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The War Profiteers - War Crimes,
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July 26th,
2007 - Marine who Pleaded Guilty to Conspiracy in Iraq Killing Released News article by the Associated
Press News article by the San Diego
Union-Tribune |
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Marine who Pleaded Guilty to
Conspiracy in Iraq Killing Released The Associated Press July 26, 2007 Camp Pendleton, Calif. - A
Marine who pleaded guilty to reduced charges involving the killing of an
Iraqi man has been released from the brig, his attorney said Thursday. Pvt. John J. Jodka III was
the first Marine from an eight-man squad to plead guilty in connection to the
April 2006 killing in the Iraqi village of Hamdania. Jodka was initially charged
with murder and kidnapping but those charges were dropped in October when he
pleaded guilty to assault and conspiracy to obstruct justice as part of a
deal with prosecutors. In return for an 18-month
sentence, Jodka was required to testify against other members of the squad.
He was demoted in rank from private first class. Jodka, of Encinitas, was
released Wednesday after receiving credit for time served before sentencing
and for good behavior, attorney Joseph Casas said. Jodka remains in the Marine
Corps but Casas said he will likely be discharged soon. Because of the
pretrial agreement, he will receive only a general discharge, and not a
bad-conduct or dishonorable discharge. In all, four Marines and a
Navy corpsman made deals with prosecutors. Another Marine was acquitted of
premeditated murder but convicted of other charges, and the courts-martial
for the two other Marines are expected to end next week. Prosecutors say the squad
hatched a plan to kidnap and execute a suspected insurgent, but when they
couldn't find that man they killed an innocent civilian instead. External link: http://www.contracostatimes.com/bayandstate/ci_6470796 Marine says feds altered
statements By Rick Rogers San Diego Union-Tribune July 26, 2007 Camp Pendleton – A Marine
who pleaded guilty to helping kidnap and kill a man in Hamdaniya, Iraq, said
yesterday that investigators used heavy-handed tactics to falsely bolster
their case against his unit commander. Pvt. John Jodka of Encinitas
said the Naval Criminal Investigative Service, or NCIS, added wrong information
to statements he gave during interviews with the agency. The allegedly false details
pertained to Sgt. Lawrence Hutchins, who is undergoing court-martial at Camp
Pendleton on charges that he oversaw the execution of Hashim Ibrahim Awad on
April 26, 2006. Eight servicemen have been
accused of snatching Awad, taking him to a hole, binding his hands and feet,
killing him with a barrage of bullets and trying to disguise the crime as a
firefight between U.S. troops and an insurgent planting a roadside bomb. Five of them, including
Jodka, finalized pretrial agreements that gave them lighter sentences in
exchange for testimony against the remaining defendants. Their prison terms
range from one to eight years. Jodka finished his time in the Camp Pendleton
brig yesterday. The sixth defendant, Cpl.
Trent Thomas, was discharged from the Marine Corps last week after being
convicted of conspiracy and kidnapping but found not guilty of murder. The courts-martial for
Hutchins and Cpl. Marshall Magincalda are taking place in separate courtrooms
on the base. If convicted of murder, both men would face a sentence of life
in prison. Yesterday, military judge
Lt. Col. Jeffrey Meeks twice asked Jodka if NCIS agents used “heavy-handed
tactics” to attribute statements to him that were inaccurate but helpful in
the case against Hutchins. “Yes, sir,” Jodka replied.
In particular, he said agent Kyle Casey inserted information that “would look
better in the statement.” It was unclear how, or if,
Jodka's testimony would affect Hutchins' trial. Marine Corps spokesmen
referred questions to NCIS headquarters in Washington, D.C., but no one there
was immediately available for comment. Phone calls to Rich Brannon,
the lead defense attorney for Hutchins, went unanswered. Jodka took the witness stand
during the first day of testimony in Hutchins' court-martial. Hutchins is
charged with premeditated murder, assault, kidnapping, larceny, housebreaking
and obstruction of justice. Earlier in the day, Casey
testified that after viewing the Hamdaniya crime scene, he told Hutchins that
his unit's version of what happened did not square with the facts. For one thing, Casey said,
there was no blood splatter on the rifle that Awad allegedly carried. Hutchins' court-martial will
resume today and is expected to last into next week. External link: http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/military/20070726-9999-1m26hutchins.html Encinitas Marine released
from brig By Teri Figueroa North County Times July 26, 2007 Camp Pendleton - The
Encinitas Marine who pleaded guilty to his role in a plot to kidnap and kill
an Iraqi man was released from the brig Wednesday morning after serving most
of his 18-month sentence. Pvt. John Jodka's release
after more than 14 months behind bars happened to fall on the same day that
Jodka was called to testify against his squad leader, Sgt. Lawrence Hutchins,
said by military prosecutors to be the alleged architect of the plot. Jodka testified that government
investigators pushed him to include falsehoods in parts of his statement
about what happened. Jodka was the youngest and
least experienced of the eight Camp Pendleton troops accused of killing
Hashim Ibrahim Awad in the rural Iraqi village of Hamdania on April 26, 2006,
then staging the slaying scene to make it appear Awad was an insurgent
planting a bomb. Hutchins is on trial for
charges including murder, kidnapping and conspiring with members of his squad
in the plot. He faces life in prison if convicted of the most serious counts. Under questioning from the
judge overseeing Hutchins' case, Jodka said that agents with the Naval
Criminal Investigative Service encouraged him to include lies in a statement
he gave when he agreed to describe the details of the plot and what had
happened to Awad. "Did the NCIS, with
their heavy-handed tactics, convince you to make that statement?" asked
Lt. Col Jeffrey Meeks, the military judge. "Yes, sir,"
responded Jodka, who pleaded guilty in exchange for testifying against his
squad mates. Meeks twice used the term
"heavy-handed tactics" when referring to questioning by criminal
investigators, and twice Jodka agreed that they had falsely shaped pieces of
his statement. Jodka said he adopted the
falsehoods because the agents told him it might make his story "look
better." Among the falsehoods was a
statement that there was division in the squad about going along with the
slaying plot, Jodka said. External link: http://www.nctimes.com/articles/2007/07/26/military/7_82_507_25_07.txt |