Marine convicted of killing sentenced to prison

updated 5:45 p.m. ET Aug. 3, 2007

CAMP PENDLETON, Calif. - A military jury sentenced a U.S. Marine sergeant Friday to 15 years in prison for the murder of an Iraqi civilian during a fruitless search for an insurgent.

Sgt. Lawrence G. Hutchins III, who was also dishonorably discharged, reduced in rank to private and verbally reprimanded, became the first and only member of an eight-member squad to be convicted of murder in the April 2006 killing in the town of Hamdania.

He had been charged with premeditated murder but premeditation was stricken from the verdict, meaning Hutchins no longer faced a mandatory life sentence. He still drew the longest sentence of all the men accused in the case.

Testimony from several of his comrades pointed to him as the mastermind of the plot to kidnap and kill a suspected insurgent.

Hutchins was also convicted of conspiracy to commit murder, making a false official statement and larceny. He was acquitted of kidnapping, assault and housebreaking.

The verdict came just hours after another member of the squad was sentenced to time served and reduced in rank for conspiring to murder the victim.

Testimony showed the victim was kidnapped and killed when the squad could not find the suspected insurgent. Prosecutors initially identified the victim as Hashim Ibrahim Awad, 52. The name, however, was dropped from charge sheets after defense attorneys contended the identity was not conclusive.

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

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

'God answered our prayers'
Earlier in the day, Cpl. Marshall Magincalda, who had already served 448 days in custody, was sentenced to time served and reduced in rank to private by a separate jury. He was the second member of the squad to not face additional prison time.

Magincalda, 24, was acquitted of murder but found guilty of larceny and housebreaking, and cleared of making a false official statement. He was to be freed Friday.

"We can take him home. God answered our prayers," his grandmother Wynoma Leesch said.

A jury last month acquitted another corporal of murder but convicted him of conspiracy to commit murder and kidnapping. According to testimony, Cpl. Trent Thomas of Madison, Ill., had greater involvement in the killing than Magincalda. Thomas was sentenced to a reduction in rank and a bad-conduct discharge but no prison time.

The squad was pulled from the battlefield after the slaying.

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