Posted on 02/17/2007 6:58:31 PM PST by KantianBurke
CAMP PENDLETON, California (CNN) -- A U.S. Marine will serve no more than eight years in prison in connection with the killing of an Iraqi civilian, a Marine Corps spokesman said Saturday.
Marine Lance Cpl. Robert Pennington was sentenced to 14 years' confinement but will serve no more than eight under a plea agreement, Marine spokesman Sean Gibson told CNN.
Pennington pleaded guilty Tuesday to charges regarding the death of Hashim Ibrahim Awad, 52, in Hamdaniya, west of Baghdad.
Pennington was among a group of seven Marines and a Navy medic charged in Awad's death. He and two other Marines were ordered to stand trial in October.
Pennington agreed to plead guilty to conspiracy to commit premeditated murder and kidnapping, and to a kidnapping charge. Other charges he faced were dismissed at sentencing.
He was given credit for the 340 days he served in pretrial confinement, Gibson said.
(Excerpt) Read more at cnn.com ...
ping
Ping.
If you weren't pinged, let jazusamo or me know if you want on the Hamdania Marine Ping List.
North County Times story has also been posted as a thread, Pennington gets 8 years in Hamdania killing
I didn't see the keyword "Killer" until after I sent the ping.
Do you even read the articles you post? Pennington was not sentenced as a "cold blooded killer".
guilty to conspiracy to commit premeditated murder and kidnapping
It must be harder to meet the requirements to be a "cold blooded killer" these days
No, the requirement is the same. A "cold blooded killer" should be a person who actually killed someone.
So then Saddam Hussein wasn't a "cold blooded killer". Good to know
Secondly, if Saddam Hussein killed someone with his own hands, yes, he's a cold blooded killer. I have no idea if he did or not. That was not among the reasons I supported the war in Iraq, and still do.
Lastly, I find it of passing interest that you and KantianBurke (if you're not one and the same) use Murtha's accusation about the Haditha Marines--as if Murtha is now vindicated. You may not realize this is a different group of Marines. Also, Murtha will never be vindicated. He called the Haditha Marines cold blooded killers while an investigation was ongoing, disregarding their right to a presumption of innocence.
What a person pleads guilty to, in exchange for a reduced sentence in a negotiated agreement, may have nothing at all to do with what they actually did. I realize that the agreement the Marine signs will say that it's "truthful" and other legal baloney. That still doesn't make it necessarily true. That's the government lawyers' way of covering their butts. "He signed it! He admitted it! We didn't make him sign it!" Yeah, BS. After jerking him around through the American Gulag for long enough, they finally broke him down enough to sign a "confession" of guilt. Don't confuse process this with justice.
I find it of passing amusement that you imagine I am supporting Murtha, or indeed have any idea what a Murtha is
(if you're not one and the same)
If you believe this why bother adressing you replies to both of us?
Just trying to amuse myself during an otherwise tedious and pointless exchange.
Saddam Hussein actually did kill someone. Several people actually. And I don't mean as the ruler of Iraq.
I got a rude awakening for you, swee pea, his family gave in to the prosecution, he wasn't proven guilty.
He admitted to a lesser charge because the Military wanted to give him LIFE in prison. He CHOSE to let them give him th lesser charge to avoid LIFE in prison, get it yet?
If you were in contact with the families like some of us are, you wouldn't be saying what you just did. NONE of the Marines told their famiies the stories you read in the papers.
No, I don't think so.
It's not been proven to me yet.
In any case, when was the last time you saw a "no more than 8 years" sentence for cold-blooded murder?
I think that we've got to conclude it's some kind of equivalent to "manslaugher" or "negligent homicide." We had a drunk driver receive a similar sentence the other day in our town.
It is significant that it is "no more than" instead of "no less than." That means that with the 14 months served this man is eligible soon to start seeking parole.
The bottom line: "cold-blooded murder" isn't sticking here.
Wonder what the plea deal agreed to??
War is Hell.
The rude awakening is that there is a murthababy on FR.
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1786775/posts?page=13#13
This is no rude awakening, This has been anticipated, It seems folks like you have an addenda and have waited for these outcomes with great anticipation. I would think if you were put upon the way these Marines have been, to include there families, you and yours would have been asking for the same basic rights that you get to use here. Corruption with an addenda suits some folks, maybe like you! As far as the men and women who fight for me and my family and our safety, I and others will continue to expose the truth, Find me one Marine that has admitted to murder using your rules, Not one my friend, Find me one marine that has been convicted in a court room!!!!!! none my friend. They have been forced to plea against themselves. So comrade, If you can read this, thank your teachers, If you can read this in ENGLISH, thank people like our solders and Marines
Keeping score, are you?
Yes, it was a rude awakening this morning. It is a such a shame to see our Marines being prosecuted with the full force and authority of our government, but expect the defenedants to scrape together their own defense funds. Wonder how many millions have already been spent for these 5 pleas? Thankfully our governement didn't have to spend much on their PR campaign with Rep. Murtha quite happy to spread their accusations of "cold-blooded murderers" and a willing media to repeat these accusations thousands of times.
So thankyou for your concern. It's so nice to know there are others on FR who care so much.
According to a dictionary, yes. In the eyes of the law (including the USCMJ), it depends.
I know that there are crimes commited even in War. I don't believe that half of these Marines and Corpsmen are guilty of any crimes. The Drive By media and the long list starting with pelosi, murtha, kennedy, HITERLY,and all the rest are the ones getting this in the news. Why is the Free Republic and people like LtCol. Ollie North the only ones that get the news out about our People in uniform that is TRUE? God Bless America and All who have and keep defending Her.
By any lawful as well as dictionary definition he is not a "cold blooded killer". Calling him one is just idiotic.
Is that you, murtha?
I'm merely making the distinction that, if we were in Illinois for example, he would be a murderer in the eyes of the law even though he didn't pull the trigger.
If a defendant in Illinois does not cop a plea to a murder and is not sentenced for murder, how is he a cold blooded killer (which is what others have called the lance corporal) in the eyes of the law?
It's one of those split-hair things.
The poster of this thread was wrong, got called on it, and ran away.
Found this from an older article, Sep 25,2006, in the North County Times. The prosecution spent a lot of man hours, effort, and money to get these pleas. You would think NCIS could spend just a little more money to tape all these interviews.
Amazingly, the motive has changed from the original assertion.
http://www.nctimes.com/articles/2006/09/25/news/top_stories/92301190403.txt
....."More than two dozen Naval Criminal Investigative Service agents have been involved in the Hamdania investigation, spending more than 7,000 hours on the case conducting more than 100 interviews, according to agency officials.
Despite assertions from defense attorneys and the accused men's family members, agency officials say privately that their investigation clearly demonstrated a squad out of control that conspired to kidnap and kill Awad after he would not provide members with information about insurgent activity in the area."......
Thanks for the find, Girl. I'll add it to the page later today.
It's important to ....understand the stakes and understand the nature of the enemy. They cannot exist without safe haven. And so one of the doctrines and one of the lessons learned after September the 11th is that we must hold people to account for harboring terrorists. If you harbor a terrorist, if you feed a terrorist, if you house a terrorist, you're as equally guilty as the terrorist.
The Murat Centre
Indianapolis, Indiana
http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2006/03/20060324-5.html
Did you forget a /sarc tag?
TRUE
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.