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The War Profiteers - War Crimes,
Kidnappings, Torture and Big Money |
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August 30th, 2006 - No Death
Penalty for Charged Marine |
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No Death Penalty for Charged
Marine By Linda Deutsch The Associated Press Wednesday, August 30, 2006; 10:24 PM Camp Pendelton, Calif. - The
government will not seek the death penalty against a Marine Corps private who
is among eight service members charged with murder and other crimes in the
shooting of an Iraqi civilian, a military prosecutor said Wednesday. Lt. Col. John Baker
announced the prosecution's position during a hearing for Pfc. John J. Jodka
III, 20. A Camp Pendleton spokesman said the prosecutor's statement applied
only to Jodka, not the six other Marines and one Navy corpsman also charged
in the case. The hearing for Jodka and a
separate one for another Marine, Cpl. Marshall Magincalda, 23, are part of
the process to determine whether the defendants should face courts-martial. The Marines and corpsman are
charged in the shooting of Hashim Ibrahim Awad, 52, in the village of
Hamdania. Iraqi witnesses told the military that Marines and a sailor
kidnapped Awad on April 26, bound his feet, dragged him from his home and
shot him to death in a roadside hole. Jodka is accused of firing
on Awad. Magincalda is suspected of binding Awad's feet and kidnapping him. Jodka, in desert fatigues,
watched the proceeding calmly. Asked at one point whether he wanted to make a
statement, he said firmly, "No, sir." Lawyers for Jodka argued
vehemently that "inflammatory" statements made by the private and
other Marines should be kept secret before trial. Retired Col. Jane Siegel,
who represents Jodka, said disclosing the 16 statements about the incident
during a highly publicized hearing would hurt jury selection for Jodka's
expected court martial. "To openly discuss
contents will completely pollute the local and national jury pool,"
Siegel said. "Some of it is very inflammatory." A separate proceeding on
Wednesday for Magincalda lasted only 30 minutes. Investigating officer Col.
Robert S. Chester, who is hearing the case, said the defense had asked for
the hearing to be closed to the public, fearing publicity might hurt
Magincalda's ability to receive a fair trial. Chester opposed the request,
saying the public has a "very compelling right to hear these
proceedings." Chester said he would tell
prosecutors by Friday whether he had questions about any of their evidence. Prosecutor Capt. Nicholas L.
Gannon urged Chester to focus on statements by three members of the squad,
including an alleged confession by squad leader Sgt. Lawrence G. Hutchins
III. The hearings held under
Article 32 of the Uniform Code of Military Justice are equivalent to civilian
preliminary or grand jury hearings. Both defendants have been
held in the Camp Pendleton brig since returning from Iraq. The Marines have the
opportunity to mount a defense, call witnesses or even testify themselves.
Their lawyers were expected to challenge use of the defendants' pretrial
statements by contending they were subjected to heavy-handed inquiries with
threats of the death penalty. The other defendants, all
members of the Camp Pendleton-based 3rd Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment, are
expected to have separate hearings in coming weeks. The charges include
kidnapping, murder and conspiracy. Associated Press writer
Thomas Watkins contributed to this report. © 2006 The Associated Press External link:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/08/30/AR2006083000507.html |