Jury convicts Marine of murder [Sgt. Lawrence Hutchins / Hamdania]

North County Times ^ | August 2, 2007 | TERI FIGUEROA

[Girlene]

Re. Murtha - Actually, if I recall correctly, I think he did include the Hamdania Marines a time or two in his accusations. You are correct that most of his accusations centered on the Haditha Marines. For the sake of our military [and this Marine’s family], I certainly hope Murtha leaves this one alone. Enough is enough.

[RedRover]

It won’t surprise me if Murtha claims he meant Hamdania all along.

[Cinnamon Girl]

Where’s jury nullification when you need it?

[PAR35]

Where the F* do we get these mush-brain juries that convict Marines

United States Marine Corps. I dare you to go up to a bunch of off duty Marines and call them mush-brained.

[shield]

bfl

[RedRover]

I’ll second that.

I respect the jury’s verdict, though it burns me no end that the scum of the earth, a child rapist and murderer, is given more rights in our legal system than any of the Pendleton 8 were accorded. All because Haditha was on the front cover of Time magazine.

The grounds for appeal are many and, if the sergeant can afford it, the appeal will be in the hands of military judges with a broader view of the case than this jury.

[Girlene]

Here's a little more info from the San Diego Union Tribune on the outcome of the trial Marine found guilty of murder in Iraq killing

By Rick Rogers UNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER

1:39 p.m. August 2, 2007

CAMP PENDLETON – Marine Sgt. Lawrence G. Hutchins III was found guilty of unpremeditated murder Thursday and faces a sentence of life in prison without parole for orchestrating and supervising the kidnapping and execution of an Iraqi man in April 2006.

Hutchins, 23, is the first Marine to be convicted of a wartime murder since the Vietnam War.

The jury also found him guilty of larceny, making a false official statement and conspiracy to commit murder, larceny and obstruction of justice. It acquitted him of kidnapping, obstruction of justice, assault and housebreaking, as well as one other count of making a false official statement.

“This is the most important trial in the Hamdaniya case,” Lt. Col. John Baker, the lead prosecutor, said shortly before the verdict was delivered.

“I'm nervous,” he said, particularly because of the prosecution's previous failures to win a murder conviction against the other Hamdaniya defendants.

Before rising out of his chair to hear the verdict, Hutchins took a sip of soda. He stood at attention, stared straight ahead and showed no emotion as the jury foreman announced “guilty” or “not guilty” to each count.

Standing behind him were his brother, his wife, Reyna, and his 2½-year-old daughter, Kylie.

Two weeks ago, Hutchins told a newspaper near his hometown of Plymouth, Mass., that he expected to do well in his trial and would be acquitted of all charges lodged against him.

Jurors deliberated for 10 hours before rendering their verdict, which some saw as reflecting the U.S. military's indifference to the killing of Iraqi civilians and others saw as sympathy for troops who became increasingly frustrated by high-stress urban combat.

Like Hutchins, the jurors were all Iraq war veterans.

They began hearing testimony from Hutchins' friends and family members Thursday afternoon, and are expected to start deliberating his sentence the next day.

Hutchins, six other Camp Pendleton Marines and a Navy corpsman took the Iraqi man from his bed, dragged him to a roadside hole, bound his hands and feet and shot him repeatedly on April 26, 2006, in the rural town of Hamdaniya.

Then they tried to disguise the crime as a firefight between U.S. troops and an insurgent who was discovered trying to plant a bomb.

The defendants have long acknowledged that the abduction and execution took place. But they said a variety of reasons compelled them to kill, including post-traumatic stress disorder and pressure from commanders to get tougher with insurgents.

Hutchins' hopes might largely rest on convincing jurors that forces beyond his control prompted the Hamdaniya incident. His attorneys also plan to portray him as a caring, family oriented man and a highly responsible Marine.

Even before the verdict was announced, Hutchins' attorneys practiced showing photos of Hutchins on a big screen facing the jury box. The strategy is commonly used in efforts to humanize the convicted.

Besides the visual display and expected testimony of Hutchins' supporters, Hutchins is expected to take the stand on his own behalf.

Appealing for sympathy from the jurors could knock years off Hutchins' prison sentence.

[RedRover]

Yes, the sentence must be approved by Gen Mattis and his staff JAG, Col Riggs. The sentence can be reduced but not increased.

[Califreak]

Agreed. People laugh at me, but I often tell members of the military thank you when I see them out & about. I figure they need some kind of moral support instead of what they get. These men and women should be respected and valued, not persecuted and railroaded.

[Girlene]

Enlighten me here, this is about Sgt. Hutchins and co. conspiring to kill a well-known local gangster in Hamdania whom no-one would touch?

You pretty much have it. An Iraqi family claimed the dead Iraqi as their own, a Hashim Awad {which also netted them some compensation money). Only 11 days before the first trial of the three Marines who didn't take pleas, was it made known that NCIS and the prosecution didn't know who the Marines had killed. The defense claimed that it was a cousin [Hashem Gowad] of the "prince of jihad" in Hamdania and was also a suspected insurgent.

You would think if a United States Marine is going away for murder of an Iraqi, the prosecution and NCIS would have to prove WHO was murdered before they put that Marine away.

[lilycicero]

Prayers for this young family.

[lilycicero]

You are a good person.

[RedRover]

Agreed. Plea bargaining and immunity for testimony are especially odious in the military justice system.

The first two guys to plead guilty to charges of murder and kidnapping are already released.

A third and fourth will be out in few months.

A fifth took a deal for eight years in prison.

A sixth was acquitted by a jury of serious charges and is out with time served.

The remaining two, Cpl Magincalda and Sgt Hutchins, await their sentences but may get serious time in prison.

It doesn’t add up to a picture of justice.

[jude24]

Like Hutchins, the jurors were all Iraq war veterans.

I'm inclined to give this jury the benefit of the doubt.

[jude24]

Plea bargaining and immunity for testimony are especially odious in the military justice system.

Plea bargains serve a necessary role. They keep the courts from getting clogged with foregone conclusion cases. They are intended to ensure that those with lesser culpability (e.g. accomplices) are punished less severely in return for helping convict those more culpable.

Plea bargains are not automatically odious. They are a tool that can be abused, but that does not automatically indict the entire system.

[EndWelfareToday]

Plea bargains serve a necessary role.

Oh bull hockey. If there isn't enough physical evidence and eyewitnesses to support charges plea bargaining should not be allowed. It's a joke. Jesus Christ is right on when He says, "And he said, Woe unto you also, ye lawyers! for ye lade men with burdens grievous to be borne, and ye yourselves touch not the burdens with one of your fingers." (Luke 11:46) and "Woe unto you, lawyers! for ye have taken away the key of knowledge: ye entered not in yourselves, and them that were entering in ye hindered." (Luke 11:52)

God hate lawyers worse than those they railroad do.

[Girlene]

Jude, do you know anything about minimum sentencing requirements on these charges? The North County Times article made it sound like life on the Conspiracy charge. Is this the worst charge, and are there minimums required on ANY of these charges?

[jude24]

If there isn't enough physical evidence and eyewitnesses to support charges plea bargaining should not be allowed.

And just how are you to acquire the eyewitnesses? Usually they aren't choir-boys. (Furthermore, almost every jurisdiction requires that accomplice testimony must be corroborated.)

Jesus Christ is right on when He says, "And he said, Woe unto you also, ye lawyers!

Yeah, except "lawyers" in the KJV didn't refer to barristers, but to experts in the Jewish Law (TDNT Vol. 4, p. 1088). The closest modern parallel would be canon lawyers or theologians, NOT civil or criminal lawyers.

[waltereg0]

Very disappointing. I had thought that the prosecution’s case was pretty weak given that they’d been unable to establish who the victim was, whether it was Hashim Awad, the older ex-policeman, or Hashim Gowad, the known insurgent.
It seems that the services are getting cannibalized by these trials. Even second degree murder is way too harsh. What is served by jailing this young marine, that couldn’t have been achieved simply by discharging him with time served as Cpl Thomas was? Some juries (Thomas’s) just see clearer than others.

[waltereg0]

Certainly if Bush can pardon Libby then he can pardon Sgt Hutchins.