PrairiePundit

Tim King at the Salem News writes a lengthy piece on the efforts of friends of Sgt. Lawrence Hutchins who was sentenced to 15 years in confinement for the murder of an Iraqi civilian. I am not sure how much of the material that is discussed will be relevant to his appeal. His best chance appears to be the suppression of classified evidence that might have exonerated him, although the article gives no clue as to what that evidence might be. If for example it showed the murdered man was actually part of the insurgency and had been responsible for fatal attacks against the Marines that might mitigate his sentence, but I doubt it would exonerate him. I think the only thing that would do that would be evidence that someone else was responsible for the killing. There was no hint of that kind of evidence at the trial. Sgt. Hutchins' case will be reviews by Lt. Gen. Mattis. I think he can expect a fair review of the facts that will be in the file. I think his best chance for a reduc...

North County Times: The first Marine convicted of murdering an Iraqi in the war zone since the U.S. invasion sunk into his chair and put his head on the table Friday afternoon after he learned his fate: 15 years in prison. The punishment was a punch in the gut to Sgt. Lawrence Hutchins, as well as an about face from decisions made by other juries, who convicted his accused squad mates on lesser charges and set them free. Hutchins was the leader of the squad whose members admitted they kidnapped and killed an Iraqi man. He was also the highest-ranking Marine among the accused, and according to testimony, he was the chief architect of a killing plot crafted in a palm grove during an overnight patrol. "I felt all along that fingers would be pointed at my client," Hutchins' attorney Rich Brannon said after the verdict. "He was what...