Thanks GOD... Marine spared jail time and returned to duty!
07-20-2007, 02:12 PM
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Thanks GOD... Marine spared jail time and returned to duty!
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070720/..._iraq_shooting
Marine spared prison time in Iraqi death By ALLISON HOFFMAN, Associated Press Writer
1 hour, 16 minutes ago
A Marine convicted of kidnapping and conspiring to murder an Iraqi civilian who was killed by troops looking for an insurgent will not serve a prison term, a military jury decided Friday.
Cpl. Trent Thomas was sentenced to a bad-conduct discharge and a reduction in rank to private, which carries lower pay. He could have received life in prison for his role in the April 2006 killing of the retired Iraqi policeman in the village of Hamdania.
Thomas, of Madison, Ill., was among seven Marines and a Navy corpsman accused of snatching 52-year-old Hashim Ibrahim Awad from his house, marching him to a nearby ditch and shooting him after they botched an attempt to capture a suspected insurgent.
Prosecutors said squad members tried to cover up the killing by planting a shovel and AK-47 by Awad's body to make it look like he was an insurgent planting a bomb.
A military jury of three officers and six enlisted Marines deliberated Thomas' sentence for less than an hour before returning its decision.
On Wednesday, the jury convicted Thomas, 25, of kidnapping and conspiracy and acquitted him of other charges, including the most serious, premeditated murder.
Prosecutors had recommended Thomas be sentenced to 15 years in prison with a dishonorable discharge, reduction in rank and a fine.
Thomas' attorneys argued that their client was only following orders from his squad leader and asked that he be credited for the 519 days he has already served in the brig and be returned to active duty.
"We failed him as a Marine Corps, because under good leadership, this Marine would not be here today," Maj. Haytham Faraj told the court. "Consider where the responsibility lies."
Thomas had agreed in January to plead guilty in the case, but withdrew the guilty pleas on the eve of sentencing in February. His attorney, Victor Kelley, said that pretrial agreement had called for 12 years in prison.
On Thursday, Thomas told the court he wanted to continue serving.
"I've never been good at anything until I came to the Marine Corps," said Thomas, who served three combat tours in Iraq and was awarded a Purple Heart for the 2004 siege on Fallujah. "It's pretty obvious Michael Jordan was meant to play basketball. Tiger Woods was meant to play golf. The Marine Corps, it's me."
The final terms of Thomas' punishment are subject to review by Lt. Gen. James Mattis, the commanding general overseeing the case, but he can only reduce the sentence.
Four other Marines and the sailor charged pleaded guilty to reduced charges in exchange for testimony. A court-martial began Friday in a Camp Pendleton courtroom for Thomas' squadmate Cpl. Marshall L. Magincalda. Proceedings are scheduled to begin next week in the case of squad leader Sgt. Lawrence Hutchins III. Both are charged with murder, kidnapping, conspiracy and other offenses.
Tom Umberg, a former military prosecutor, called Thomas' punishment "pretty outrageous" and suggested the jurors might have been swayed by their own combat experiences.
"I have never heard of a court-martial that convicted someone of conspiracy to murder and kidnapping and not adjudicate some kind of (prison) sentence," Umberg said. "Obviously there was some sympathy, maybe even empathy, because all of the panel members had served in Iraq."
Marine spared prison time in Iraqi death By ALLISON HOFFMAN, Associated Press Writer
1 hour, 16 minutes ago
A Marine convicted of kidnapping and conspiring to murder an Iraqi civilian who was killed by troops looking for an insurgent will not serve a prison term, a military jury decided Friday.
Cpl. Trent Thomas was sentenced to a bad-conduct discharge and a reduction in rank to private, which carries lower pay. He could have received life in prison for his role in the April 2006 killing of the retired Iraqi policeman in the village of Hamdania.
Thomas, of Madison, Ill., was among seven Marines and a Navy corpsman accused of snatching 52-year-old Hashim Ibrahim Awad from his house, marching him to a nearby ditch and shooting him after they botched an attempt to capture a suspected insurgent.
Prosecutors said squad members tried to cover up the killing by planting a shovel and AK-47 by Awad's body to make it look like he was an insurgent planting a bomb.
A military jury of three officers and six enlisted Marines deliberated Thomas' sentence for less than an hour before returning its decision.
On Wednesday, the jury convicted Thomas, 25, of kidnapping and conspiracy and acquitted him of other charges, including the most serious, premeditated murder.
Prosecutors had recommended Thomas be sentenced to 15 years in prison with a dishonorable discharge, reduction in rank and a fine.
Thomas' attorneys argued that their client was only following orders from his squad leader and asked that he be credited for the 519 days he has already served in the brig and be returned to active duty.
"We failed him as a Marine Corps, because under good leadership, this Marine would not be here today," Maj. Haytham Faraj told the court. "Consider where the responsibility lies."
Thomas had agreed in January to plead guilty in the case, but withdrew the guilty pleas on the eve of sentencing in February. His attorney, Victor Kelley, said that pretrial agreement had called for 12 years in prison.
On Thursday, Thomas told the court he wanted to continue serving.
"I've never been good at anything until I came to the Marine Corps," said Thomas, who served three combat tours in Iraq and was awarded a Purple Heart for the 2004 siege on Fallujah. "It's pretty obvious Michael Jordan was meant to play basketball. Tiger Woods was meant to play golf. The Marine Corps, it's me."
The final terms of Thomas' punishment are subject to review by Lt. Gen. James Mattis, the commanding general overseeing the case, but he can only reduce the sentence.
Four other Marines and the sailor charged pleaded guilty to reduced charges in exchange for testimony. A court-martial began Friday in a Camp Pendleton courtroom for Thomas' squadmate Cpl. Marshall L. Magincalda. Proceedings are scheduled to begin next week in the case of squad leader Sgt. Lawrence Hutchins III. Both are charged with murder, kidnapping, conspiracy and other offenses.
Tom Umberg, a former military prosecutor, called Thomas' punishment "pretty outrageous" and suggested the jurors might have been swayed by their own combat experiences.
"I have never heard of a court-martial that convicted someone of conspiracy to murder and kidnapping and not adjudicate some kind of (prison) sentence," Umberg said. "Obviously there was some sympathy, maybe even empathy, because all of the panel members had served in Iraq."
07-20-2007, 02:13 PM
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Freaking awesome..... this will send a message loud and clear that our government has to stop this cr*p of turning on our own heroes.
07-20-2007, 02:51 PM
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And it send a message loud and clear to Iraqi's;
American soldiers are above the law and can murder innocent people without any consequences.
Sure to win over lots of hearts and minds!
American soldiers are above the law and can murder innocent people without any consequences.
Sure to win over lots of hearts and minds!
07-20-2007, 05:39 PM
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In other words, shut your liberal mouth ahahahhahaahha. Amazing you have such a bleeding heart for the iraqi when he was probably guilty anyway.
07-20-2007, 08:21 PM
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Oh so because you think a chinese invasion force might behave that way we have every right to?
I guess concepts like "moral high ground" and the "right side of the fight" are like the Geneva conventions- "quaint and outdated"
I can't even begin to point out how totally f-ed up your reasoning is.
But then again, brilliant or even insightful thinking has never been your forte anyway.
Just what do you think is our goal there, to kill everyone and steal all of their oil?, thats about the only objective I can imagine, given your way of thinking.
I guess concepts like "moral high ground" and the "right side of the fight" are like the Geneva conventions- "quaint and outdated"
I can't even begin to point out how totally f-ed up your reasoning is.
But then again, brilliant or even insightful thinking has never been your forte anyway.
Just what do you think is our goal there, to kill everyone and steal all of their oil?, thats about the only objective I can imagine, given your way of thinking.
07-20-2007, 08:52 PM
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Oh so because you think a chinese invasion force might behave that way we have every right to?
I guess concepts like "moral high ground" and the "right side of the fight" are like the Geneva conventions- "quaint and outdated"
I can't even begin to point out how totally f-ed up your reasoning is.
But then again, brilliant or even insightful thinking has never been your forte anyway.
Just what do you think is our goal there, to kill everyone and steal all of their oil?, thats about the only objective I can imagine, given your way of thinking.
I guess concepts like "moral high ground" and the "right side of the fight" are like the Geneva conventions- "quaint and outdated"
I can't even begin to point out how totally f-ed up your reasoning is.
But then again, brilliant or even insightful thinking has never been your forte anyway.
Just what do you think is our goal there, to kill everyone and steal all of their oil?, thats about the only objective I can imagine, given your way of thinking.
The enemy knows that liberalism is our weak point, so false or exaggerated claims of abuse abound because that's just one front of this war. I assume you think all claims made by our enemy are true and we're the bad guy, that we're all equal and there's no way to win this war. Nobody can win a war with your mindset, and that's why your liberal view is out of touch with reality, world history, and human nature.
Remember, war is hell, not some PC nice shiz.
Saddams shocking style suited that culture, and that's why our self-castrating style is certain to fail.
If we unleashed our fighting maching they'd have trembled in fear and done whatever we want.
07-21-2007, 06:34 AM
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My "liberal" view is only shared by a vast majority of the people on the planet, it is your way of thinking that gave Hitler free reign to murder millions of people, and we all know how far that "mindset" took the Third Reich.
-and despite your name-calling, I'm not a liberal.
We were there to stop them from getting WMD's,
Mission accomplished, - WE ALREADY WON.
We went in to stop this brutal dictator,
Mission accomplished, WE ALREADY WON
We went in to deliver democracy to the Iraqi's
Again, mission accomplished, WE HAVE WON.
In order to "WIN" you need to have hard and clear objectives, all of the reasons and justification used to initiate this little slice of hell on earth have been long ago put to rest, the facts as they relate to the military objectives clearly indicate that we have already won and need to get the F out.
I really don't understand why you aren't over there, since you seem to be so gung -ho about the whole bloody mess.
-and despite your name-calling, I'm not a liberal.
We were there to stop them from getting WMD's,
Mission accomplished, - WE ALREADY WON.
We went in to stop this brutal dictator,
Mission accomplished, WE ALREADY WON
We went in to deliver democracy to the Iraqi's
Again, mission accomplished, WE HAVE WON.
In order to "WIN" you need to have hard and clear objectives, all of the reasons and justification used to initiate this little slice of hell on earth have been long ago put to rest, the facts as they relate to the military objectives clearly indicate that we have already won and need to get the F out.
I really don't understand why you aren't over there, since you seem to be so gung -ho about the whole bloody mess.
07-21-2007, 11:59 AM
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If he killed an innocent dude then Karma will be a ***** sometime in the future.
Unfortunately, we as a country will/are getting what coming to us for all "winning" we done since WWII (the last conflict we've gotten in when it was clear that we needed to be).
Unfortunately, we as a country will/are getting what coming to us for all "winning" we done since WWII (the last conflict we've gotten in when it was clear that we needed to be).
07-25-2007, 03:48 PM
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I liked this bit from the defense:
And this made me 
On Thursday, Thomas told the court he wanted to continue serving.
"I've never been good at anything until I came to the Marine Corps," said Thomas, who served three combat tours in Iraq and was awarded a Purple Heart for the 2004 siege on Fallujah. "It's pretty obvious Michael Jordan was meant to play basketball. Tiger Woods was meant to play golf. The Marine Corps, it's me."
"I've never been good at anything until I came to the Marine Corps," said Thomas, who served three combat tours in Iraq and was awarded a Purple Heart for the 2004 siege on Fallujah. "It's pretty obvious Michael Jordan was meant to play basketball. Tiger Woods was meant to play golf. The Marine Corps, it's me."
07-31-2007, 04:17 PM
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The concept is called W I N N I N G, which is foreign to liberals. In the liberal mindset, everbody wins, which is lunacy.
The enemy knows that liberalism is our weak point, so false or exaggerated claims of abuse abound because that's just one front of this war. I assume you think all claims made by our enemy are true and we're the bad guy, that we're all equal and there's no way to win this war. Nobody can win a war with your mindset, and that's why your liberal view is out of touch with reality, world history, and human nature.
Remember, war is hell, not some PC nice shiz.
Saddams shocking style suited that culture, and that's why our self-castrating style is certain to fail.
If we unleashed our fighting maching they'd have trembled in fear and done whatever we want.
The enemy knows that liberalism is our weak point, so false or exaggerated claims of abuse abound because that's just one front of this war. I assume you think all claims made by our enemy are true and we're the bad guy, that we're all equal and there's no way to win this war. Nobody can win a war with your mindset, and that's why your liberal view is out of touch with reality, world history, and human nature.
Remember, war is hell, not some PC nice shiz.
Saddams shocking style suited that culture, and that's why our self-castrating style is certain to fail.
If we unleashed our fighting maching they'd have trembled in fear and done whatever we want.
read: genocide, executions, rape, toruture, mass graves, forced labor
Sounds like hell to me.
08-01-2007, 11:52 AM
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Where do read in HDs posts that he's calling for "genocide, executions, rape, toruture, mass graves, forced labor"?
I don't know anything about you, but were you ever in the military? Participate in a war/police action/invasion?
Have you ever been shot at or shot at someone else?