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Marine Splits Pleas in Iraqi Killing [LCpl Pennington / Hamdania]
Associated Press ^ | February 13, 2007 | A nameless inkstained wretch

Posted on 02/13/2007 3:48:30 PM PST by RedRover

A Marine pleaded guilty to conspiracy and kidnapping charges on Tuesday but denied murdering the Iraqi civilian he and seven other servicemen are accused of killing last April.

Lance Cpl. Robert Pennington, of Mukilteo, Wash., entered the guilty pleas as part of a pretrial agreement in his court-martial, which began Tuesday.

The serviceman pleaded not guilty to charges of murder, larceny and housebreaking.

Pennington, 22, and seven others are accused of dragging Hashim Ibrahim Awad from his home inHamdania last April and shooting him.

The court-martial continued Tuesday with the judge addressing the guilty pleas. It was not immediately clear how Pennington's not-guilty pleas would be handled.

Pennington faces a maximum sentence of life in prison, although a sentencing cap could be part of the pretrial agreement.

According to prosecutors and earlier testimony from the others charged, the squad was looking for a suspected insurgent but couldn't find him, so they kidnapped Awad instead.

Investigators believe they tried to cover up the killing by planting an AK-47 and a shovel by Awad's body to make it look like he was an insurgent planting a bomb.

Three of the Marines and the sailor have pleaded guilty to lesser charges and were sentenced to less than two years in prison but were required to testify about the killing.

The Marine Corps has refiled seven charges against another Marine [Cpl Trent Thomas], including murder, after he withdrew his guilty plea last week.


TOPICS: Foreign Affairs; News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: hamdania
A Marine pleaded guilty to conspiracy and kidnapping charges...

As far as I know, this is the first serious guilty plea in the Hamdania case. No one yet is pleading guilty to murder.

1 posted on 02/13/2007 3:48:33 PM PST by RedRover
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To: RedRover

If only our politicians would adminster justice within their own ranks like our military does.


2 posted on 02/13/2007 3:54:45 PM PST by prairiebreeze (I am PRO-VICTORY!!)
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To: jazusamo; lilycicero; smoothsailing; Just A Nobody; pinkpanther111; freema; sailor4321; Girlene; ...
Ping!

Starting now, I'm only going to ping the Haditha Marine List to Hamdania stories when it's clearly relevant (i.e., NCIS agents getting caught fabricating evidence).

So we're starting a new, second ping list for Hamdania articles. Let me or jazusamo know if you want to be on it.

3 posted on 02/13/2007 3:57:14 PM PST by RedRover (Proud member of the unforgiving environment.)
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To: prairiebreeze
How can you say that? Look at what happened to William Jefferson.

No, wait...

4 posted on 02/13/2007 3:59:20 PM PST by RedRover (Proud member of the unforgiving environment.)
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To: prairiebreeze

That's only the Republicans.

Even when the claims are totally bogus.


5 posted on 02/13/2007 4:11:22 PM PST by Killborn (Age of servitude. A government of the traitors, by the liars, for the sheep.)
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To: RedRover

All I want to know is; after all the statements we have been hearing from the families directly, and now, these open confessions of guilt, have we been lied to all this time?


6 posted on 02/13/2007 4:15:41 PM PST by RaceBannon (Innocent until proven guilty: The Pendleton 8...down to 2...GWB, we hardly knew ye...)
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To: RedRover

This is a strange way of phrasing it, "split pleas", by the Associated Press. According to the North County Times, http://www.nctimes.com/articles/2007/02/13/news/breaking/8_31_250_13_07.txt

"the Seattle-area native entered the guilty pleas without elaboration or a detailed statement. Prosecutors are expected to drop charges of murder, larceny and housebreaking in exchange for the guilty pleas."

I think conspiracy and kidnapping are the same charges that Bacos pleaded guilty to, which resulted in 12 months. So I'm not so sure this is any more serious than the other 5 who have pleaded.

And now there are three left.


7 posted on 02/13/2007 4:16:59 PM PST by Girlene
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To: RaceBannon

Don't know. This is the Marine who stated he was denied an attorney.

From NBCSandiego.com: http://www.nbcsandiego.com/news/10370201/detail.html?rss=dgo&psp=news

"Pennington testified at a Monday hearing that when Naval Criminal Investigative Service agents interviewed him following the April 26 death of Hashim Ibrahim Awad, they threatened him with the death penalty and told him it would be a mistake to ask for an attorney."


8 posted on 02/13/2007 4:35:33 PM PST by Girlene
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To: Girlene; 1stbn27; 2111USMC; 2nd Bn, 11th Mar; 68 grunt; A.A. Cunningham; ASOC; AirForceBrat23; ...

Ping


9 posted on 02/13/2007 5:16:16 PM PST by freema (Marine FRiend, 1stCuz2xRemoved, Mom, Aunt, Sister, Friend, Wife, Daughter, Niece)
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To: RaceBannon; freema; RedRover
This is the Marine from Monday that made accusations about the NCIS.
I want to remind Race and others to think about this statement, and this coming after the airing of the CNN interview of last night on 360.

If in fact the Government (USMC and NCIS) had the evidence that no one has seen to date, would settle for plea deals in a capital murder case among all the other charges ( Kidnapping,breaking and entering,theft,PRE MEDITATED MURDER ect.) they would settle for a plea???????

Race, we both, and I am sure there are more folks out here that know Marines that did hard time and got dishonorable for far,far less. They have gotten these kids to testify against themselves. Think about this guy's, where is the Gov. case and what fact's have they shown you besides accusations and plea deals????? If NCIS is so good at their job, Why do they not want to go to General Court Marshal where the full extent of the UCMJ can be administered.

My friends think long and hard about this, We have more Marines on the Block and a solder of the 101st Air Born having the same thing done to him. Lots of work to be done to stop this process. I can't tell you who is innocent or guilty, But continuing down this road with these rules, no one will ever have the chance to know. You guy's do great work, take a breath and consider these thought's and ask if you have seen anything I have proposed answered by the Corp's or the NCIS,,,,,,, smoke ,mirrors and deceit.
10 posted on 02/13/2007 7:23:20 PM PST by flightline (they fight for us,We fight for them........!)
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To: Girlene
Hey, Girl. I posted this because it was more recent than the NC Times piece and seemed to have more info. Neither one was very satisfactory.

I'm back to thinking your spreadsheet was a great idea.

11 posted on 02/13/2007 9:04:58 PM PST by RedRover (Proud member of the unforgiving environment.)
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To: flightline; RaceBannon; pinkpanther111; Girlene; lilycicero
Agreed, flight. There's a reason it's called a "plea deal" rather than the "plea truth".

It saddens me that the Pendleton 8 had all kinds of support until the first plea. No matter the details, or what was being pleaded to, even Freepers dropped the 8 like hot coals.

As we know from Rick Borg, checks were rolling in to the Pendleton 8 defense fund last summer. The total raised hit $50,000. Then the prosecutor did a Monty Hall and made a deal with Bacos. And not a single other check arrived after that.

Personally, if every Haditha Marine suddenly took a plea deal, I wouldn't change what I'm doing in the least. I'm not telling other people what to do, but reaffirming my intention to stay with this to the end. I feel our Marines are owed that much.

12 posted on 02/14/2007 6:31:34 AM PST by RedRover (Proud member of the unforgiving environment.)
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To: Girlene
This is a strange way of phrasing it, "split pleas", by the Associated Press.

The New York Post headline would have said, Marine in Split Plea Soup ;)

13 posted on 02/14/2007 6:37:04 AM PST by RedRover (Proud member of the unforgiving environment.)
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To: RedRover; flightline

"Marines in Split Plea Soup"...I kept thinking the same thing. Yes, it is sad about the Pendlteon 8's cause being dropped by most once a plea deal was made. I think this was the intent of those who are driving this case. The Marines are obviously affected by political pressure (i.e. their chains were removed after many Americans protested). The quickest way to reduce this pressure is to get America to lose faith in their innocence. Mission accomplished. Technically, I don't think that the prosecution had much of a case and needed confessions to put away the leader, Hutchins. I don't know how guilty they are, if they were coerced to make false statements, or what the truth is about this incident.

Unfortunately, these various cases have significantly affected the ROE by our military in Iraq. I am astounded by some of their accounts and how dangerous it is for them to conform. They seem to have been left on their own and risk injury, death, or getting in trouble depending on the changing political winds. That's one reason I'd like to see these cases vigorously defended. Politics are fickle, but America's future depends on a strong, confident, and vibrant military.

I hope the Haditha Marines are watching this case and Lt. Phan's case. They need a good PR offensive, even if it's grass roots. So thankyou to both of you, along with other freepers, for what you've done so far. Hopefully, Mr. Sharratt can do some radio or TV shows to get his message out there. America needs to hear from their families.


14 posted on 02/14/2007 7:18:30 AM PST by Girlene
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To: RedRover; flightline; pinkpanther111; lilycicero; RaceBannon

This is how the case looked in September, 2006 according to the Mukilteo Beacon

http://www.mukilteobeacon.com/8906warcrime.html

Mukilteo Marine awaits war crime hearing By Paul Archipley

"Lance Cpl. Robert B. Pennington was on his third tour of duty in Iraq. The Mukilteo man had volunteered to serve his country, was among those on the front lines of the initial assault on Baghdad, and later fought in Fallujah.

In July, the Kamiak grad celebrated his 22nd birthday in the Camp Pendleton brig.

Pennington, six other Marines and a U.S. Navy corpsman are accused of murdering an Iraqi man last year in Hamdania, a village west of Baghdad, then trying to cover up the crime.

The government’s case seems to rest primarily on statements signed by the accused themselves, statements that defenders of the “Pendleton 8” say are highly suspect.

If there’s other evidence against the group, the government isn’t yet sharing it with defense attorneys.

That lack of cooperation troubles Pennington’s attorney, former Brigadier General David Brahms.

And the harsh treatment given the defendants, particularly in comparison to servicemen and women charged in other alleged war crimes, weighs heavily on Terry and Deanna Pennington, Robert’s parents.

“We’re trying to put pressure on the military to treat them fairly,” Deanna Pennington said from the couple’s new home in Maui, Hawaii. (A planned move from Mukilteo due to a job transfer for Deanna preceded the crisis.)

“No one in the Haditha case (in which Marines are accused of massacring 24 unarmed men, women and children) is in the brig.

“Our son was in the brig for a month without even being charged. I don’t understand why our boys are getting treated differently.”

Attorney Brahms said those decisions are in the hands of commanding officers. The commanding officer in the Haditha case seems to be supporting his Marines pending the outcome of investigations and hearings.

The commanding officer in the Hamdania incident is treating the Pendleton 8 like they’re guilty.

This much is known, said Terry Pendleton: “Some Iraqi civilian ended up dead. Several days later, his family alleged he was murdered. I don’t think they named names.”

Yet, according to the Associated Press, investigators from the Naval Criminal Investigative Service claim that, without provocation, the accused troops nabbed the victim, Hashim Ibrahim Awad, tied him up, put him in a hole and shot him.

The troops then allegedly placed an AK-47 in Awad’s hands and put a shovel in the hole to make it appear he had been planting explosives.

According to Terry Pennington, the NCIS put each of the accused in a room for up to eight hours without food or bathroom breaks, browbeat and threatened them with facing the death penalty if they didn’t cooperate, wrote up statements for them rather than taking statements, then secured signatures.

“They were told if they signed there would be some form of non-judicial punishment, such as being busted down a stripe,” Terry Pennington said.

“But the moment they signed, all promises were broken and they were flown to Camp Pendleton.”

Brahms has high regard for members of NCIS, but he has seen this kind of investigation before.

“They’ve got a bunch of pretty good people, but terrible policies,” he said. “They have a tendency to investigate by statement.

“They can lie, they can cheat, and standard practice is intimidation of our young men and women.

“It creates statements that are suspect.”

Despite the fact the accused hail from all over the country, each coming with the dialects and outlooks of their upbringing, Brahms said the statements “look remarkably alike.”

“It’s a great institutional failing,” he said. “They start with a premise, and their investigation is designed to validate that premise.”

The military has been basically uncooperative with defense attorneys, and has so far refused to facilitate trips to the crime scene.

Without all the evidence, Brahms said he’s like “a one-legged man in an ass-kicking contest.”

The Pendleton 8 are awaiting an Article 32 hearing on Sept. 25. At that time a military court will determine whether there’s enough evidence to move forward with a general court martial.

Meanwhile, the Penningtons are working hard to win better treatment for their son and the other defendants. Terry Pennington has been on several talk shows. They have contacted elected officials without success.

There is a website, defendrob.com, for anyone wishing to send money to help with defense costs or offer moral support.

They say their son is bearing up well, but they worry he’s showing signs of traumatic stress syndrome. He’s getting poor or no medical treatment, they say.

Anyone who can is encouraged to help.

“Obviously, the commander-in-chief or secretary of defense doesn’t take my calls,” Terry Pennington said.

“If there’s anybody who’s politically connected, we need their help. Find us somebody in a position of power.” "


15 posted on 02/14/2007 7:49:20 AM PST by Girlene
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To: Girlene; flightline; The Original JAG Hunter
Technically, I don't think that the prosecution had much of a case and needed confessions to put away the leader, Hutchins. I don't know how guilty they are, if they were coerced to make false statements, or what the truth is about this incident.

Your post puts it exceedingly well. Initially, I was only following the Haditha case. But the link between them are the methods of investigators and prosecutors. So, for me, Haditha has become a much larger story.

As Jonathan Turley observed, the NCIS' chief function is to get confessions. This puts them well outside the mainstream of law enforcement which relies on the collection of actual evidence.

Among the things I don't know is whether the NCIS' methods are embedded in the UCMJ or not. I aim to find out.

16 posted on 02/14/2007 10:01:47 AM PST by RedRover (Proud member of the unforgiving environment.)
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