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The War Profiteers - War Crimes,
Kidnappings, Torture and Big Money |
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August 11th,
2007 - Jailed Mukilteo Marine Set Free |
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Jailed Mukilteo Marine Set
Free By HeraldNet August 11, 2007 Mulkiteo - A Marine Corps
enlisted man from Mukilteo who pleaded guilty to kidnapping and conspiracy to
kill an Iraqi civilian was released Friday from a military jail in
California, Marine officials said. Pvt. Robert B. Pennington,
22, was released after a meeting Friday with Lt. Gen. James Mattis. Mattis
agreed to grant Pennington clemency, thereby reducing his sentence, as
allowed under military law, officials said. "We are overjoyed.
Thank you God," his father, Terry Pennington, said. "We're bouncing
off the ceilings and walls and we couldn't be more pleased with Gen. Mattis'
decision." Pennington was the last of
the five Marines who pleaded guilty in the April 2006 death of a Hamdania man
to have his sentence reduced. Mattis, commanding general
of Marine Forces Command, reduced Pennington's sentence after reviewing the
case. At the time of the incident,
Pennington was 21, was not a squad leader or fire-team leader and he did not fire
his weapon, Mattis said. He was on his third tour of
duty in Iraq. In February, Pennington
entered the guilty plea. Under the plea agreement, Pennington was reduced in
rank and was to be dishonorably discharged. He was to serve an eight-year
sentence. "The biggest concern we
had was getting him out of the hellhole they had him locked up in,"
Terry Pennington said. Now, Pvt. Pennington will
remain in the military for an undetermined amount of time while Mattis
reviews the plea agreement, his father said. Mattis could waive all the
findings or let them stand, Terry Pennington said. Robert Pennington graduated
from Kamiak High School in 2002. He participated in the Running Start program
and finished his high school career attending classes at Edmonds Community
College. He joined the Marines in
2002, in part as a response to the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. On Friday, he was granted a
leave to spend the weekend with his family members who were with him during
the meeting with the general. "He's looking forward
to some real food," Terry Pennington said. The father thanked
supporters in Mukilteo who have stood by the Marine during the ordeal. "Apparently there is a
God," he said. The Los Angeles Times
contributed to this report. External link: http://www.heraldnet.com/article/20070811/NEWS01/708110328/1004/SPORTS Marine released in death of
Iraqi Clemency granted as all but one plotter now free By Steve Liewer San Diego Union-Tribune August 11, 2007 Camp Pendleton – Seven of
the eight servicemen who kidnapped and killed an Iraqi man in Hamdaniya last
year are now out of prison after Camp Pendleton's senior general gave
clemency to Pvt. Robert Pennington yesterday. Lt. Gen. James Mattis issued
the order after meeting with Pennington, according to a statement from Camp
Pendleton. Mattis, commanding general of the 1st Marine Expeditionary Force
at the base, has the power to reduce sentences in the Hamdaniya case. The statement said Mattis
considered Pennington's age (21) and rank (lance corporal) at the time of the
crime. Mattis also noted that Pennington did not hold a leadership position
or fire his weapon during the assault. Neither Pennington's father,
Terry, nor his attorney, David Brahms of Carlsbad, immediately returned
messages seeking comment. A squad of seven Marines and
one Navy corpsman has acknowledged hatching a plan April 26, 2006, to kidnap
and kill a suspected insurgent they had arrested numerous times. The
servicemen had grown frustrated when Iraqi authorities repeatedly released
him. Scared off by a barking dog
at the man's house, they instead kidnapped a neighbor to send a message to
insurgents. They bound the victim and shot him beside the road, then planted
an AK-47 and a shovel to make it appear that he had been rigging a bomb. Gary Solis, a former Marine
prosecutor and judge at Camp Pendleton, said Mattis' clemency decisions this
week for Pennington and two others in the case surprised him. “The crimes for which the
Hamdaniya accused were convicted and sentenced were most serious,” said
Solis, who teaches a class on the law of war at Georgetown Law School. “The
death of a noncombatant usually results in a harsh conviction.” In February, Pennington
pleaded guilty to kidnapping and conspiracy as part of a plea agreement. He
was demoted and sentenced to eight years in prison. Three other Marines and
the Navy corpsman also entered plea agreements that allowed them to avoid
murder charges. They agreed to testify against the remaining defendants in
exchange for sentences of one year to 21 months. Over the past month, the
squad's three senior members – Sgt. Lawrence Hutchins III and Cpls. Marshall
Magincalda and Trent Thomas – faced military juries of Iraq War veterans.
Only Hutchins, the squad leader who derived the plot, was convicted of
murder. He was sentenced to 15 years. The other two Marines were convicted of
lesser charges and sentenced to time already served. In light of those decisions,
Mattis commuted the sentences of Pvts. Tyler Jackson and Jerry Shumate
earlier this week before the decision in Pennington's case yesterday. “Marines and soldiers
couldn't consider it fair if those who cooperated with the government and
pleaded guilty stayed in prison while those who faced a jury went free,” said
Tom Umberg, a former Army Reserve lawyer and state assemblyman from Santa Ana. External link: http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/military/20070811-9999-1m11hamda.html |