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The War Profiteers - War Crimes,
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October 6th, 2006 - Sailor
Testifies About Killing of Iraqi News article by the Associated Press |
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Sailor Testifies About
Killing of Iraqi By Linds Deutsch The Associated Press Friday, October 6, 2006; 10:41 PM Camp Pendeleton, Calif. - A
Navy corpsman testified Friday that Marines in his patrol seized an Iraqi
civilian from his home, threw him into a hole and put at least 10 bullets in
his head and chest after growing frustrated in their search for an insurgent. Petty Officer 3rd Class
Melson J. Bacos said he saw a Marine put fingerprints from the victim onto a
rifle and on a shovel to implicate him as an insurgent. "I was shocked and I
felt sick to my stomach," Bacos said. Bacos, a medic who had been
on patrol with the squad, was charged along with seven Marines in the slaying
of Hashim Ibrahim Awad last spring in the town of Hamdania. But Bacos struck
a deal with prosecutors under which he pleaded guilty to kidnapping and
conspiracy and agreed to testify Friday at his court-martial about what he
saw. "I knew what we were
doing was wrong," Bacos testified, speaking nearly in a whisper. "I
tried to say something and then I decided to look away." Bacos said he asked the Marines
to let Awad go, but Cpl. Marshall L. Magincalda told him in crude terms that
he was being weak and should stop protesting. Bacos, 21, was the first of
the servicemen to be court-martialed. The seven others could get up to life
in prison. Military judge Col. Steven
Folsom sentenced Bacos to 10 years in prison but reduced the term to one year
because of the plea agreement. That will be further reduced by time served.
Other counts of murder, kidnapping and conspiracy were dropped in exchange
for his cooperation while a reduction in rank and a dishonorable discharge
also were suspended. Prosecutors have said that
the servicemen killed Awad out of frustration and then planted the assault
rifle and shovel by the body to make it look as if he had been caught digging
a hole for a roadside bomb. Bacos testified that the
squad entered Hamdania on April 26 while searching for a known insurgent who
had been captured three times, then released. Squad leader Sgt. Lawrence
Hutchins was "just mad that we kept letting him go and he was a known
terrorist," Bacos said. The group approached a house
where the insurgent was believed to be hiding, but when someone inside woke
up, the Marines instead went to another home and grabbed Awad, according to
the testimony. Bacos said the squad had
intended to get someone else if they did not capture the insurgent, then
stage a firefight to make it appear they had found an Iraqi planting a
roadside bomb. Awad, 52, was taken from the
home with his feet and hands bound, then placed in a hole, Bacos said. "I felt I couldn't stop
it any more that day," Bacos testified. "They were going to do it.
They were going to carry out the plan, so I continued on." Bacos said Hutchins fired
three rounds into the man's head after checking to see if he was dead, then
Cpl. Trent Thomas fired seven to 10 more rounds into his chest. After the killing, Bacos
said Hutchins called in to a command center and reported the squad had seen a
man digging a hole and wanted permission to fire at him. Bacos said he saw Lance Cpl.
Robert B. Pennington put the victim's fingerprints onto an AK-47 and on a
shovel to implicate him as an insurgent who had fired first. Bacos was told
to fire an AK-47 into the air to simulate the sound of a firefight. "Why didn't I just walk
away?" Bacos asked before being sentenced. "The answer to that
question was I wanted to be part of the team. I wanted to be a respected
corpman, but that is no excuse for immorality." After the killing, Bacos said,
he was standing in the road when another Navy corpsman drove by. "He asked me what
happened, and I was very vague," Bacos testified. "I said, 'I want
you to remember something. We're different. We're not like these men.'" Bacos' wife and father sat
in the front row of the courtroom during the court-martial. During a break,
Bacos turned to her and mouthed the words, "I love you." The tiny courtroom was still
as Folsom repeatedly asked Bacos if he had been coerced into giving his
account of the shooting. Bacos said he was testifying
voluntarily. He wore a white Navy uniform and a Purple Heart his wife said he
had been awarded during a previous tour in Iraq. Bacos was recently
transferred from Camp Pendleton, where the Marines have been held, to Marine
Corps Air Station Miramar for his own safety. Military prosecutors had
charged Bacos under the theory that he did nothing to stop the alleged crime. Along with Magincalda,
Hutchins and Thomas and Pennington, the other Marines charged are: Lance Cpl.
Tyler A. Jackson, Pfc. John J. Jodka and Lance Cpl. Jerry E. Shumate Jr. David Brahms, Pennington's
lawyer, said Bacos' account will be subjected to intense scrutiny. "This
is just one guy who is going to tell the story as he sees it," Brahms
said. Former Army prosecutor Tom
Umberg suggested that others might follow Bacos' lead and strike similar plea
bargains. "You don't want to be
the last guy standing. The first guy gets the best deal," he said. After the proceedings, Bacos
said he deeply regrets what happened in Hamdania. "Hopefully, that family
will forgive us for what we have done," he said. © 2006 The Associated Press External link:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/10/06/AR2006100601590.html Hamdania Blog: Sailor
Recounts Killing Of Iraqi By NBCSanDiego.com Updated: 1:12 pm PDT October 6, 2006 Camp Pendleton, Calif. -
Oct. 6, 11:25 a.m. After pleading guilty to conspiracy to commit kidnapping
and kidnapping, a Navy corpsman described the kidnapping and slaying of an
Iraqi civilian. Petty Officer 3rd Class
Melson J. Bacos entered the pleas as part of an agreement to testify about
the role of seven Marines in the incident in the Iraqi town of Hamdania. Bacos said Sgt. Lawrence
Hutchins was the patrol leader and played the major role in the kidnapping.
He came up with the plan and was mad that Saleh Gowad, a known terrorist, had
been repeatedly released from the Abu Ghraib prison. Lance Cpl. Jerry E. Shumate,
Pfc. John Jodka and Lance Cpl. Tyler A. Jackson were to remain under the
tree. "We needed shovel to
make it look like the man was burying an IED improvised explosive
device)," Bacos said. Bacos said they went to a
nearby house to get shovel and an AK -47. They chose a house at random
because they all have shovels and AK-47s. Two of the men entered the house
and woke up the family. They asked family if they had an AK-47, he said. Bacos was outside the house
at the time. He had taken a shovel. The men then went to the market place and
stashed the shovel and gun, he testified. Next, Bacos said, they went
to Gowad's house. They had been there numerous times to question him. It was
about 800 meters from their ambush site. When they arrived at Gowad's house,
a family member woke up. The Marines told the person to go back to sleep. Bacos did not go inside
Gowad's house. According to his testimony, the Marines left and went to a
neighboring house. Lance Cpl. Robert Pennington and Bacos stayed outside to
provide security. Cpl. Marshall Magincalda and Cpl. Trent Thomas came out
with an older man in handcuffs. Bacos said he didn't know who the man was. Bacos said in original plan,
Hutchins said if the Marines could not get Gowad, they would get someone
else. But Bacos said he didn't know why they planned to get someone else if
Gowad was not available. Bacos said he and Pennington
provided security while two Marines walked the man to the market place and
got the AK-47 and shovel. They proceeded to an IED hole that was about 700
meters from man's house. Then Thomas and Pennington watched over the man as
another dug a hole. "I said, 'We shouldn't
do this. Maybe we should let him go,'" Bacos said in court. Magincalda told Bacos to
"quit being a pussy," Bacos said. "I took it personally,
sir," Bacos told the judge. "If they were going to do it, they were
going to do it, so I continued on with the plan." Bacos said he went back to
the tree, and Hutchins then ordered the men to put their weapons on line.
Then Hutchins put his weapon on line, he asked permission to fire, and then
he fired his gun up into the air so it sounded like they were in a firefight
with the man. Bacos said he fired the AK-47 into the air. Another Marine
collected the shell casings. The Iraqi man was gagged and
bound at his and feet hands, Bacos said. Bacos said Hutchins called
for cease-fire. The men on line proceeded to IED hole. Bacos and Magincalda
trailed behind the other six. Magincalda threw shell casings near hole.
Hutchins fire three rounds at the man's head. Thomas fired seven to 10 rounds
into his chest . Pennington took off the zip ties from the victim's hands and
feet. Bacos said he saw Hutchins
calling operations on the radio after the shooting. "I was choked and sick
in my stomach after seeing something like that," Bacos testified.
"My adrenaline was pumping. I didn't know what to think." Bacos said Hutchins ordered
him to wash gear at the spot where he fired the AK-47. Another squad arrived,
and someone started asking questions of Bacos. He said his answers were very
vague. Bacos said he witnessed
Pennington applying the dead man's fingerprints to the AK-47 to make it
appear that he had been holding it. Bacos said the Marines at
the hole were the same rank as Bacos. He said he was not ordered to take
part. He said he didn't have any say in tactics. His main mission was to
supply medical support to the squad. Bacos told the judge that he could have
avoided joining this conspiracy had he wanted to. Bacos said he could not
find any justification for finding him innocent of the conspiracy charge. As for the kidnapping
charge, Bacos said he did not know the name of the man they kidnapped until
much later. He said he willfully and wrongly held the man against his will.
Bacos said he could find any reason why the judge would not find him guilty
of the offense. The defendant and his lawyer
asked the judge to give Bacos 142 day's credit for time served at sentencing.
The judge agreed, then found Bacos guilty of conspiracy to kidnap and
kidnapping. He then adjourned the hearing for lunch. Oct. 6, 10:03 a.m. After pleading guilty to conspiracy
to commit kidnapping and kidnapping, a Navy corpsman described events leading
up to the slaying of a civilian in Iraq. Petty Officer 3rd Class
Melson J. Bacos entered the plea as part of an agreement to testify about the
role of seven Marines in the incident in the Iraqi town of Hamdania. Bacos said Hutchins was the
squad leader of three to five Marines. Magincalda and Thomas were fire team
leaders. Pennington was the radio operator. Jackson and Jodka were team
members. Bacos was the combat corpsman. The squad was out on ambush
patrol. Bacos said they went across the paved road and went to a second
position and remained there for about two hours. Hutchins went over the
plans, talking about what he wanted the squad to do. The judge asked what the mission
was. At the first palm grove, they were to stay there until night fall. Then,
they were to find a different position and be on ambush patrol. When they
were inside the palm grove, Jodka and Bacos provided 360 degree security. Bacos was in his position to
provide security. Hutchins and Thomas called Bacos over to a huddle, and
Thomas advised a plan to get Saleh Gowad and make it look like he was doing
IED (improvised explosive devide). He was a high value individual who was
realeased from Abu Ghraib and had been detained at least three times.
Hutchins wanted to get him, because the military continued to release him. Bacos said that they began
working out what they could do. Magincalda ,Thomas, Hutchins and Pennington
were working on plan. Bacos said he didn't believe they would carry out plan. They moved to a second
position under the trees, and Hutchins outlined the plan. Bacos and others
were told to go get an AK-47 and a shovel from a house and stage in market
place. From there, they were to travel to Gowad's house. If Gowad wasn't home
they would go to another house and take another man. When Hutchins told of
the plan, the other's just said, "I'm in." Bacos said the agreement was
to take Gowad from his house against his will. There was an agreement to make
false official statements about the evening as soon as it was all over.
Hutchins told them to say that the man on watch saw a man planting an IED with
his night-vision goggles. Then Hutchins would call it in to the command
operation center. One of the other man wouldn't wait for authorization and
would fire at man near hole and make it look like they fired back at him. The
men agreed to make false official statements in writing as well Sgt Hutchins briefed the men
on the plan in the palm grove. Bacos said the agreement was sealed when squad
members said "I'm in, sir". Others said, " Let's do it." "I believe, we all
agreed to kidnap a man, take a gun and shovel, and make false statement
rather than the truth of what had happened," Bacos said. Bacos said he could have
avoided making the choice if he wanted to. The judge questioned him again,
stating he was in a combat zone and outranked, He asked Bacos if he could
have made another choice under those circumstances. Bacos said yes. Asked if Gowad's actions and
previous detentions were an excuse to kidnap him, Bacos said no. Oct. 6, 9:42 a.m. A Navy corpsman has pleaded
guilty at his court-martial to conspiracy to commit kidnapping and kidnapping
as part of a plea deal to testify about the alleged murder of a civilian in
Iraq. Petty Officer 3rd Class
Melson J. Bacos entered the plea as part of an agreement to testify about the
role of seven Marines in the incident in the Iraqi town of Hamdania. Bacos pleaded not guilty to
other charges against him, including murder. The judge asked Bacos if he
signed the stipulation-of-the-facts documents in the case, and he said he
had. The judge asked him a range of questions to make sure he understood what
the stipulation documents could be used for and how they impact his rights. The judge proceeded
methodically making sure Bacos understood his rights and the impact of his
decisions as they proceed. Bacos said he does
understand the consequences of pleading guilty and the rights he gives up. The defense attorney asked
for 142 days of credit for confinement already served by Bacos. The judge said must have
intended to hold someone against his will for him to plead guilty to the
charge. The judge just explains the rules pertaining to pleading guilty for
Bacos' plea to stick. Bacos said he understood the
elements required for him to plead guilty to conspiracy to kidnap and makin
false statements. The judge asked Bacos if he
made an agreement with his squad mates to kidnap Hashim Ibrahim Awad and then
make false official statements about the incident. Bacos said he did. Oct. 6, 8:44 a.m. Court-martial proceedings
have started in San Diego for a Navy corpsman who agreed to testify in a case
against seven Marines accused of murdering an Iraqi civilian. Navy Petty Officer 3rd Class
Melson Bacos is in the courtroom with his attorneys. His wife, Heather; father,
Jessie; and family friend , Andrea Clements, are all there at his back. Bacos' attorney asked the
court to not put the testimony portion of the court-martial on closed circuit
television for the press, because it could taint a potential jury pool. The
judge, Col. Steven Folsom, did not grant his request. Background Bacos was a medic who was
patrolling with seven Marines last April when they allegedly abducted and
killed Awad. All eight were charged with crimes including murder and
kidnapping, and have been held at Camp Pendleton, the sprawling Marine base
north of San Diego. The accused Marines are at
various stages in the military justice process. Bacos is the first to have a
general court-martial. According to charging
documents, the troops entered Hamdania searching for an insurgent and,
failing to find him, grabbed Awad from his home and shot him. An AK-47 and a shovel,
allegedly stolen from a home, were left by Awad's body, apparently to make it
look like the man had been digging a hole for a roadside bomb and was killed
in an exchange of gunfire. Bacos was accused of firing
the AK-47 into the air as part of the cover-up. Military prosecutors charged
him under the theory that he did nothing to stop the alleged crime. Bacos was recently
transferred from the Camp Pendleton brig to Marine Corps Air Station Miramar
for his own safety, Sullivan said. External link: http://www.nbcsandiego.com/news/10017061/detail.html |