, “We’re going to hit the ground shooting and kill all the Al Qaeda in Iraq insurgents.” Under cross-examination, Pfc. Jason R. Joseph said Company C soldiers had been told that their rules of engagement were to “kill all military-age males that were not actively surrendering.”

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JALALABAD

Marines Dispute Accounts of Excessive Force in Afghans’ Deaths
By Paul von Zielbauer, New York Times, September 5, 2007

But as a Marine general is mulling whether to bring charges against a handful of the 30 Americans involved in the episode, lawyers for two of the marines, including a company commander riding in the convoy, are disputing the official military and Afghan descriptions of their actions that morning. In interviews with The New York Times, the lawyers offered the first public account by the marines, giving what amounts to a preview of any legal defense. They said that their clients and other platoon members had responded appropriately to what they described as continual small-arms fire after the bombing, and that they had fired only at people who had fired at them first or posed a legitimate threat under the unit’s rules of engagement. Mr. Culp’s client a Sergeant Brooks whose full name has not been made public killed only people who fired first, he said. Mr. Waple said that Major Galvin did not fire his weapon during the attack and that he would probably not be charged. “There was a firefight that took place between gunners and people,” as the convoy idled in the road, Mr. Culp said. He said his client did not fire on or kill civilians, but that “he did intentionally kill individuals who were firing at his position, primarily from vehicles to the southwest.”

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Marines Probed in Afghan Civilian Deaths
By Tom Bowman, National Public Radio, May 29, 2007

The U.S. military is investigating the deaths of 19 Afghans including women and children after an attack on a Marine convoy outside Jalalabad in March. There's one fact everyone agrees on: The Marine unit was attacked by a suicide car bomber. But there's a dispute about what happened next. James Culp, a lawyer for one of the Marines, says insurgents attacked: "There were several insurgents, Taliban members, Afghan males that were firing in the direction of the vehicles," Culp says. Culp won't reveal his client's name, other than to say he's a Marine sergeant in his late 20s who also served a tour in Iraq. He says the man he's representing was part of an elite unit two dozen Marines in all who rode in that convoy. Culp says his client was careful only to shoot those who were a threat. "My client did not shoot women or children," he says.

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Congressman Tells Army: Stop MARSOC Comments
By Trista Talton, Marine Corps Times, May 18, 2007

A congressman has asked the secretary of the Army to prohibit Army officials from making public comments about special operations Marines involved in an attack in Afghanistan until the investigation is complete. Rep. Walter Jones, R-N.C., also called for an apology in the letter he sent May 14 to Acting Army Secretary Pete Geren. “As secretary of the Army, your responsibility is to ensure that your subordinates disseminate the proper information to the press, especially if it involves another branch of the armed forces,” Jones wrote. “Not only has the presumption of innocence been discarded, but the reputation of these Marines may be maligned.” A call to the Army secretary’s office was not returned Wednesday. The Naval Criminal Investigative Service is investigating the March 4 incident, in which a Marine convoy was struck by a car bomb.

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Other News Stories

Staff sergeant acquitted of rape in Okinawa court-martial
GI gets 90 days, reduction in rank for adultery, break-in
By David Allen, Stars and Stripes, December 15, 2005

“Her behavior is not consistent,” Culp said during his closing argument. “You don’t go to the room of the person who raped you to use his computer. Was that the only computer on the whole installation?” Culp also argued that the woman’s testimony Monday was inconsistent. She said she had not danced provocatively at a party in Stanfield’s room the night of the first incident but several soldiers testified they saw her perform a split on Stanfield’s bedroom floor and one witness said he saw her rub herself suggestively with a beer bottle.

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Private testifies to being raped at Tori Station by staff sergeant
By David Allen, Stars and Stripes, December 14, 2005

Stanfield did not testify. In a signed statement made to an investigator, he said the May 21 encounter was consensual but that he crept through the window on June 3 without intending to have sex. “We just sat there and talked,” he told Special Agent Greg Nix. “And then it just happened.” Nix said Stanfield was “very cooperative, open and friendly,” during the interrogation. “He told me he talked to her and was hoping to have sex.” Lead defense attorney James Culp attacked Nix’s testimony, asking why it was not noted on his report that Stanfield at first denied all of the allegations and only signed a statement after being interrogated for over an hour.

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GI on Okinawa found guilty of adultery, but cleared of rape
Soldier demoted but allowed to remain in the Army
By David Allen, Stars and Stripes, December 11, 2005

Capt. James Culp, lead defense attorney, said the prosecution’s case consisted of “stories that hover between those inspired by actual events and fantasy.” But none were true, he argued. Culp said the most serious charge, the Kadena rape, was consensual, initiated by Bonilla’s accuser — who was drinking with him the night before. He also shrugged off prosecution claims the woman was so scared when Bonilla was inside her home that she failed to call for help, even after he fell asleep in her bed.

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Testimony of soldier’s accuser undergoes strict scrutiny
By David Allen, Stars and Stripes, December 10, 2005

Army Capt. James Culp, lead defense attorney, countered that the family’s aggressive, 100-pound Rottweiler neither barked nor attacked the intruder; nor did the woman phone anyone. Also after the incident, she dressed, left the house, walked her son in his stroller for a half hour, then returned with no assurance Bonilla was gone, Culp said. Culp argued that the sex was consensual and the dog did not attack because the woman let Bonilla into the house. Also, he said, she did not report the incident until May, when she learned Bonilla was to be court-martialed for attempting to rape another specialist during a Hokkaido exercise in February.

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‘Desperate husband’ tale unfolds in Camp Foster
By David Allen, Stars and Stripes, December 9, 2005

Lead defense counsel Capt. James Culp characterized the charges as a “tree of lies” in his opening statement. “This case is about a whole bunch of fiction,” he said. “What you end up with is three good stories based upon false statements.” The “lie seed,” Culp said, was an accusation that Bonilla tried to rape another Army specialist on Feb. 1 while deployed to Camp Higashi-Chitose in Hokkaido. The woman, 30, testified Bonilla groped her in the stairwell of the barracks they were staying in and fondled her while masturbating.

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Yongsan Staff Sergeant Found Not Guilty of Rape Charges
By T.D. Flack, Stars and Stripes, October 28, 2005

Defense attorneys argued the woman who accused Pailen of rape did so because she feared her relationship with the accused would come to light during the court-martial and she would get in trouble. During closing arguments, prosecuting attorney Capt. Rochelle Howard, co-counsel with Capt. J.P. Leary, asked the jury if they really believed the victim lied about being raped because she was afraid she would face punishment. “Who has the greater motivation to lie?” she asked. Capt. C. Jack Marks, who with Capt. James Culp defended Pailen, argued the woman — who had heard junior soldiers were getting in trouble in similar cases — fabricated the rape to protect her career.

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Court Martial of Staff Sergeant Accused of Rape Begins
By T.D. Flack, Stars and Stripes, October 27, 2005

A nine-member jury heard a day of "he-said, she-said" testimony during the rape court-martial of Staff Sgt. Nathaniel W. Pailen, which began Tuesday. Defense attorney Capt. James Culp compared the case to an onion that looks good but when you "start pulling away layers, it stinks." He questioned the woman about inconsistencies among Tuesday's testimony, her official written statements and her testimony in an earlier hearing. He also asked if it occurred to her to tell Pailen to stop having sex with her as soon as he began. "No," she replied.

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Yongsan MP Gets 9 Months, Discharge for Sex Assault
But Soldier Acquitted of Rape Charge
By T.D. Flack, Stars and Stripes, October 23, 2005

Defense attorneys Capt. C. Jack Marks and Capt. James Culp told the court their client was a soldier who simply made a mistake. “No one was saying ‘sex’ except Sgt. Fleming,” she said. And “how could she consent if she physically cannot even take care of herself?” Howard asked.  “He took care of her to the point where he could take advantage of her,” she said. Culp argued that jurors only have to read his client’s CID statement.  “It screams the truth,” Culp said.  He said Fleming, who continued to drink that night, made a bad decision to be in the room with the victim.  “It was stupid but that doesn’t make him a criminal,” he said. Culp also was critical of the victim’s testimony, pointing out repeated answers of “I don’t know.” “This case is about two lonely, drunk people who engaged in stupid, intimate activity,” he said.

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Chain of Events Questioned as Rape Trial Begins at Yongsan
By T.D. Flack, Stars and Stripes, October 22, 2005

She said he continued to say nothing had occurred but the kissing. The woman stated she knew he was lying but didn’t “want to be part of ruining a baby’s life.” “Basically he made me feel like a cheap whore” by lying about what happened, she said. Defense attorney Capt. James Culp, co-defending with Capt. C. Jack Marks, attacked apparent differences among Thursday’s testimony, testimony during the case’s Article 32 hearing and CID reports. Culp keyed on the fact that in early CID statements, the woman stated remembering kissing Fleming. “I couldn’t have said that, sir,” she replied to repeated questions. Under Culp’s questioning, she also stated that while passed out her attempts at saying “no” might have been mistaken for a “moaning sound.”

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