Last updated May 8, 2008 1:31 a.m. PT

Marine who killed Iraqi gets sentence cut, rank reduction

By THOMAS WATKINS
ASSOCIATED PRESS WRITER

LOS ANGELES -- A Marine sentenced to 15 years in the brig for killing an Iraqi civilian had his term reduced by four years and was given a dishonorable discharge, the man's attorney and a Marine spokesman said.

Lawrence G. Hutchins III was also given a reduction in rank from sergeant to private after his commanding general, Lt. Gen. Samuel T. Helland, reviewed his case, said Lt. Col. Sean Gibson, a Marine Corps spokesman who is traveling with Helland on a tour of the Middle East.

As part of the process, an appeal on Hutchins' behalf will automatically be filed, Gibson said.

Rich Brannon, Hutchins' civilian lawyer, said he had not yet seen official paperwork approving Hutchins' sentence reduction, but that he learned of the decision Tuesday from the Marine's legal team at Camp Pendleton, north of San Diego.

"I was pleased to see a reduction, but I would like to see more," Brannon told The Associated Press in a phone call Wednesday from North Carolina.

Hutchins, of Plymouth, Mass., was the leader of an eight-man squad accused of kidnapping Hashim Ibrahim Awad, 52, from his home in April 2006, then marching him to a ditch and shooting him to death. The killing took place in Hamdania, a small village in Al Anbar province.

Hutchins was sentenced Aug. 3 after being convicted of murder, conspiracy to commit murder, making a false official statement and larceny. He had been charged with premeditated murder, but premeditation was removed from the verdict, meaning Hutchins no longer faced a mandatory life sentence.

He will serve his sentence at the prison at Fort Leavenworth, Mo.

All eight squad members - seven Marines and one Navy corpsmen - were initially charged with murder and kidnapping, but four lower-ranking Marines and the sailor cut deals with prosecutors in exchange for their testimony and received sentences ranging from one to eight years in prison.

Other Marines were acquitted of murder but convicted of lesser charges and freed after their courts-martial.

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