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The War Profiteers - War Crimes,
Kidnappings, Torture and Big Money |
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August 1st,
2007 - Marine Guilty of Iraq Murder Conspiracy |
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Marine Guilty of Iraq Murder
Conspiracy By Thomas Watkins Associated Press August 1, 2007, 6:03PM Camp Pendleton, Calif. - A
Marine was found guilty Wednesday of conspiracy to murder an Iraqi man, but
acquitted of premeditated murder and kidnapping in a bungled attempt to kill
a suspected insurgent last year. Cpl. Marshall Magincalda
also was found guilty of larceny and housebreaking, and cleared of making a
false official statement. He stood rigidly alongside his two attorneys as
sighs and gasps filled the packed courtroom. A separate jury continued to
deliberate in the case of his squad leader, Sgt. Lawrence G. Hutchins III,
who faces the same charges. Prosecutors said that during
a nighttime patrol in Hamdania, Iraq, in April 2006, the Marines' squad
hatched a plan to kidnap and kill a suspected insurgent from his house. When
they couldn't find him, they instead kidnapped a man from a neighboring
house, dragged him to a hole and shot him. Prosecutors said squad
members tried to cover up the killing of Hashim Ibrahim Awad by planting a
shovel and AK-47 by his body to make it look like he was an insurgent
planting a bomb. Magincalda, 24, of Manteca,
would have received a mandatory life sentence had he been convicted of
premeditated murder. The murder conspiracy count carries a maximum sentence
of life in prison, but a squad mate convicted of the same charge last month
did not get any prison time from a different military jury. Magincalda was accused of
being part of the four-man "snatch team" that seized the victim
from his home, but was not accused of firing any shots. His defense attorneys
argued that the Marine is a religious man who wanted no part in the
conspiracy and told his squad mates he would not shoot anyone. The verdict was rendered by
a jury of five enlisted men and one officer. All have served at least one
combat tour in Iraq. All eight members of
Magincalda's squad were initially charged with murder and kidnapping. Four
lower-ranking Marines and a Navy corpsman cut deals with prosecutors in
exchange for their testimony and received sentences ranging from one to eight
years in prison. A jury acquitted another
defendant of murder last month, despite several of his former squad mates
testifying that he helped kidnap and shoot Awad. Cpl. Trent D. Thomas was
convicted of kidnapping and conspiracy. His rank was reduced to private and
he was given a bad-conduct discharge - but no prison time. Prosecutors have pointed to
Hutchins, 23, of Plymouth, Mass., as the ringleader in the plot. Hutchins'
defense attorneys argued the squad leader participated in the plot because
his officers had set a poor leadership example and given approval for Marines
to use violence in capturing and interrogating suspected insurgents. © 2007 The Associated Press External link: http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/ap/nation/5019800.html |