Weemer Acquitted

As is being reported at multiple outlets, here and here, Sgt. Ryan Weemer was acquitted this morning of all charges in relation to the killing of alleged detainees in Fallujah in 2004.

Sgt. Jermaine Nelson is the last remaining defendant in this incident, we'll have to see how that plays out. Nelson won't have the benefit of being able to suppress the tape of Weemer admitting to some portion of the incident in an employment interview with the Secret Service. Rather, Nelson will have to face his own recorded statements, in which he reportedly said that

[H]e watched Nazario become angry after finding assault rifles in the house, even though the detainees had insisted there were no weapons. On the tape, Nelson recalled Nazario shooting a kneeling captive at point-blank range, then saying: “I'm not doing all this by myself. You're doing one and Weemer is doing one.”

Weemer then pulled his 9mm sidearm and killed one of the detainees, Nelson said. “He shot him and the dude was on the ground and rolling and (Weemer) was shooting, shooting, shooting, shooting, shooting,” Nelson told the naval investigator. Afterward, Nelson said, he joined in and shot another detainee.

I don't know exactly what that tape says so I won't comment on the likely effect on referral or the trial.

Also, remaining is the issue of prosecution of Nazario, Nelson, and Weemer for refusing to testify after being granted immunity.