[JURIST] The court-martial for US Marine Corp Sgt. Jermaine Nelson [JURIST news archive] has been scheduled for February 16, according to a Monday report in the San Diego Union-Tribune. The trial was scheduled to begin earlier this month, but a delay was granted following a ruling in which the court approved the appointment of an expert witness for the defense who will review forensic data [North County Times report]. Defense council has also sought to exclude a tape-recorded interview given by Nelson to the Naval Criminal Investigation Service (NCIS) [official website], in which he admits that after seeing fellow Marines Sgt. Jose Nazario and Sgt. Ryan Weemer [JURIST news archives] shoot prisoners, he lost his reluctance to join in the killings [LA Times report]. The court ruled that a portion of a statement Nelson made to investigators in March 2006 will be admitted at trial, as will statements he made in March and August 2007.

Nelson has pleaded not guilty [JURIST report] to one count of unpremeditated murder and three counts of dereliction of duty stemming from his involvement with the shooting of four unarmed and bound insurgents during the battle of Fallujah [GlobalSecurity backgrounder; JURIST news archive]. After Weemer admitted during a polygraphed job interview with the US Secret Service that he had witnessed indiscriminate killings in Fallujah, NCIS announced investigations of at least 10 Marines [JURIST report] in connection with the Fallujah offensive. Military journalist Nathaniel Helms corroborated Weemer's account, reporting that he witnessed Marines execute subdued Iraqi prisoners, whose bodies were later buried under rubble from an air strike. Nazario faced charges for the same incident but was acquitted by a civilian jury [JURIST report].