Wow...talk about not mincing words! In case you missed it, the guests this past Saturday on my radio show were anything but shy and politically correct.
First
there was attorney Jane Siegel, whose client Private First Class John
Jodka, is one of the eight marines ("The Pendleton 8") currently being
held in a Camp Pendleton brig on murder charges.
If you are
not familiar with the story, Jodka is accused of kidnapping and
murdering an Iraqi man by the name of Hashim Ibrahim Awad. According to
eyewitness accounts Jodka entered Awad's home, forcably removed him,
took him to a nearby ditch...and then shot and murdered him. The
allegations made against private first class Jodka are based upon
statements made by Awads neighbors.
Attorney Jane Siegel has an
entirely differant take on what happened. According to Siegal, Jodka
was part of a stakeout that was designed to ambush and capture or kill
known terrorists in the area. Awad wandered into the stakeout, showed
no signs of cooperation, and after the rules of engagement were
followed, he was shot.
So how could the two parties, the government and Jodka's defense, have such radically differant stories? Don't they both have access to the same body of evidence? Therein lies the problem.For some unexplained reason the government has denied request after request by the defense to have access to it’s evidence. Access which it is entitled to.
The Pendleton 8 remain locked up in a brig, based upon allegations made by Awads neighbors, while the government denies their attorneys access to the evidence.
"As a former prosecutor, anytime my case was strong I welcomed the defense seeing the evidence", Siegel said. "Strong evidence forced the defense to have to come to us". Siegel went on to question the motives of the U.S. government and all but accused the government of playing politics by trying to look good on the world stage while the marine's fate hang in the balance.
Siegel made an even more chilling point. According to Siegel, terrorists and their supporters have just gained a new weapon in Iraq. "Think of the message it sends. First, supporters of terrorists now understand the damage and disruption they can cause simply by making allegations against marines. Secondly there's the message it sends to our marines. It has the effect of causing them to possibly hesitate while engaged in fighting a war".
If the Pendleton 8 are indeed guilty of the charges leveled against them, then clearly they deserve whatever punishment the military justice system can deliver. However, to keep these men locked in a brig- when they are not a risk of flight- and at the same time denying their attorneys access to the evidence of the case, not only raises suspicion... it is also just plain wrong.
It is time to release the men from custody and allow their attorneys the ability to do the jobs.
Next I will explain why my guest TJ Bonner, called the President a liar.
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