AMP PENDLETON, Calif. (AP) – A military judge granted a Marine corporal’s request Thursday to withdraw his guilty plea to charges of murdering an unarmed Iraqi civilian, but warned the serviceman that he could be sentenced to death if convicted.
Corporal Trent Thomas, 25, pleaded guilty as part of a pretrial agreement to several charges Jan. 18, including kidnapping and murder, in the slaying of 52-year-old Hashim Ibrahim Awad in Hamdania last year. But Corporal Thomas said Thursday that he no longer believes he’s guilty and was following a lawful order.
“Sir, when my country gives me an order, I follow it,” Corporal Thomas told the judge, Lieutenant Colonel Tracy A. Daly, adding that the order came from his squad leader, Sgt. Lawrence Hutchins III, and higher up the chain of command.
“I believe I had justification,” Corporal Thomas said.
The judge warned Corporal Thomas that he could face the death penalty because he is no longer bound by the pretrial agreement. But the death penalty is a long shot because Lieutenant General James Mattis, who is overseeing the case, has said he does not want Thomas or any of the other troops accused in the case to face execution.
Corporal Thomas, of Madison, Ill., was one of a squad of seven Marines and a sailor accused last year of hatching a plot to kill an Iraqi in the town of Hamdania. Four others pleaded guilty to lesser charges. Thomas, the squad’s second in command, could face life in prison.
Outside court, Corporal Thomas’ attorney, Victor Kelley, said his client had an “epiphany” Wednesday night and decided to withdraw his pleas. “Corporal Thomas has always wanted to fight it,” Kelley said of the charges.
The request to withdraw the pleas came at the beginning of the second day of Thomas’ sentencing hearing.
Corporal Thomas testified last month about his role in the killing, saying he and three other troops grabbed Awad after scrapping plans to go after a suspected insurgent living next door to the man.
When asked why, he said, “We would get someone else to make a statement that Marines, we were sick and tired of getting bombed.”
Corporal Thomas also said he helped bind Awad’s hands and feet, and that he fired several rounds into the man after another Marine killed him.
John Hutson, a former top Navy lawyer who practiced military law for 28 years, said he could not recall a single military case in which a defendant withdrew a guilty plea after giving lengthy testimony detailing his involvement.
“It would be a good move if there is a substantial change in the evidence. If there is not, then it is probably not a good move,” said Mr, Hutson, now president and dean of the Franklin Pierce Law Center in Concord, N.H. “It’s high-stakes poker.”
On Wednesday, the sailor charged, who said he was one of Corporal Thomas’ closest friends, testified that the Marine corporal played an instrumental role in carrying out the kidnapping and murder.
Seaman Recruit Melson J. Bacos testified that Thomas, along with Cpl. Marshall Magincalda, entered Awad’s home on April 26 while Bacos and Lance Cpl. Robert Pennington waited outside. Thomas and another Marine returned with Awad, Bacos said, and then the troops started walking him away from the house.
For much of that march, Corporal Thomas held onto Awad, “grabbing him, pushing him forward,” Bacos said.
The squad forced Awad into a hole and shot him, Bacos said, then tried to cover it up by placing an AK-47 and shovel by his body to make it look like he was an insurgent planting a bomb.
Prosecutors – as well as other squad members who made plea deals – have said the troops wanted to kill an Iraqi insurgent they suspected of planting bombs. They couldn’t find the man, and instead kidnapped Awad, according to court testimony.
Bacos told prosecutors that after Awad was dead, squad leader Hutchins said, “Congratulations, we just got away with murder, gents.”
Hutchins is awaiting trial on murder and other charges. He has not entered a plea, but his lawyer has said he did not think Hutchins did anything wrong.
Thomas’ wife, Erica Thomas, said outside court Wednesday that her husband is a Christian and a good father to their 2-year-old daughter, and that he bears no anger toward his colleagues or the Marine Corps for prosecuting him.
“He’s got no animosity toward anyone,” Erica Thomas said. “He would re-enlist in the Marines if he could.”