Team Infidel
Forum Spin Doctor
Los Angeles Times
August 8, 2007 Tyler A. Jackson and Jerry E. Shumate Jr. are released under plea deals, having served 14 months for their roles in the slaying of an unarmed Iraqi.
By Tony Perry, Los Angeles Times Staff Writer
Two Marines who admitted taking part in the kidnapping and killing of an unarmed Iraqi man have been released from the brig at Camp Pendleton, the Marine Corps announced Tuesday, leaving only one of the five men who pleaded guilty still behind bars.
Tyler A. Jackson and Jerry E. Shumate Jr. were ordered released by Lt. Gen. James N. Mattis, commanding general of the Marine Forces Central Command.
Each had served about nine months of 21-month sentences imposed under a plea bargain approved by Mattis in November. Each was a lance corporal when sentenced and had been in the brig for five months before pleading guilty.
Of the five squad members who pleaded guilty in the 2006 slaying in Hamandiya, Iraq, only Robert Pennington remains in the brig. He was sentenced to eight years and had his rank reduced from lance corporal to private. Pfc. John J. Jodka III, sentenced to 18 months, and Navy corpsman Melson Bacos, sentenced to 12 months, have served their sentences, with time reduced for good behavior, and been released.
Before freeing Jackson and Shumate, Mattis met privately with each. Pennington's father, Terry, said Tuesday that his son may meet with the commanding general later this week.
In hopes that Mattis might free their son, Terry and Deanna Pennington are set to come to Camp Pendleton from their home on Maui to be available to meet with him. "We're hoping for the best," Terry Pennington said in a telephone interview.
A spokesman for Mattis said that in freeing Jackson and Shumate, the general "balanced many factors to include their military experience, relative rank and position of authority, and their specific involvement in the death."
He added that Mattis waited to make his decision until the courts-martial were completed for three Marines who chose not to make a plea bargain in the case.
Last week, Sgt. Lawrence G. Hutchins III, the squad leader, was sentenced to 15 years and a dishonorable discharge. Cpl. Marshall Magincalda was demoted to private and ordered released after serving 14 months in the brig awaiting trial. Nearly three weeks earlier, Cpl. Trent D. Thomas was given a bad-conduct discharge but spared any additional jail time.
The three Marines who chose courts-martial and the four Marines and one Navy corpsman who pleaded guilty had all been charged with murder in the April 26, 2006, death of an unarmed Iraqi man in Hamandiya, an insurgent stronghold west of Baghdad. The five who pleaded guilty did so to reduced charges in exchange for their testimony against the others.
All eight were members of 3rd Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment. Prosecutors said the killing was a coldblooded act of vigilante justice, but defense witnesses during the courts-martial said Marines were hoping to deter insurgent attacks.
August 8, 2007 Tyler A. Jackson and Jerry E. Shumate Jr. are released under plea deals, having served 14 months for their roles in the slaying of an unarmed Iraqi.
By Tony Perry, Los Angeles Times Staff Writer
Two Marines who admitted taking part in the kidnapping and killing of an unarmed Iraqi man have been released from the brig at Camp Pendleton, the Marine Corps announced Tuesday, leaving only one of the five men who pleaded guilty still behind bars.
Tyler A. Jackson and Jerry E. Shumate Jr. were ordered released by Lt. Gen. James N. Mattis, commanding general of the Marine Forces Central Command.
Each had served about nine months of 21-month sentences imposed under a plea bargain approved by Mattis in November. Each was a lance corporal when sentenced and had been in the brig for five months before pleading guilty.
Of the five squad members who pleaded guilty in the 2006 slaying in Hamandiya, Iraq, only Robert Pennington remains in the brig. He was sentenced to eight years and had his rank reduced from lance corporal to private. Pfc. John J. Jodka III, sentenced to 18 months, and Navy corpsman Melson Bacos, sentenced to 12 months, have served their sentences, with time reduced for good behavior, and been released.
Before freeing Jackson and Shumate, Mattis met privately with each. Pennington's father, Terry, said Tuesday that his son may meet with the commanding general later this week.
In hopes that Mattis might free their son, Terry and Deanna Pennington are set to come to Camp Pendleton from their home on Maui to be available to meet with him. "We're hoping for the best," Terry Pennington said in a telephone interview.
A spokesman for Mattis said that in freeing Jackson and Shumate, the general "balanced many factors to include their military experience, relative rank and position of authority, and their specific involvement in the death."
He added that Mattis waited to make his decision until the courts-martial were completed for three Marines who chose not to make a plea bargain in the case.
Last week, Sgt. Lawrence G. Hutchins III, the squad leader, was sentenced to 15 years and a dishonorable discharge. Cpl. Marshall Magincalda was demoted to private and ordered released after serving 14 months in the brig awaiting trial. Nearly three weeks earlier, Cpl. Trent D. Thomas was given a bad-conduct discharge but spared any additional jail time.
The three Marines who chose courts-martial and the four Marines and one Navy corpsman who pleaded guilty had all been charged with murder in the April 26, 2006, death of an unarmed Iraqi man in Hamandiya, an insurgent stronghold west of Baghdad. The five who pleaded guilty did so to reduced charges in exchange for their testimony against the others.
All eight were members of 3rd Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment. Prosecutors said the killing was a coldblooded act of vigilante justice, but defense witnesses during the courts-martial said Marines were hoping to deter insurgent attacks.