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The War Profiteers - War Crimes,
Kidnappings, Torture and Big Money |
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February 26th,
2007 - Marine Charged with Murdering Iraqi Heads to Court Monday |
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Marine Charged with Murdering
Iraqi Heads to Court Monday By Thomas Watkins Associated Press February 26, 2007 Camp Pendleton - A motions
hearing for Sgt. Lawrence G. Hutchins III, considered by some to be the
mastermind of a kidnapping and killing in Hamdania, was postponed Monday for
at least 24 hours because bad weather grounded key attorneys on the East
Coast. Four Marines and a Navy
corpsman who pleaded guilty to reduced charges in last year's slaying have
said that the serviceman from Plymouth, Mass., masterminding the killing. The strategy Hutchins and
his attorneys will use to respond to the allegations is expected to be
revealed at the hearing. Hutchins was the leader of
an eight-man squad accused of killing Hashim Ibrahim Awad, 52, last year. The
five that pleaded guilty said Hutchins came up with the plan – and several
said he fired the fatal shots. A Marine corporal who initially pleaded guilty
to murder withdrew those pleas because he said he was ordered by Hutchins to
participate in the kidnapping and killing. Hutchins' attorney Rich
Brannon has said he does not believe Hutchins did anything wrong. Brannon recently traveled
with other attorneys to Iraq to inspect the crime scene in the rural Iraqi
town of Hamdania. Also on the trip was Joseph Low, the attorney for Cpl.
Marshall Magincalda, who is headed to trial on murder and kidnapping charges. Prosecutors say Awad was an
innocent civilian murdered by Marines who took the law into their own hands.
Low said that may not be the case. “I went to Iraq to see if I
could gather additional evidence so I could have proof that the judge would
allow me to bring into court as to Awad's past terrorist activities,” Low
said. The lawyers' Iraq trip
points to a potential trial strategy – that of convincing a jury that Awad
was an insurgent and the Marines were justified in their actions. Low said he was unable to
gather any evidence linking Awad to a terrorist past. The conditions of the
trip made that impossible, he said, as he and the other lawyers only had
about 20 minutes on the ground in Hamdania. The town, located on the
outskirts of Fallujah, is now run by insurgents and the Marines and Army no
longer patrol there, the attorney said. Low said the government had
classified information about Awad's past and he intended to file a motion to
allow that evidence in court. The squad forced Awad into a
hole and shot him, then tried to cover it up by placing an AK-47 and shovel
by his body to make it look like he was an insurgent planting a bomb,
according to prosecutors and the troops that have testified. Prosecutors have said the
troops wanted to kill an Iraqi insurgent they suspected of planting bombs.
They couldn't find the man, and instead kidnapped Awad to “send a message,”
according to court testimony. The Navy corpsman, Seaman
Recruit Melson J. Bacos, told a court that after Awad was dead, Hutchins
said, “Congratulations, we just got away with murder, gents.” External link: http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/military/20070226-0852-ca-marines-iraqshooting.html |