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The War Profiteers - War Crimes,
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February 6th,
2007 - Marine in Murder Case Seeks Extra Credit for Time Served News article by North County Times |
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Marine in Murder Case Seeks Extra
Credit for Time Served By Mark Walker North County Times February 6, 2007 8:36 PM PST Camp Pendleton - Defense
attorneys for the only Marine who has pleaded guilty to murder in the death
of an Iraqi civilian last April want him to be given credit for four years
already served because of what they contend have been overly restrictive
confinement conditions. Even though Cpl. Trent
Thomas has only been in custody since May, his attorneys argued Tuesday that
his placement in maximum custody was improper and can only be remedied by
multiplying the number days he has already spent behind bars. His attorneys called several
witnesses to explain why Thomas has been kept in a one-man cell at the Camp
Pendleton brig and why he was shackled when out of his cell during his first
three weeks of confinement. A jail counselor, Gunnery
Sgt. Kenneth Elkins, testified that Thomas has been a "outstanding"
inmate who has never violated any regulations and never shown any disrespect
or any kind of bitterness. The attorneys contend that
behavior, coupled with the restrictive confinement, deserve additional credit
when it comes to his term of sentence. "It rates relief,"
Maj. Dale Saran, one of Thomas' attorneys, argued to Lt. Col. Tracy Daly, the
judge presiding over the court-martial of the 25-year-old St. Louis native. Thomas pleaded guilty Jan.
18 to murder, kidnapping, conspiracy and related offenses in the April 26,
2006, abduction and shooting death of Hashim Ibrahim Awad in Hamdania, Iraq. Seven Marines, including
Thomas, and a U.S. Navy corpsman from 2nd platoon of Kilo Company from the
3rd Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment were charged in June with the killing. Four Marines besides Thomas
have pleaded guilty to lesser offenses than murder and received sentences
ranging from 12 to 21 months. Thomas is the only one of
the group - dubbed by supporters as the "Pendleton 8" - to plead
guilty to each of the charges as they were originally filed. Tuesday's court session was
the first phase of what will be at least a four-day sentencing hearing in
which Thomas' attorneys say they will call at least 27 witnesses. Thomas testified briefly,
telling the court that he wants out of his single cell. "I'd have more chance
of rehabilitation," he testified, saying he would be able to get a job
and earn additional credit for good behavior. "It's hard for someone to
rehabilitate themselves when their sitting in a cell by themselves." Defense attorneys also
argued during the daylong session that prosecutors should be limited on the
length of sentence they can seek. That motion was made in
response to a practice in the military court system in which the judge hands
down a sentence without knowing what is contained in the negotiated
agreement. Thomas' plea agreement was
reached with Lt. Gen. James Mattis, the convening authority over the case as
commander of Marine Corps Forces Central Command and the I Marine
Expeditionary Force. But in the military court
system, the defense and prosecutors will present their cases to the judge,
who will then pronounce what he believes is the proper sentence. After that
sentence is rendered, the actual sentencing terms reached with Mattis are unsealed
and whichever is lesser will be the sentence that Thomas will serve. Victor Kelley, Thomas' lead
attorney, argued the motion against allowing prosecutors to seek a sentence
other than what they recommended to Mattis during the plea negotiations. "Justice is not done
when the government talks out of both sides of its mouth," Kelley said. Quizzed by the judge about
the lack of case law to support that motion, Kelley acknowledged there is
none, but urged that it be considered because of what he contended was
essentially a double standard. "Is it a lawful
sentence recommendation to the court when the government has previously made
a recommendation on sentencing," Kelley asked in reference to what
prosecutors recommended to Mattis. The lead prosecutor, Lt.
Col. John Baker, told the judge that the military justice system is
fundamentally different than that in civilian courts and the practice of
recommending a sentence before the terms of a plea deal are unveiled is
deeply rooted in the Uniform Code of Military Justice. Despite the plea agreement,
prosecutors use the sentencing phase to argue why they believe the acts
committed by a defendant who has pleaded guilty warrant a stiff sentence.
Their recommendation, and that ultimately handed down by the military judge,
usually call for much longer jail terms than what is contained in the plea
agreement. The hearing resumes at 1
p.m. today with prosecutors expected to call Petty Officer Melson Bacos, the
corpsman who was the first to plead guilty and the first man in the squad to
give investigators a detailed account of what led to the killing of Awad. Bacos, who got a 12-month
sentence in his plea deal, has testified that Awad was seized from his home
and killed after the squad hatched a plan to kidnap and kill another man who
was a suspected insurgent. When a "snatch
team" didn't find that man at home, they went immediately next door and
seized Awad, a 52-year-old retired police officer with no known insurgent
ties. Some of the men who have
pleaded guilty said that even if the original target couldn't be found, the
squad planned to kill someone in the early morning hours of April 26 to send
a message to the village that the Marines were not going to tolerate
insurgent activity. After Bacos, prosecutors
plan to call a Naval Criminal Investigative Service agent who interviewed
Thomas in Iraq before he and his squad mates were ordered to return to Camp
Pendleton. Thomas' wife, Erica,
attended Tuesday's session along with other family members. She often smiled at
her husband and talked with him during breaks in the small courtroom. External link: http://www.nctimes.com/articles/2007/02/07/news/top_stories/1_03_132_6_07.txt Navy medic who helped kill
Iraqi in Hamdania set for release from prison next month Associated Press February 6, 2007 Camp Pendleton – A Navy
corpsman who was sentenced to a year in military prison for his role in the
killing of an Iraqi man will be released from the brig two months early, his
attorney said Tuesday. Petty Officer 3rd Class
Melson J. Bacos, 21, will be released between March 7 and March 12, said
attorney Jeremiah Sullivan III. The sentence was reduced for good behavior. Bacos was the Navy medic assigned
to a squad of Marines who were accused of kidnapping and murdering Hashim
Ibrahim Awad on April 26, 2006, in the town of Hamdania. He was the first of the
squad to reach a deal with prosecutors, admitting to kidnapping and
conspiracy. He agreed to testify during upcoming proceedings about what he
saw. Murder and other charges against him were dropped. The squad has been in the
brig since May last year; Bacos was sentenced in October. Five of the squad members
have made deals with prosecutors and pleaded guilty to reduced charges. Four
were sentenced to prison terms of less than two years. The fifth, Cpl. Trent D.
Thomas, will be sentenced this week. Sullivan said Bacos will testify at
Thomas' sentencing hearing Wednesday. The troops were accused of
hatching a plan to kidnap and kill an insurgent. Prosecutors said that when
they couldn't find him, they instead snatched Awad from his home and fatally
shot him. External link:
http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/military/20070206-1911-marines-iraqshooting.html |