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The War Profiteers - War Crimes,
Kidnappings, Torture and Big Money |
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May 8th,
2008 - Former Squad Leader’s Sentence for Killing Iraqi Cut 4 years |
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Former Squad Leader’s
Sentence for Killing Iraqi Cut 4 years By Thomas Watkins Associated Press May 8, 2008 Los Angeles - A Camp
Pendleton Marine who was sentenced to 15 years in the brig for killing an
Iraqi civilian had his term reduced by four years, the man's attorney said
Wednesday. Rich Brannon, the civilian
lawyer for Lawrence G. Hutchins III, said the reduction came after he
appealed to Lt. Gen. Samuel T. Helland, Hutchins' commanding general, for
clemency. "I was pleased to see a
reduction, but I would like to see more," Brannon told The Associated
Press in a phone call from North Carolina. Brannon said he had not yet
seen official paperwork approving Hutchins' sentence reduction, but he
learned of the decision Tuesday from the Marine's legal team at Camp
Pendleton. Helland commuted the
sentence to 11 years after a review of the case. As part of the process, an
appeal on Hutchins behalf will be automatically filed, said Marine spokesman
Lt. Col. Sean Gibson, who is travelling with Helland on a tour of the Middle
East. In addition to the
commutation, Hutchins was given a dishonorable discharge and a reduction in
rank to private, Gibson said. Hutchins will serve his
sentence at the prison at Fort Leavenworth, Mo. Hutchins, of Plymouth,
Mass., was the leader of an eight-man squad accused of kidnapping Hashim
Ibrahim Awad, 52, from his home in April 2006 then marching him to a ditch
and shooting him to death. The killing took place in Hamdania, a small
village in Al Anbar province. Hutchins was sentenced Aug.
3 after being convicted of murder, conspiracy to commit murder, making a
false official statement and larceny. Hutchins had been charged
with premeditated murder but premeditation was removed from the verdict,
meaning Hutchins no longer faced a mandatory life sentence. All eight squad members - seven
Marines and one Navy corpsmen - were initially charged with murder and
kidnapping but four lower-ranking Marines and the sailor cut deals with
prosecutors in exchange for their testimony and received sentences ranging
from one to eight years in prison. Other Marines were acquitted of murder but
convicted of lesser charges and freed after their courts-martial. External link: http://www.mercurynews.com/breakingnews/ci_9190209# |