U.S. Marine withdraws Iraqi murder plea
Source: Reuters
(Adds judge accepting change of plea, previously OCEANSIDE) CAMP PENDLETON, Calif., Feb 8 (Reuters) - A U.S. Marine who had admitted firing several rounds at an Iraqi grandfather after his unit kidnapped the man changed his plea to not guilty on Thursday and a military judge accepted the change. Cpl. Trent Thomas, 25, pleaded guilty on Jan. 18 to murder, conspiracy, larceny housebreaking, kidnapping and lying to investigators about the incident. But as a military court was considering his punishment at Camp Pendleton, north of San Diego, his lawyer abruptly requested that the plea be removed. The military judge accepted the unusually late reversal in the case, one of a series in which armed service personnel have damaged the U.S. image internationally through excessive or unjustified force. U.S. military prosecutors said they would file new charges to resume the case anew by the end of Thursday. The court started hearing testimony in the penalty phase of the trial on Wednesday. According to previous testimony, the unit had wanted to capture and kill a suspected terrorist and make the incident look like a legitimate battle. Yet when the Marines did not find the man at home, they instead took a neighbor, Hashim Ibrahim Awad, 52. "Congratulations, we just got away with murder, gents," Sgt. Lawrence Hutchins told his troops after the killing, according to testimony on Wednesday by Navy medic Melson Bacos. St. Louis native Thomas was on his third tour in Iraq. During his second tour, he was honored with a Purple Heart after sustaining wounds in Falluja. (Reporting by Marty Graham)
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