The military judge presiding over Special Operations Chief Edward Gallagher’s murder trail refused a request by his lawyers for summary judgment to find him not guilty on the murder charge on Tuesday.
The Associated Press reports the judge said the circumstances did not meet the high standards required for such a ruling.
The request came after Special Warfare Operator First Class Corey Scott testified he was responsible for the death of the injured Islamic State fighter in Iraq in 2017. Scott said he saw Gallagher stab the fighter in the neck, but it was he who put his thumb over a breathing tube that had been inserted into the ISIS fighter’s mouth until the fighter asphyxiated.
“I knew he was going to die anyway,” said Scott. “I wanted to save him from waking up to what had happened next.”
Prosecutors also rested their case against Gallagher, who pleaded not guilty to the murder charge.
