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The War Profiteers - War Crimes,
Kidnappings, Torture and Big Money |
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November 17th,
2006 - Jackson Sentenced to 21 Months in Hamdania Killing |
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Jackson Sentenced to 21 Months
in Hamdania Killing By Mark Walker North County Times Friday, November 17, 2006 Camp Pendleton - Another
apology was heard and another sentence was handed down Thursday in the
killing of a retired Iraqi policeman, one of two civilian death cases
haunting the Marine Corps and its premier West Coast base. Lance Cpl. Tyler A. Jackson
was sentenced to 21 months in custody, with credit for six months served, and
a general discharge for his guilty pleas to aggravated assault and conspiracy
to obstruct justice in the April 26 killing of 52-year-old Hashim Ibrahim
Awad. He could have been sentenced to up to 15 years in prison. Like two of the eight men
charged who have pleaded guilty and been sentenced so far, the 23-year-old
Tracy native expressed remorse and testified that he wished he'd had the
courage to stop the killing. "I would like to
apologize to the Awad family," Jackson said during questioning by one of
his military attorneys, Lt. Col. Paul Starita. "I would like to
apologize to the Marine Corps, peers, friends and family. I apologize for any
wrongdoing I have done." Jackson's apology came at
the culmination of his daylong sentencing hearing. He pleaded guilty earlier
this month and previous charges of murder, kidnapping, conspiracy and related
offenses were dismissed. He also told the judge, Lt.
Col. Joseph Lisiecki, that he did not realize the man who was killed was
Awad. The squad was after a suspected insurgent named Saleh Gowad. When they
couldn't find Gowad, they marched into Awad's home and seized him. Jackson told the court that
even if the squad had found Gowad, he knew that kidnapping and killing that
man was forbidden by the military's rules of engagement. If he had known it
was not Gowad, Jackson said, he "would not have allowed it to
happen." "I would have done what
I could to stop it," he said. Jackson was joined by his
parents and brother for the sentencing portion of his court-martial. None of
Awad's 14 children or other family members have traveled to the U.S. for the
court proceedings. Lisiecki actually sentenced
Jackson to nine years in prison and a dishonorable charge, but that
punishment was set aside because of Jackson's plea agreement with Lt. Gen.
James Mattis, the convening authority over the case as head of the I Marine
Expeditionary Force. Maj. Donald Plowman, the
prosecutor in the case, had argued for a 10-year prison term for Jackson,
pointing out that he was one of the men who killed Awad, and disputed the
lance corporal's assertion that he would have tried to stop the shooting if
he knew the man who was seized was someone other than Gowad. Jackson, he
said, played an equal part in a squad that had one intent - to kill. "An innocent man was
taken because seven Marines and a Navy corpsman decided a man was going to
die that night," the prosecutor said. He alleged that Jackson
discussed The Da Vinci Code novel and film with other squad members between
the time the plot was agreed to and Awad was killed, a passage of time in
which any of the men could have put a stop to what was happening - but did
not. "That suggests
indifference," Plowman said, adding that statements taken from the men
also show that if Gowad could not be located, someone else would be seized
and killed to send a message to the village about insurgent activity. "(Awad) fought for his
life," the prosecutor said. "They had to zip-tie his hands, zip-tie
his feet. They had to gag him." Starita argued that Jackson
has long demonstrated remorse through letters to his parents after he was
first detained in Iraq and in statements made to investigators. He said the
six months he has been incarcerated is sufficient punishment. "Let him go home,"
Starita told the judge. Jackson is one of seven
Marines and a Navy corpsman from Camp Pendleton's 3rd Battalion, 5th Marine
Regiment charged in the Awad killing. He is the third defendant to be
sentenced; a fourth will be sentenced next week. Jackson joined the Marine
Corps in 2005 and was on his first assignment in Iraq when Awad was killed.
He said he planned early in life to join the Marines, following in the
footsteps of his grandfather, who served in the Marine Corps during World War
II. The lance corporal's
parents, Phil and Terri Jackson, also testified and expressed their
condolences to the Awad family. "We are anxious for
(Tyler) to come home and we will support him in any way we can," Phil
Jackson said. Terri Jackson was emotional
during her brief testimony, saying she considered the birth of her son a
miracle after several miscarriages. "I know he is very
sorry for what happened over there in this incident," she testified. On Wednesday, Pfc. John
Jodka III was sentenced to 18 months in the brig with credit for six months
already served for his role in Awad's death. Last month, the squad's
corpsman, Petty Officer Melson Bacos, was sentenced to 12 months in the brig
after he pleaded guilty to kidnapping and conspiracy to kidnap and make false
official statements. Next week, Lance Cpl. Jerry
E. Shumate Jr. is to be sentenced. He also agreed to plead guilty to
aggravated assault and conspiracy to obstruct justice, according to his
attorney, Steven Immel. That would leave four
remaining defendants in the case, including the squad leader, Sgt. Lawrence
Hutchins III of Plymouth, Mass. Those who have entered guilty pleas said
Hutchins directed the plot. The other defendants headed
for trial are Cpls. Marshall Magincalda of Manteca and Trent Thomas of St.
Louis and Lance Cpl. Robert Pennington of the Seattle area. The Hamdania case and the
bad light it has brought the Marine Corps and its code of honor developed
within weeks of separate, unresolved allegations that a different Camp
Pendleton squad violated the military's rules of engagement in Iraq in the
killing of 24 civilians in the city of Haditha in November 2005. A decision on whether any
Marines involved in that incident will be charged with any crimes is expected
soon. This week, a now-retired
Army general who oversaw a separate investigation into whether Marine Corps
commanders in Iraq failed to properly investigate that incident was scheduled
to brief lawmakers on Capitol Hill. That session was canceled, however, for
reasons that were not immediately clear. Lt. Gen. Mattis also is the
convening authority over the Haditha case and will decide whether any of the
troops from the 3rd Battalion, 1st Marine Regiment involved in that case will
be charged with any wrongdoing. External link:
http://www.nctimes.com/articles/2006/11/17/news/top_stories/1_02_3611_16_06.txt |