Charge against Marine sniper maybe dropped

NCT:

A hearing officer is recommending dropping manslaughter charges against a Marine sniper who killed two men in Iraq he believed were planting a roadside bomb.

Instead, the hearing officer is recommending that Sgt. John "Johnny" Winnick II of San Diego face a less severe "non-judicial" punishment on a charge of dereliction of duty for failing to strictly adhere to the military's rules of engagement.

"I recommend that the remaining charges be withdrawn," the hearing officer, Capt. Jeffery King, wrote in his report to Camp Pendleton's Lt. Gen. Samuel Helland, who can accept or reject the advice.

Winnick's actions were the subject of a two-day hearing at Camp Pendleton earlier this month. At its conclusion, the veteran of four Iraq deployments told King he believed the men he killed in the Anbar province in June 2007 were insurgents and that he shot them in order to protect his fellow troops.

"I didn't want them to end up like other Marines I have seen," the 2002 graduate of Del Mar's Winston High School told King during a hearing at Camp Pendleton on July 2.

One of Winnick's attorneys, Dan Conway, said his client is happy with the result.

"Our Marines deserve the benefit of the doubt when they make good faith decisions to use force," Conway said. "Sgt. Winnick is a stand-up Marine and he's eager to get back to work."

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This is probably the right result. If the sniper made a mistake it was caused by the enemy's violation of the Geneva Convention requirements of wearing an identifying uniform. Hopefully the command authority will accept the recommendation.