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The War Profiteers - War Crimes,
Kidnappings, Torture and Big Money |
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August 8th,
2007 - General Cuts Sentences of Two Imprisoned Marines News article by the San Diego
Union-Tribune |
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General Cuts Sentences of Two
Imprisoned Marines By Rick Rogers San Diego Union-Tribune August 8, 2007 Camp Pendleton – A general
has cut short the sentences of two Marines imprisoned in the Hamdaniya murder
case and might do the same for two others. Pvts. Tyler Jackson and
Jerry Shumate Jr. were released Monday by order of Lt. Gen. James Mattis,
commander of the 1st Marine Expeditionary Force at Camp Pendleton. The base
announced Mattis' decision Tuesday. Jackson and Shumate had been
sentenced to 21 months in the brig as part of pretrial deals in which they
pleaded guilty to aggravated assault and conspiracy to obstruct justice. They
were demoted in rank – from corporal to private. In exchange, the government
dropped the charge of premeditated murder, which would have sent the
defendants to prison for life without parole if they were convicted. Before Mattis released them
Monday, Jackson and Shumate were scheduled to leave the brig as early as
December. Mattis took into account
various factors, including “their military experience, relative rank and
position of authority and their specific involvement” in the Hamdaniya case,
according to a statement that Camp Pendleton issued Tuesday. Jackson, Shumate, five other
Marines and a Navy corpsman kidnapped and killed a man in Hamdaniya, Iraq, on
April 26, 2006. They snatched the victim from his bed, took him to a roadside
hole, bound him and executed him with a barrage of bullets. Afterward, the squad tried
to disguise the killing as a firefight between U.S. troops and an insurgent
trying to plant a bomb. The defendants said they
partly wanted to send a message that insurgents and their supporters in
Hamdaniya would pay a dear price. They had become frustrated after repeatedly
arresting a suspect and turning him over to Iraqi authorities, only to see
him released every time. Five of the defendants
finalized plea bargains with the prosecution, receiving prison terms of one
to eight years. Four of them – Jackson, Shumate, demoted Pvt. John Jodka III
and demoted Hospitalman Melson Bacos – had left prison as of Tuesday. The remaining Hamdaniya
defendants went through courts-martial. Two of them – Cpls. Trent Thomas and
Marshall Magincalda – were demoted to the rank of private and released from
the brig at the end of their trials. Each had spent about 450 days in prison
by then. That leaves two Hamdaniya
defendants still behind bars: Pvts. Robert Pennington and Lawrence Hutchins
III. Before the Marine Corps demoted them, Pennington was a coporal and
Hutchins was a sergeant. Pennington is serving an
eight-year sentence and Hutchins, who oversaw the Hamdaniya abduction and
killing, was sentenced to 15 years last week. Mattis is considering
whether to cut short the prison terms for Pennington and Hutchins, Marine
spokesman Lt. Col. Sean Gibson said Tuesday. Those defendants' attorneys
and family members are asking Mattis to reduce the sentences. External link: http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/military/20070807-1706-bn07hamda.html By Teri Figueroa North County Times August 8, 2007 7:50 AM PDT A Marine commander this week
freed two Marines jailed for killing an Iraqi man and may shave the sentences
of two others, including a sergeant serving 15 years for murder. In an unexpected move
Monday, Marine Lt. Gen. James Mattis, the head of Marine forces in Iraq,
lopped off the remaining few months of brig time faced by two junior Marines
who pleaded guilty to a plot to kidnap and kill an Iraqi. Each served about
15 months in jail. Eight Camp Pendleton troops
have either pleaded guilty to or were found guilty of taking part in a plot
to drag an Iraqi man from his home, shoot him to death and then frame him as
an insurgent in the rural village of Hamdania on April 26, 2006. Sentences for the eight men,
particularly those reached by juries, varied widely. Some were sentenced to
time already served and released. Others pleaded guilty in exchange for
sentences ranging from one to eight years. The heaviest punishment came
last week, when a jury convicted the squad leader, Sgt. Lawrence Hutchins
III, of murder and sentenced him to 15 years. It was the first time a Marine
has been convicted of murdering an Iraqi civilian since the U.S. invaded that
county in 2003. Mattis, who can shorten
sentences but not increase them, freed Pvts. Jerry Shumate Jr., 21, and Tyler
Jackson, 23, out of a sense of fairness, a military spokesman said Tuesday.
Formerly both lance corporals, each was reduced in rank and serving a
21-month sentence. "He (Mattis) balanced
many factors to include their military experience, relative rank and position
of authority and their specific involvement in the death of the Iraqi man as
it was determined through the military legal process," Lt. Col. Sean
Gibson wrote in response to questions about Mattis' decision. The early releases this week
mean six of the eight troops who participated in the plot have been freed
from jail. Gibson said the general is
also considering shaving the sentences of Hutchins and Pvt. Robert
Pennington, who is serving eight years. Pennington, who said he did
not shoot the victim but stood guard while his buddies yanked the man out of
bed, pleaded guilty in February to reduced charges in exchange for an
eight-year sentence. He was the last of the men to plead guilty, and he
agreed to a sentence four times longer than the men who took plea deals
before him. Reached at his Georgia
offices Tuesday, Hutchins' attorney, Rich Brannon, declined to comment about
the potential that his client's sentence could be reduced. The family of the
23-year-old Massachusetts native could not be reached for comment, but
Brannon said Monday that they were meeting with Mattis to lobby for leniency. Pennington's attorney,
Carlsbad-based retired Brig. Gen. David Brahms, also declined comment Tuesday
about efforts to have him freed early. Pennington's mother said her
family is "cautiously hopeful" his sentenced will be slashed. "We have been praying for
this for a long time," Deanna Pennington said. Shumate's family could not
be reached for comment. Jackson's mother, Terri,
said she and her family are thrilled about the release of her son. They are
heading to Camp Pendleton this weekend to see him, she said. The last time
the family saw him outside the brig was before his departure to Iraq in
January 2006. "We are very happy that
he is out," Terri Jackson said from her home in Tracy, "and we
can't wait to have him home." Juries for the three Marines
who took their cases to trial were made up entirely of Iraq war veterans,
including some who earned awards for valor. Most of the panel members
belonged to infantry battalions. During the trials, Marines'
testimony underscored the constraints of men in a war where insurgents hide
among civilians and roadside bombs are the biggest killer of U.S. troops. The eight men were on a
mission to catch anyone planting roadside bombs on the night they crafted a
plan to kill an Iraqi. According to testimony, the
eight squad mates were frustrated by an inability to keep Hamdania's lead
insurgent from repeatedly being released from custody. They also began taking
their cues from platoon and battalion leaders, who beat Iraqi detainees,
according to testimony. The squad was also viewed as
soft, and was under pressure to be more aggressive with Iraqis. Status of each serviceman
charged in the Hamdania killing: - Hospitalman 3rd Class Melson
Bacos: Pleaded guilty to kidnapping and conspiracy to kidnap and making false
official statements. Sentenced to 12 months in the brig, released in March. - Pfc. John Jodka III:
Pleaded guilty to aggravated assault and conspiracy to obstruct justice.
Sentenced to 18 months in the brig, released in July. - Lance Cpl. Tyler Jackson:
Pleaded guilty to aggravated assault and obstruction of justice. Sentenced to
21 months in the brig, released Monday - Lance Cpl. Robert
Pennington: Pleaded guilty to kidnapping and conspiracy to commit
premeditated murder and kidnapping. Sentenced to eight years in prison. - Lance Cpl. Jerry Shumate
Jr.: Pleaded guilty to aggravated assault and conspiracy to obstruct justice.
Sentenced to 21 months in the brig. Released Monday. - Cpl. Marshall Magincalda:
Convicted by a jury Aug. 1 of conspiracy to commit murder and lesser charges.
Released from brig Friday by jury's vote. - Cpl. Trent Thomas:
Convicted by a jury July 18 of kidnapping, conspiracy to commit murder and
lesser charges. Released from brig July 20 by jury's vote. - Sgt. Lawrence Hutchins
III: Squad leader convicted of unpremeditated murder, conspiracy to commit
murder and lesser offenses. Jury sentenced him Friday to 15 years in prison. External link: http://www.nctimes.com/articles/2007/08/08/news/top_stories/1_00_328_7_07.txt |