Jury finds Navy SEAL Eddie Gallagher not guilty of war crimes

The jury assigned to the case of accused Special Warfare Chief Edward Gallagher has found the decorated Navy SEAL not guilty of murder and attempted murder after a whirlwind trial that included bombshell revelations and twists. The verdict was reached by the five Marines and two sailors Tuesday after the prosecution and defense made their closing arguments the day before. Gallagher, 40, was accused of stabbing an injured teenage ISIS fighter to death and shooting at civilians during a deployment to Iraq in 2017. Seven members of Gallagher's own platoon leveled the accusations against him, describing their chief as a reckless murderer who failed to distinguish between civilians and the enemy. The trial started on June 17, with the prosecution presenting two witnesses who said they had seen Gallagher stab the injured teenager. Prosecutors showed the court pictures Gallagher had taken with the teen's corpse. They said the chief bragged about the kill to fellow SEALs back home in text messages. "Good story behind this. Got him with my hunting knife," read one text Gallagher sent. The testimony against Gallagher appeared damning, but the case took an unexpected turn when Special Warfare Operator 1st Class Corey Scott declared it was he -- not Gallagher -- that was responsible for the death of the injured teenage fighter. Scott admitted to seeing Gallagher stab the teen, but said he asphyxiated him in an effort to save him from his Iraqi captors, who he had seen torture, rape, and kill other prisoners. "I knew he was going to die anyway," said Scott, a trained combat medic. "I wanted to save him from waking up to what had happened next."...MORE