Retrial Set for Plymouth Native in Iraq War Crime Case

CAMP PENDLETON, Calif. – On June 08, 2015, a retrial was set to start for a Marine who was convicted in a high-profile court-martial involving the 2006 killing of an Iraqi civilian. Sergeant L. Hutchins III, a native of Plymouth, was scheduled to be tried again at Camp Pendleton in California, according to the Los Angeles Times. In 2007, Hutchins was convicted of the unpremeditated murder of a 52-year-old former Iraqi police officer in Hamdania village. The purpose of the killing was to warn the Iraqis to stop cooperating with rebel snipers and planting roadside bombs. In the Pendleton 8 case, six other Navy corpsmen and Marines were convicted. Hutchins was the squad leader, already serving over half his 11-year sentence. The appeals court has overturned Hutchins’ conviction twice already, once because interrogators had violated his rights in 2006, and because his attorney retired on the eve of the trial. Since his appeal in mid-2013, Hutchins has been a free man. His rank of sergeant has since been restored, and he was assigned to Camp Pendleton, where he’s residing with his wife and children. Several of Hutchins’ co-defendants, who are free and living as civilians, believe that while the killing was brutal, it saved American lives. That’s because the attacks on U.S. troops declined in the months following the shooting. However, other Marines believe that the Corps should retry him to prove that it still holds the ranks accountable when they use unauthorized deadly force. Gary Solis, a retired Marine who is now an adjunct law professor at Georgetown University, believes that the Marine Corps is doing what justice demands. Solis said that Hutchins and his squad took an innocent man prisoner. While bound, he was shot repeatedly in the face and murdered. Hutchins’ defense lawyer believes the Marine Corps is pursuing this case for political purposes. He said the political pressure to make his client an example was palpable. He hopes to have Sergeant Hutchins home with his family on Father’s Day, a free man. Contact a military criminal defense attorney from Crisp & Associates, LLC if you need representation anywhere in the U.S. or worldwide.