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The execution of an Iraqi man by Camp Pendleton servicemen began as fantasy fueled by a low-budget movie, combat frustrations and the idea of bumping off bad guys for the greater good, an officer testified yesterday. The fantasy ended with seven Marines and a Navy corpsman snatching a grandfather from his bed, then pumping bullets into him on the outskirts of Hamdaniya, Iraq, in April 2006. Yesterday, 2nd Lt. Nathan Phan said he, Sgt. Lawrence G. Hutchins III and other Marines from Kilo Company, 3rd Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment talked regularly about killing local Iraqi crime figures, who often are...

Like twins, the Haditha and Hamdaniya cases are often mistaken for each other. Both involve Camp Pendleton infantry units, both have made international headlines and both are playing out on the base. Camp Pendleton officials are expected to announce the Haditha charges tomorrow, and they have scheduled several Hamdaniya trials for next year. Furthering the similarities, both cases center on allegations of murder. In one incident, eight members of the Kilo Company, 3rd Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment are charged with abducting and shooting to death an Iraqi man in April in the town of Hamdaniya. In the other incident, some...

CAMP PENDLETON, California (AP) - A Marine charged with kidnapping and murdering an Iraqi man last spring assaulted another man in a separate incident because he made "disparaging remarks" about Marines while in Abu Ghraib prison, a military prosecutor said. The comment was the first public glimpse into an alleged April 10 incident uncovered during the probe into the death of 52-year-old Hashim Ibrahim Awad on April 26. Six other Marines have been charged in the murder case. Dressed in a short-sleeved khaki service uniform, Lance Cpl. Jerry E. Shumate Jr. deferred making a plea Friday to the six charges...

During two tours of duty in Iraq, Navy corpsman Melson J. Bacos said, he experienced fire fights with insurgents, soldiers dying in his arms, thoughts of whether he'd live another day. Now he has another unnerving assignment. On Friday, the 21-year-old is scheduled to give testimony that military prosecutors hope will help them convict seven Marines accused of kidnapping and murdering an Iraqi man in the town of Hamdania. Bacos, a medic who patrolled with the Marines, will have similar charges dropped in exchange for testimony during his court-martial, his attorney, Jeremiah Sullivan III, told The Associated Press. The military...

SAN DIEGO An investigating officer has recommended a court martial for a Marine accused of kidnapping and murdering an Iraqi civilian, the troop's attorney said Wednesday. The officer reviewed evidence from a preliminary hearing Aug. 30 and recommended this week that there was probable cause for Pfc. John J. Jodka III to stand trial, according to one of Jodka's attorneys, Joseph Casas. Seven Marines and one Navy corpsman are accused of kidnapping 52-year-old Hashim Ibrahim Awad, taking him to a roadside hole and shooting him to death April 26 in Hamdania, west of Baghdad. The recommendation followed an Article 32...

Cpl. Jerry E. Shumate Jr. CAMP PENDLETON ---- A trio of Naval Criminal Investigative Service agents testified Tuesday morning about how they went about interrogating a Marine lance corporal and other members of a Camp Pendleton platoon accused of killing an Iraqi man earlier this year. The pretrial hearing for Lance Cpl. Jerry E. Shumate Jr. lasted a little more than an hour but did not reveal much of the substance of the prosecution's case against the seven Marines and Navy corpsman from the 3rd Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment. The troops are accused of killing 52-year-old Hashim Ibrahim Awad...

CAMP PENDLETON, Calif. - The government will not seek the death penalty for a Marine Corps corporal who is among eight troops charged with murder and other crimes in the shooting of a civilian Iraqi man, a military prosecutor told a hearing officer Tuesday. Lance Cpl. Jerry E. Shumate Jr., 21, is accused in the killing of 52-year-old Hashim Ibrahim Awad last April in Hamdania, west of Baghdad. Shumate is suspected of firing his M-16 at Awad, then lying to investigators about what had happened, according to charging documents. Military prosecutor Lt. Col. John Baker's recommendation against a possible death...

The mother of a Marine corporal charged with the murder of an Iraqi along with seven other servicemen says Navy prosecutors are trying to frame the "Pendleton 8" – denying them access to evidence, attempting to coerce confessions and treating them more harshly than terrorist prisoners in Guantanamo Bay. Leanne Magincalda, mother of Cpl. Marshall Magincalda, blamed leaks by Rep. John Murtha, D-Pa., for creating a climate of witch-hunt hysteria surrounding the case, leading to isolation and harassment of the incarcerated soldiers. She told WND the parents of the eight have seen most of the evidence against their sons, and...

NORTH COUNTY -- A pretrial hearing starting Tuesday for one of eight Camp Pendleton troops charged with murdering an Iraqi is expected to feature two days of testimony, a defense attorney said Wednesday. The Article 32 hearing for Lance Cpl. Jerry E. Shumate Jr. will focus on his alleged role in the April 26 killing of Hashim Ibrahim Awad in the Iraqi village of Hamdania. Shumate's attorney, Steven Immel, said he did not plan to take the same route that attorneys for two other accused troops did last week when they agreed to let hearing officers consider written reports only...

Alleged confessions appear to form the crux of the government's case against seven Marines and a Navy corpsman charged with murder, kidnapping and other crimes in an Iraqi man's slaying last April. Defense attorneys challenge the validity of the statements and say without them the government's case is baseless. Details about the prosecution's case emerged Wednesday during preliminary hearings for two of eight men accused in the shooting death of 52-year-old Hashim Ibrahim Awad in the village of Hamdania. At Marine Cpl. Marshall L. Magincalda's hearing, prosecutors submitted a thick packet of evidence and pointed to three documents they say...

The opening pair of hearings into charges that Camp Pendleton troops executed an Iraqi man produced a united defense, tantalizing evidence and a surprise announcement yesterday. The unexpected development involved Marine Pfc. John Jodka III, 20, of Encinitas. Near the close of Jodka's hearing, prosecutor Lt. Col. John Baker said the government would not seek the death penalty against him. “It's our position that a capital referral is inappropriate,” Baker said during the session, which was held on the base. “When we heard that, I looked over at Jodka and could tell a huge weight was taken off his shoulders,”...

SAN DIEGO – Hashim Ibrahim Awad was shot to death in a hole by a dusty road west of Baghdad. How the 52-year-old Iraqi came to be there is the focus of an inquiry with possible life and death consequences for seven Marines and a Navy corpsman. Pretrial hearings for the eight soldiers charged with Awad's murder are set to start Wednesday, four months after his death. It will be the first time the facts have been explored in public. Prosecutors claim the troops went into the rural Iraqi town of Hamdania, took Awad from his home, tied him up,...

The first hearing for Camp Pendleton service members charged with killing an Iraqi man could do more than suggest individual guilt or innocence. It also could tarnish the image of the Marine Corps and focus attention on an increasingly unpopular war. Seven Marines and a Navy corpsman from the Kilo Company, 3rd Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment are accused of killing an unarmed civilian on April 26 in Hamdaniya, then trying to cover it up. The defendants have been confined in Camp Pendleton's brig since early May and could face the death penalty if convicted on charges such as kidnapping, assault...

CAMP PENDLETON -- The Marine Corps announced late Tuesday afternoon that it will not waive pretrial hearings requested by four of eight Camp Pendleton troops accused of kidnapping and murder in the death of an Iraqi man. Maj. Jeff Nyhart said the decision was made by the commander of U.S. Marine Forces and issued the following prepared statement. "In order to make a fair and impartial decision on the disposition of these cases, the commander ... wants the impartial analysis of the charges and evidence afforded by an Article 32 investigation," the statement said. Last week, civilian attorneys for four...

The military justice system is largely unknown to the American public. Other than an occasional, and usually inaccurate, depiction of a court-martial or other military proceeding on a TV show or movie, most people do not have an understanding of or appreciation for the military justice system. This is not surprising, since relatively few Americans have contact with the military, let alone the military justice system. By any measure, the military justice system compares very favorably to any civilian justice system. The cornerstone of the military justice system is the Uniform Code of Military Justice. Congressionally enacted after World War...

NEW YORK - U.S. Marines involved in the killings last fall in Haditha of two dozen Iraqis, most if not all of them civilians, appear to have destroyed or withheld evidence, The New York Times reported. Pages from an official company logbook of the unit involved in the deaths were missing, and an incriminating video taken by an aerial drone was not given to investigators until a top commander asked for it, two Defense Department officials told the newspaper. The Times posted the story on its Web site Thursday night. The Pentagon officials said a report about the Haditha killings...

CAMP PENDLETON ---- At least three of the eight Camp Pendleton men accused of kidnapping and killing an Iraqi man are asking the Marine Corps to take their cases straight to military trials and skip the pretrial hearings that would determine if courts-martial would be necessary. Calling an upcoming pretrial hearing a "meaningless exercise" and a "rubber stamp," attorney Joseph Casas said he told Marine Corps officials that his client, 20-year-old Pfc. John Jodka of Encinitas, will waive the pretrial hearing known as an Article 32 in favor of heading right to trial. That also is the plan for Cpl....

A Marine officer was charged Wednesday with assaulting three civilians in the Iraqi town of Hamdania last spring. The Marine Corps said that 2nd Lt. Nathan P. Phan beat the three men so severely on April 10 they could have died. He is accused of choking two victims and putting a loaded M9 service pistol into the mouth of one of the men. Phan, 26, also is charged with making a false official statement. Defense attorney David Sheldon said Phan denies the charges. "We stand by the fact that these charges are baseless and have no merit," Sheldon said. "Lt....

HADITHA, Iraq – A young Marine wonders if his superiors will support him if he shoots at perceived threats. An officer worries that civilians look at his Marines with more suspicion. The proud colonel acknowledges that his Corps has lost stature in the public's eyes. Allegations that Marines deliberately killed 24 civilians – including women and children – last November in this rebellious city have prompted reactions ranging from shame and anger to disbelief within the Marine Corps. In this intensely proud service, some say they're being prematurely judged. Others grasp for plausible explanations behind the alleged slaughter. A Pentagon...

CAMP PENDLETON The Marine Corps has postponed a hearing for a Marine charged with kidnapping and murdering an Iraqi civilian. The Article 32 hearing for Lance Cpl. Jerry Shumate was rescheduled for Sept. 12 after the defense requested a delay, said his military attorney Capt. Patrick Callahan. It had initially been scheduled for Aug. 28. Shumate, along with six other Marines and a sailor, was charged with the April 26 kidnap and murder of a 52-year-old man in the rural Iraqi town of Hamdania. The men were being held in the brig at Camp Pendleton. Earlier this month, Shumate of...

HADITHA, Iraq - A young Marine wonders if his superiors will support him if he shoots at perceived threats. An officer worries that civilians look at his Marines with more suspicion. The proud colonel acknowledges that his Corps has lost stature in the public's eyes. Allegations that Marines deliberately killed 24 civilians — including women and children — last November in this rebellious city have prompted reactions ranging from shame and anger to disbelief within the Marine Corps. In this intensely proud service, some say they're being prematurely judged. Others grasp for plausible explanations behind the alleged slaughter. A Pentagon...

Here are some exclusive photos of the homecoming of some members of Kilo Company, Third Battalion, Fifth Marine Regiment

NORTH COUNTY ---- The focus at Camp Pendleton is about to shift from teaching troops the latest warfare techniques to trying Marines for alleged war crimes in Iraq. Separate cases involving two Camp Pendleton units allege members of two platoons violated the Pentagon's rules of engagement and killed 25 Iraqis, many of whom authorities say were clearly noncombatants. One case, which arises out of the slaying of a 52-year-old Iraqi man in the village of Hamdania on April 26, has landed seven Marines and a Navy corpsman in the base brig on charges of premeditated murder and kidnapping. The other...

SAN DIEGO The Marine Corps said Monday that it has set a provisional timetable to prosecute seven Marines and a sailor charged with kidnapping and murdering an Iraqi civilian. The charges against the eight, who are all held in the brig at Camp Pendleton, will be considered at an Article 32 hearing, which is similar to a grand jury proceeding. The first hearing has been set for Aug. 28 where only one Marine's case would be heard, said Marine Lt. Col. Sean Gibson. The other troops' cases would be presented at separate hearings on Sept. 25 and Oct. 18. "These...

SAN DIEGO ---- While eight U.S. servicemen sit in a military jail accused of war crimes and under an international spotlight, 10 young civilians, strangers to the defendants, are thumbing through legal books and organizing evidence to help the defense. It's nearly a full-time job for the civilians. And they are doing it as volunteers. The 10 are law students. Their professors are the attorneys tapped to represent Pfc. John Jodka, one of the eight men accused of kidnapping and killing an Iraqi man on April 26 in the village of Hamdania. It's the kind of case that seasoned professionals...

The military filed charges yesterday against six Camp Pendleton Marines for allegedly assaulting civilians in Hamdaniya, Iraq, on April 10. Three suspects are already in the base's brig awaiting hearings on charges that they kidnapped and murdered a man in the same town less than two weeks later. Accusations stemming from the two incidents suggest that Marines from the 3rd Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment may have had a history of friction with residents in Hamdaniya, a town west of Baghdad. “It may look that way, but the whole account isn't out yet. I look forward to telling my client's side...

CAMP LEJEUNE, N.C. -- As the leadership of the 2nd Marine Expeditionary Force changed hands, the departing and incoming commanders said they believe an investigation into accusations that U.S. Marines deliberately shot civilians in Haditha, Iraq, will ultimately strengthen the corps. Lt. Gen. Keith Stalder took command of the Camp Lejeune-based group on Wednesday from Lt. Gen. James Amos, who is headed to the Pentagon to become deputy commandant in charge of combat development. "We don't know the facts on Haditha, let alone what the facts mean at this point," said Stalder. "We do owe it to the American people...

SAN DIEGO Assault charges were filed against six Marines on Thursday as the result of an incident that occurred in April in the Iraqi village of Hamdania and was uncovered during an unrelated investigation into the slaying of an Iraqi civilian later that month, military officials said. Three of the Marines charged Thursday are currently in the brig at Camp Pendleton on kidnapping and murder charges in connection with the April 26 slaying of 52-year-old Hashim Ibrahim Awad in Hamdania. The other three had not been charged in that case. Meanwhile, a seventh Marine, an officer, is expected to be...

Seven Marines and a Navy corpsman charged in the April killing of an Iraqi man are refusing to testify against one another, attorneys for one of the men said Monday. Jane Siegel, who represents Pfc. John Jodka III, said the military was increasingly frustrated that none would agree to testify for the prosecution."The government is doing its damned best to try and provoke one of these Marines to testify against the others in accordance with its theory of the case," Siegel said. "None of these men are going to do that." Siegel's comments were made after the Marine Corps sent...

The Death of the Marine Corps. Is it the Old Corps anymore? Is our Corps dead now? Where is the Semper Fidelis that we were taught to uphold and believe in?

One is described as a patriot. Another is said to be a bookworm and budding poet. One loves the Red Sox; another loves animals. Ongoing Coverage: Hamdania One helped feed the homeless at a soup kitchen last Thanksgiving, and another had plans to leave the service and become an architect. Until this spring, their common bond was service as members of Kilo Company from the 3rd Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment based at Camp Pendleton. Now, each has a much different kind of bond: They are imprisoned in the base brig for allegedly conspiring to kidnap, bind and kill Hashim Ibrahim...

CAMP PENDLETON ---- Attorneys for two of seven Marines charged with premeditated murder in the shooting of an Iraqi civilian in April accused the military Thursday of refusing to provide basic information necessary to prepare their defenses. They also complained that the Marine Corps has denied a request that they be allowed to hire an independent investigator to travel to the scene of the incident.

A summary of a report said to fault the way Marine Corps brass responded upon learning 24 Iraqi civilians were killed by a Camp Pendleton unit should be released this week, a military spokesman said Monday. Meanwhile, an attorney for that unit's leader said he doesn't believe there is enough evidence to file criminal charges against the men responsible for the Nov. 19 shootings in the city of Haditha. "I know too much about what happened that day (in Haditha) to think that any of these kids are going to be placed in pretrial confinement," said Kevin McDermott, an attorney...

CAMP PENDLETON ---- For seven Marines and a Navy corpsman accused of premeditated murder in the death of an Iraqi man in April, conditions inside the Camp Pendleton brig are improving. The men are no longer shackled, as they were when they were first incarcerated in mid-May. They are no longer forced to take their meals by themselves in their individual, isolation cells, and they now have regular access to the brig's exercise and recreation facility. As they await hearings that will determine whether each moves on to face trial, they are experiencing a daily routine familiar to the brig's...

Seven Web sites set up by friends and families of eight Camp Pendleton troops accused of kidnapping and murdering an Iraqi civilian are getting thousands of page hits ---- and raising money for their defense. The supporters also are planning auctions and hosting barbecues in their attempts to raise money to pay the bills of the civilian attorneys the men have hired, bills that are expected to be as much as $100,000 or more per man. Seven Marines and one sailor are charged with murder, kidnapping, conspiracy and related offenses in the April 26 death of 52-year-old Hashim Ibrahim Awad....

CAMP PENDLETON -- On the eve of Independence Day, a person close to one of one of eight servicemen charged with murdering an Iraqi civilian released a letter signed by the men, asking Americans to spend today honoring troops who are fighting overseas. It was the first written communication that appeared to be signed by the men, who are being held in the Camp Pendleton brig on charges of murdering an Iraqi civilian in April and conspiring to cover up his death. Though no formal pleas have been made, family members and attorneys for the men have proclaimed their innocence....

NORTH COUNTY ---- Civilian attorneys hired by eight Camp Pendleton men accused of murdering an Iraqi civilian in Hamdania have years of legal experience, including many gained during long stints in the military. One of them, Carlsbad-based attorney David Brahms, is a retired brigadier general who, when he left the service in 1988, was the Marine Corps' top-ranking attorney and had been counsel to the commandant. Jane Siegel of San Marcos, another of the attorneys tapped for the case, once served as the chief for all Marine Corps defense counsel. They and seven other private attorneys, many of whom spent...

The following is a Free Republic exclusive. Freeper Flightline has been in touch with a family of one of the Marines accused of murder

CAMP PENDLETON -- Attorneys for the so-called "Pendleton Eight" are getting their first look at the government's evidence against their clients. A 250-page Pentagon report shows maps, diagrams, photos, and statements about an alleged incident in Hamdania, Iraq, in which military investigators say seven Marines and a sailor took an Iraqi civilian from his home, shot him and then tried to cover it up. Tuesday, the attorneys questioned the credibility of the Iraqi accusers, asking why it took the victim's family four days to report the death. Attorneys also said confessions were coerced, and that military members were not given...

VIDEO OF DEMOSTRATION

Lawyers for some of the seven Marines and a Navy medic charged with murdering an Iraqi man are questioning the credibility of their Iraqi accusers, suggesting they may have been motivated by money or sympathy for the insurgents. The defense attorneys said they will also try to get the troops' incriminating statements thrown out. The lawyers are starting to put together their strategy now that they have been given copies of the Pentagon's investigation into the April 26 killing of Hashim Ibrahim Awad in Hamdania. Authorities say Awad was kidnapped from his home and shot during a search for insurgents....

The military justice system is taking center stage now that murder and kidnapping charges have been filed against seven Camp Pendleton-based Marines and a Navy corpsman in the alleged premeditated abduction and slaying of an unarmed Iraqi man. The case against the Kilo Company members from the 3rd Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment is one of the most serious to arise out of the U.S. presence in Iraq, and military officials are taking the first procedural steps toward a possible court-martial for the accused. In many respects, the military's system of justice works the way it does in the civilian world....

Two incidents -- the deaths of 24 Iraqis at Haditha on Nov. 19 and the deaths of seven Palestinian civilians on a Gaza beach on June 9 -- illustrate the difficulties inherent in minimizing civilian casualties while fighting enemies who routinely use civilians as human shields. And the two cases should also serve as important cautionary notes to politicians and journalists about rushing to judge good soldiers guilty of misconduct before the facts are in. When it comes to Haditha, certain facts are not in dispute: The town, located in Sunni-dominated Anbar province, a haven for foreign jihadists and a...

CAMP PENDLETON, Calif. - Friends and family are rallying around the seven Marines and a Navy medic charged with killing an Iraqi civilian, setting up Web sites to raise money and draw attention to what they claim is an unfair prosecution. The troops are charged with premeditated murder and could face the death penalty if convicted. Supporters are scrambling to raise tens of thousands of dollars to pay defense attorneys. "We are not rich, but we are doing anything we can," said Diann Shumate of Matlock, Wash., mother of 20-year-old Marine Lance Cpl. Jerry Shumate Jr. Military prosecutors allege the...

Marines, sailor to be charged with murder By ROBERT BURNS, AP Military Writer 6 minutes ago The Marine Corps on Wednesday planned to charge seven Marines and one sailor with murder in connection with the April death of an Iraqi civilian, a defense official said. At Camp Pendleton, Calif., where the eight accused service members are being held in a military brig, officials announced that a news conference would be held later Wednesday concerning the alleged killing of the Iraqi in the village of Hamdaniya. But the announcement did not mention murder or other charges. The official who disclosed the...

WASHINGTON (AP) -- The U.S. Marine Corps on Wednesday planned to charge seven Marines and one sailor with murder in connection with the April death of an Iraqi civilian, a defense official said. At Camp Pendleton, California, where the eight accused service members have been held in a military prison since late May, officials announced that a news conference would be held later Wednesday concerning the alleged killing of the Iraqi in the village of Hamdaniya. The announcement did not mention murder or other charges. The official who disclosed the Marine plans asked not to be identified publicly because the...

ABC News has learned that charges will be filed against 7 Marines and One Navy Corpsmen. The charges are expected to include murder, conspiracy and obstruction of justice in relation to the killing of an unarmed Iraqi civilian in the town of Hamdania.

After holding seven Marines and one sailor in maximum pretrial confinement for three weeks, Camp Pendleton officials have decided to ease up on them. The eight men are from the 3rd Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment. They're being jailed at the Camp Pendleton brig on suspicion of killing an unarmed Iraqi man in Hamdania, Iraq, on April 26. Their attorneys and military officials have predicted that charges of murder, assault, kidnapping and conspiracy are in the offing. Yesterday, base officials said they were switching the security level for the suspects from “maximum custody” to “medium-in” custody. The change, they said, followed...

There is almost an epidemic of incidents in which American military forces are accused of atrocities in Iraq, and virtually tried and convicted in the media before the evidence is heard, based on shaadowy and inconsistent sources. Even worse, some politicians jump on the bandwagon, and contribute to the media firestorm. But when military brass seem to play a role in fanning the flames investigation is warranted