Marine weighs plea agreement in killing of 24 Iraqis

Reporting from Camp Pendleton -- Last night might have been the most stressful of Staff Sgt. Frank Wuterich’s life since he became a defendant in arguably the largest war-crime case from the Iraq war: the killing of 24 unarmed civilians by Marines in the Euphrates River town of Haditha in 2005.

The 31-year-old native of Meriden, Conn., had to decide whether to take a deal offered by Marine prosecutors or continue fighting for a full acquittal and an honorable discharge.

If he takes a deal, Wuterich could immediately leave the Marine Corps and continue life as a divorced father of three daughters. But it could also come with a kind of discharge that would keep him from being eligible for veterans benefits.

But if he decides to continue fighting the charges against him — manslaughter, assault and dereliction of duty — he could end up with a conviction on one or more of the counts, which would also bring a discharge under less-than-honorable grounds.

Little, if anything, in the first two weeks of the trial suggests that prosecutors are in a strong position to force Wuterich to admit guilt. The case has encountered the kind of problems that led to charges against six other Marines being dropped.

Prosecution witnesses testified that Wuterich followed orders and training in leading his Marines into homes from which they believed a gunman had been firing at them. “He was a great Marine,” retired Sgt. Major Edward Sax said.

It’s not unusual when a trial ends in an agreement for the defendant to admit to a solo charge, a kind of face-saving for prosecutors who, having spent years and considerable resources, suddenly decide to call it quits.

In the Wuterich case, that could include an admission of responsibility for not having been more careful in what he told Marines as they prepared to “clear” houses — for having told them to “shoot first, ask questions later.”

The court is set to convene at 8:30 a.m. Friday.

tony.perry@latimes.com