|
The War Profiteers - War Crimes,
Kidnappings, Torture and Big Money |
|
July 25th,
2007 - Military Trial Begins in Iraqi Killing News article by the Associated
Press |
|
Military Trial Begins in
Iraqi Killing By Thomas Watkins Associated Press July 25, 2007 Camp Pendleton, Calif. - The
suspected ringleader in the kidnapping and execution of an Iraqi civilian
participated because he was under pressure from superior officers to find
terrorists, a defense attorney said Tuesday. Sgt. Lawrence G. Hutchins
III, 23, the leader of the eight-man squad involved in the death, is charged
with murder, kidnapping, conspiracy, assault and other crimes. Hutchins, of
Plymouth, Mass., faces a mandatory life sentence if convicted of murder. "You will learn how
they were pressured to get things done," defense attorney Richard
Brannon told the nine-man military jury during opening statements at
Hutchins' court-martial. Prosecutors say Hutchins'
squad hatched a plot to kidnap and kill a suspected insurgent. But when they
were unable to find him, the troops instead kidnapped a neighbor, 52-year-old
Hashim Ibrahim Awad, marched him 1,000 yards from his house and shot him to
death in a roadside hole, prosecutors said. Prosecutors say that the
victim was riddled with bullets, but that Hutchins fired the fatal
three-round burst into his head. They tried to cover up the
killing by planting a shovel and gun near the retired policeman's body to
make it look like he was an insurgent, according to prosecutors. Brannon said Hutchins'
platoon commander helped foster a climate in which violence was viewed as
acceptable in dealing with suspected insurgents. "These were your
leaders not only telling you what to do, but showing you," Brannon said. Hutchins was joined in the
courtroom by several family members including his wife. The Marine did not
speak. Hutchins, the most senior
Marine present during the killing, has been portrayed by prosecutors as the
primary instigator of a plan to take the law into his own hands and execute a
suspected insurgent who apparently kept slipping through the cracks of the
Iraqi judicial system. "It frustrated all the
Marines in the squad," said prosecutor Lt. Col. John Baker during
opening statements. "You'll learn this man was killed because Sgt.
Hutchins, the mastermind of this perfect plan, wanted to send a
message." Seven Marines and a Navy
corpsman all were charged with murder. The corpsman and four Marines made
plea deals in exchange for their testimony and received sentences ranging
from one to eight years in prison. Last week, Cpl. Trent Thomas
was acquitted of premeditated murder but convicted of murder conspiracy and
kidnapping; he was reduced in rank to private and given a bad-conduct
discharge but received no prison time. The other remaining
defendant is Cpl. Marshall Magincalda, whose court-martial began Monday. Lance Cpl. Robert
Pennington, who got eight years in jail as part of a plea deal, testified at
Magincalda's hearing that Hutchins came up with the plan but that all the
troops agreed to carry it out. Pennington said he and three
others went to the suspected insurgent's house but were spotted by a woman inside
the building. Instead of snatching the suspect or any of his family members,
the Marines had a backup plan - to kidnap any military-age Iraqi man. Prosecutors have previously
identified the victim as Awad, but his name was struck from the charge sheets
for Thomas, Hutchins and Magincalda. The victim is now referred to as an
"unknown Iraqi male." Defense attorneys said prosecutors could not
conclusively identify the body. External link: http://www.contracostatimes.com/nationandworld/ci_6460236 Hamdania squad
leader described as murder plot ‘mastermind’ By Mark Walker North CountyTimes July 25, 2007 Camp Pendleton - A Marine
sergeant carefully planned and led seven men under his command to murder an
innocent Iraqi and must be held accountable for "killing in cold
blood," a military jury was told Tuesday afternoon. Lt. Col. John Baker told the
panel that Sgt. Lawrence Hutchins III is the man most responsible for the
death of Hashim Ibrahim Awad in the village of Hamdania last year. "Sgt. Hutchins was the
mastermind behind the plan," Baker told the panel of five officers and
four enlisted men during the prosecution's opening statement in a base
courtroom. "It was an execution." Baker said that when the
trial ends, the government will have proven that Hutchins is guilty of
murder, kidnapping, conspiracy, housebreaking, assault, obstruction of
justice, larceny and making a false official statement. Hutchins' lead attorney,
Rich Brannon, rejected that contention, saying there is a wealth of
conflicting evidence. "There's always two
sides to every story," Brannon said during his opening statement.
"If he had it his way, he (Hutchins) would want to continue as a United
States Marine." The attorney said Hutchins
and his squad were pressured by commanders to "get things done" in
the Hamdania area, an insurgent stronghold northwest of Baghdad. "Their task was trying
to stop the IEDs and the snipers and anybody who was hurting the American
troops," Brannon said, adding that the infantry unit had little training
in counterinsurgency work. The 24-year-old Hutchins was
on his first assignment in Iraq when the incident took place in the early
morning hours of April 26, 2006. Hutchins, six other Marines
and a Navy medical corpsman from Kilo Company's 1st squad, 2nd platoon from
Camp Pendleton's 3rd Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment were charged in the
killing last year. The corpsman and four Marines subsequently reached plea
agreements and received sentences ranging from one to eight years in prison. Those troops have testified
that Awad was seized after the men couldn't find their original target, a
suspected insurgent the squad had earlier arrested and who was later
released. The killing was meant to send a message to the insurgency, the men
have testified. Last week, another trial in
the Hamdania prosecution ended in surprise when a jury sentenced Cpl. Trent
Thomas to a bad conduct discharge and reduction in rank for kidnapping and
conspiracy to commit murder. Prosecutors had sought a
15-year prison term for Thomas, whom the panel could have sentenced to life
in prison. Hutchins' trial is expected
to last about 10 days and may include testimony that he was suffering from a
mild from of post-traumatic stress disorder as a result of his four months in
Iraq. A rapt audience of two dozen
young Marines attending corporals school watched the opening statements
broadcast via closed circuit television to a nearby media room. The room was
established last year to accommodate coverage of the Hamdania trials and
hearings in an unrelated case involving the deaths of 24 Iraqi civilians in
the city of Haditha in 2005 at the hands of a different Camp Pendleton squad. Trial continues for second Marine As Hutchins' trial got under
way, testimony continued in a nearby courtroom in the case against one of the
men he led, Cpl. Marshall Magincalda Jr. One of the men who pleaded
guilty, Pvt. Jerry Shumate Jr., told the six-member jury hearing that case
that Magincalda was frustrated with squad mates who admitted the killing and
an attempted cover-up during interviews with Naval Criminal Investigative
Service agents. Those interviews took place in Iraq a few days after the
killing when Awad's family complained to military authorities. "He was angry at
us," Shumate testified of Magincalda's reaction to the news some had
admitted criminal acts. "He said we all should have gotten lawyers, and
that we should all say that NCIS coerced false statements from us." Magincalda was one of two
fire team leaders working directly under Hutchins. He is accused of helping
lead a "snatch team" that seized Awad from his bed and is charged
with helping to steal a shovel and AK-47 assault rifle that were placed next
to the Iraqi to make it appear Awad was an insurgent planting a roadside
bomb. Shumate was sentenced to 21
months in the brig and required to testify at the trials for his
co-defendants. He told the court under
questioning from Lt. Col. Sean Sullivan, one of two prosecutors representing
the government, that none of the men objected to the plan that led to the
killing. Magincalda's trial is
expected to last through the middle of next week. His attorneys contend he
was a reluctant participant in the incident, that he suffers from combat
post-traumatic stress disorder and possible traumatic brain injury from
exposure to explosions during his three tours in Iraq. Under the Uniform Code of
Military Justice, two-thirds of the panel members in the Hutchins and
Magincalda trials must agree to reach a verdict, unlike civilian court which
requires a unanimous vote. If either man is convicted,
then sentencing proceedings will follow. In order for a sentence of 10 or
more years in prison to be handed down, three-quarters of panel members must
agree. An acquittal for either man will mean release from the base jail,
where all eight defendants were placed after being returned from Iraq in late
May of last year. Thomas, the man who was
convicted last week but not given any prison time, was released from the jail
Friday. External link: http://www.nctimes.com/articles/2007/07/25/news/top_stories/1_20_387_24_07.txt |