The Marines believed he was an insurgent. I trust their battlefield judgement more than that of arm chair 2d guessers back in the states.
The man was not innocent. Otherwise, there's no way that Magic's teammate could have been sentenced to just the BCD Special. After all, he was convicted of conspiracy to commit murder.
I, for one, would like to know who this fellow was. The family made a claim for him and received compensation money [I think]. It could not be proved that he was the man they claimed. During the Cpl Thomas hearing, the defense claimed he was the cousin of the “prince of jihad” in Hamdania and a suspected insurgent, himself. Until, and unless, the military shuts down false Iraqi claims to obtain compensation, these stories and ensuing charges may continue to surface.