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The War Profiteers - War Crimes,
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March 1st,
2007 - Accused Marine Arraigned in Hamdania Killing |
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Accused Marine
Arraigned in Hamdania Killing By Mark Walker North County Times March 1, 2007 12:32 PM PST Camp Pendleton - A Marine
corporal who withdrew guilty pleas entered in January in the killing of an
Iraqi civilianwas arraigned Thursday on a new set of charges that include
premeditated murder. Cpl. Trent Thomas appeared
in a base courtroom before Lt. Col. David Jones. He reserved his right to
enter a plea until a later date, and also reserved declaring whether he wants
his case tried before a panel of military jurors that could include up to
one-third enlisted personnel. The 25-year-old St. Louis
area native pleaded guilty on Jan. 18 to murder, conspiracy, kidnapping and
related offenses in the death of Hashim Ibrahim Awad last year, but was
allowed to withdraw those pleas after he told his attorneys he had changed
his mind and now believed he was acting at his sergeant's direction and
therefore is not guilty of any crimes. He was back in court this
morning for the arraignment and motions that included his attorneys asking
for a full pre-trial investigation, a hearing that he had waived last
October. Defense attorney Maj. Dale
Saran said the refiled charges against Thomas, who was on his third
deployment to Iraq when the killing occurred, mandate that a full Article 32
hearing be conducted. An Article 32 hearing is used to determine whether an
accused service member should be order to trial. "We're back at the
beginning," Saran told Jones. "We're back at square one." But the lead prosecutor, Lt.
Col. John Baker, argued the refiled charges do not constitute any real new
allegations and that Thomas' waiver of the pretrial hearing last year should
still apply. The morning ended with a
federal agent testifying that Thomas acknowledged his role in the April 26
slaying of retired Iraqi policeman Hashim Ibrahim when confronted during an
interview on May 16 in Iraq. Toward the end of that
session, Naval Criminal Investigative Service Agent James Connolly said
Thomas made a statement acknowledging his role in the killing. Thomas'
attorney are seeking to have that statement barred from evidence. Thomas is one of eight men
from a 3rd Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment platoon based at Camp Pendleton
charged in the slaying. Five of the accused have pleaded guilty in negotiated
deals with prosecutors that saw them sentenced to jail terms ranging from 12
months to eight years. The men who have pleaded
guilty said the slaying was carried out to send a message to Iraqis in and
around the Anbar province village of Hamdania that the Marines were tired of
being attacked. A similar statement was made by Thomas when he pleaded guilty
in January. Military law experts say
that Thomas' decision on Feb. 8 to withdraw the guilty pleas and admissions
is a highly unusual development in a homicide case where no new major facts
have emerged. Thomas' attorneys have said
they will argue at trial that the married father of a young daughter will
contend that because he was following the order of his sergeant, he should
not be convicted of a crime. That sergeant, Lawrence
Hutchins III, is set to go to trial next month. His attorneys contend he is
innocent and spent Tuesday and Wednesday of this week attempting to have a
military judge suppress statements he made to investigators. Hutchins'
attorneys also want a judge to order a second trip to Iraq so they can
attempt to interview witnesses they contend could help his case. Testimony in Thomas' hearing
continues this afternoon. His wife, Erica, attended the
morning session and frequently conferred with her husband during breaks and
often exchanged smiles as testimony was taking place. External link: http://www.nctimes.com/articles/2007/03/01/news/top_stories/1_41_523_1_07.txt |