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The War Profiteers - War Crimes,
Kidnappings, Torture and Big Money |
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July 20th,
2007 - Marine Spared Prison Time in Iraqi Death News article by the Associated
Press |
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Marine Spared Prison Time in
Iraqi Death By Allison Hoffman Associated Press July 20, 2007, 3:05PM Camp Pendleton, Calif. - A
Marine convicted of kidnapping and conspiring to murder an Iraqi civilian who
was killed by troops looking for an insurgent will not serve a prison term, a
military jury decided Friday. Cpl. Trent Thomas was
sentenced to a bad-conduct discharge and a reduction in rank to private,
which carries lower pay. He could have received life in prison for his role
in the April 2006 killing of the retired Iraqi policeman in the village of
Hamdania. Thomas, of Madison, Ill.,
was among seven Marines and a Navy corpsman accused of snatching 52-year-old
Hashim Ibrahim Awad from his house, marching him to a nearby ditch and
shooting him after they botched an attempt to capture a suspected insurgent. Prosecutors said squad
members tried to cover up the killing by planting a shovel and AK-47 by
Awad's body to make it look like he was an insurgent planting a bomb. A military jury of three
officers and six enlisted Marines deliberated Thomas' sentence for less than
an hour before returning its decision. On Wednesday, the jury
convicted Thomas, 25, of kidnapping and conspiracy and acquitted him of other
charges, including the most serious, premeditated murder. Prosecutors had recommended
Thomas be sentenced to 15 years in prison with a dishonorable discharge,
reduction in rank and a fine. Thomas' attorneys argued
that their client was only following orders from his squad leader and asked
that he be credited for the 519 days he has already served in the brig and be
returned to active duty. "We failed him as a
Marine Corps, because under good leadership, this Marine would not be here
today," Maj. Haytham Faraj told the court. "Consider where the
responsibility lies." Thomas had agreed in January
to plead guilty in the case, but withdrew the guilty pleas on the eve of
sentencing in February. His attorney, Victor Kelley, said that pretrial
agreement had called for 12 years in prison. On Thursday, Thomas told the
court he wanted to continue serving. "I've never been good
at anything until I came to the Marine Corps," said Thomas, who served
three combat tours in Iraq and was awarded a Purple Heart for the 2004 siege
on Fallujah. "It's pretty obvious Michael Jordan was meant to play basketball.
Tiger Woods was meant to play golf. The Marine Corps, it's me." The final terms of Thomas'
punishment are subject to review by Lt. Gen. James Mattis, the commanding
general overseeing the case, but he can only reduce the sentence. Four other Marines and the
sailor charged pleaded guilty to reduced charges in exchange for testimony. A
court-martial began Friday in a Camp Pendleton courtroom for Thomas'
squadmate Cpl. Marshall L. Magincalda. Proceedings are scheduled to begin
next week in the case of squad leader Sgt. Lawrence Hutchins III. Both are
charged with murder, kidnapping, conspiracy and other offenses. Tom Umberg, a former
military prosecutor, called Thomas' punishment "pretty outrageous"
and suggested the jurors might have been swayed by their own combat
experiences. "I have never heard of
a court-martial that convicted someone of conspiracy to murder and kidnapping
and not adjudicate some kind of (prison) sentence," Umberg said.
"Obviously there was some sympathy, maybe even empathy, because all of
the panel members had served in Iraq." External link: http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/ap/nation/4985916.html Thomas escapes jail time,
given a bad conduct discharge in Hamdania killing By Mark Walker North County Times July 20, 2007 12:37 PM PDT Camp Pendleton - A military
jury this morning decided a Marine corporal convicted of conspiracy to commit
murder and kidnapping in the shooting death of Iraqi man last year will be
given a bad conduct discharge but no prison time. The jury deliberated for
only about an hour before issuing its decision in the case of Cpl. Trent
Thomas, a 25-year-old St. Louis native. "I believe that we did
what we needed to do to save Marines' lives," Thomas said after his
sentencing hearing on Camp Pendleton. "I was just hoping I could go home
to my family. We've been through a lot and now we're going to be
together." On Wednesday, the jury of
three officers and six enlisted men deliberated for about five hours before
finding Thomas guilty of conspiracy to commit murder and kidnapping in the
death of an Iraqi civilian. But the panel acquitted him of the most serious
charge he faced, premeditated murder, which carried a mandatory life prison
sentence without the possibility of parole. The prosecution asked the
jury to sentence Thomas to 15 years in prison for his role in the April 26,
2006, slaying of Hashim Ibrahim Awad, a 52-year-old retired Iraqi policeman. In
the military justice system, a jury and not a judge decides a sentence. Thomas was the first among
the eight Camp Pendleton troops charged in the case to take his case to
trial. Five other men pleaded guilty and received sentences ranging from one
to eight year in prison. The lighter sentence for
Thomas may be the work of a jury familiar with the pressures of combat,
family members of some of the other accused and legal experts said Friday
morning. All of the jurors had combat experience. "The key to the
sentence that Trent got is every person (on the jury) had combat experience
and understands what happens there," said Deanna Pennington, whose son,
Lance Cpl. Robert Pennington, received an eight-year sentence after pleading
guilty to conspiracy and kidnapping - the same crimes for which Thomas
received no additional jail time. Pennington said Thomas'
sentence did not cause her to second-guess her son's decision to plead
guilty. Pennington's attorney,
Carlsbad's David Brahms, called Thomas' decision to go to trial risky and
praised the work of his defense team. "It was a brilliant job
by Thomas' attorneys," Brahms said. "Great reward comes with great
risk." Thomas' attorneys had asked
that the married father of two young children not serve any time beyond the
14 months he has been in custody since he was arrested in late April 2006
while still in Iraq. Former Marine attorney and
judge Gary Solis said after the sentencing that juries often play the role of
softening verdicts - or toughening them up - through sentencing. "Juries have always
been society's avenging sword or the means by which society softens the rough
edges of the law," Solis said in a telephone interview Friday morning.
Now a professor of military law and Washington's Georgetown University, Solis
said the sentence sent a message that "we can't have this conduct, so
you're gone," but at the same time that the panel was sympathetic to the
case. Thomas and seven Kilo
Company squad mates from Camp Pendleton's 3rd Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment
were charged with the slaying last year. During his trial, Thomas'
attorneys presented expert medical witnesses who said he suffers from a mild
form of post-traumatic stress disorder and was predisposed to agree with
anything his leaders wanted, even if that meant breaking the military's rules
of engagement. Those who pleaded guilty
have testified that Awad was picked at random and that the killing was
intended to send a message that the Marines were tired of being attacked. On Wednesday, Thomas had
implored the jury to return a sentence that allowed him to stay in the Marine
Corps. The service brought stability and purpose to his life, the veteran of
three Iraq tours said. "I came from
nothing," Thomas said, briefly breaking down. "Here, I am at home.
It is my all." Pennington's mother said she
was happy with Thomas' sentence. "We are so pleased for
his family and for him," she said. "These boys were just doing
their job and what they were told to do. It was not immediately clear
when Thomas will be released from the brig and dismissed from the service. Trials for the two remaining
co-defendants, Sgt. Lawrence Hutchins III and Cpl. Marshall Magincalda, will
play out in a base courtroom next week. Thomas said Friday he is
praying for the other defendants and will attend weekend rallies outside the
base to show his support for Marines still facing charges. External link: http://www.nctimes.com/articles/2007/07/20/news/top_stories/22_26_237_19_07.txt |