Prosecutors in the military trial of Navy SEAL Eddie Gallagher, accused of committing multiple violations of military law in Iraq, rested their case Tuesday.
Gallagher, a special operations chief, is accused of murdering a prisoner, posing for a photo next to a corpse, shooting at noncombatants and intimidating SEALs who could report his behavior.
Gallagher has pleaded not guilty. If convicted of murder, he faces life in prison.
In the first four days of trial last week, witnesses testified they had seen Gallagher plunge a knife into the neck of a young ISIS prisoner and fire at Iraqi citizens.
But by week’s end, one of the prosecution’s own witnesses dropped a bombshell, testifying that he was the one responsible for the ISIS fighter’s death.
After the prosecution rested, the court-martial members, who act as a jury, were dismissed from the courtroom.
Defense attorneys made a motion to dismiss the case. The judge denied the motion, and the trial will continue Wednesday at 12 p.m. ET.
On Monday, the trial’s fifth day, NCIS investigators and forensics and pathology experts testified.
