US marine guilty of Iraq murder

A US marine has been convicted of murdering an Iraqi man after an attempt to locate and execute an alleged insurgent went disastrously wrong.

A US court martial heard that Sgt Lawrence Hutchins and the squad he led hatched a plan to kidnap and kill a suspected militant in Hamdania, west of Baghdad, in April last year.

When they could not find him, they instead kidnapped another man, believed to be Hashim Ibrahim Awad, a father of 11, from a neighbouring house, dragged him to a hole and shot him, prosecutors told the court martial.

Squad members tried to cover up the murder by planting a shovel and an AK-47 by the man's body to make it look like he was an insurgent planting a bomb.

Hutchins, 23, faces a possible life sentence after being convicted of murder, conspiracy to murder, making a false official statement and larceny. He was acquitted of kidnapping, assault and housebreaking.

He had also been charged with premeditated murder but the military jury dismissed the premeditation element from the verdict.

Hutchins stood rigidly and stared straight ahead in the courtroom as the verdict was read out. His wife sobbed silently with her head bowed.

Several witnesses testified that the plot was born out of frustration after suspected insurgents kept evading prosecution.

Lawyers for Hutchins argued that he participated in the plot because his own officers had set a poor leadership example and had given approval for marines to use violence in capturing and interrogating suspected insurgents.

Another squad member, Cpl Marshall Magincalda, 24, was convicted of conspiracy to murder, larceny and house breaking and could also receive a life sentence. He was acquitted of premeditated murder and kidnapping.

A military psychiatrist said Magincalda developed post-traumatic stress disorder and severe depression as a result of combat.

"He was essentially a broken shell," Jennifer Morse told the court. "This was a young man who was gone, who was clearly haunted by his memories."

All eight members of the squad were initially charged with murder and kidnapping.

Four lower-ranking marines and a navy corpsman agreed deals with prosecutors in exchange for their testimony and received sentences ranging from one to eight years in prison.

A jury last month acquitted another corporal of murder but convicted him of conspiracy to commit murder and kidnapping.

Prosecutors had identified the victim as Mr Awad, 52, a 52-year-old retired policeman. However, he is now referred to in court papers as an "unknown Iraqi male" after defence lawyers said authorities could not conclusively establish the victim's identity.