Posted on 02/16/2007 5:33:36 AM PST by RedRover
CAMP PENDLETON ---- A Marine lance corporal took the hand of an Iraqi man he had just helped kidnap last year and used it to strike the face of the bullet-riddled victim, a co-defendant in the homicide case testified Thursday.
"He took his hand and kind of played with it and made Mr. Awad hit himself," former Petty Officer Melson Bacos said about his squad mate, Lance Cpl. Robert Pennington, during testimony in a Camp Pendleton courtroom. "He said, 'Quit hitting yourself.' "
Bacos' testimony came as the government presented evidence that will lead to its sentencing recommendation when the court-martial ends for Pennington, a 22-year-old Seattle native who pleaded guilty Tuesday to conspiring to kidnap and murder Hashim Ibrahim Awad.
Bacos also testified that as Pennington helped place Awad's body in a bag for removal from the killing site in the village of Hamdania, Iraq, he made joking references to brain matter and whether rigor mortis had set in on the body of the 52-year-old victim.
Bacos was the first of the eight men from the base's 3rd Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment platoon charged in the case to plead guilty. As part of his deal with prosecutors, Bacos is required to testify for the prosecution in the remaining cases.
Awad was taken from his home in the early morning hours of April 26, marched to a hole that the squad had prepared to make it appear he was an insurgent planting a roadside bomb and shot to death. Platoon members who pleaded guilty for their roles in the case have testified the killing was carried out in an attempt to send a message to Hamdania residents about insurgent activity in the area.
Bacos, who said he considered Pennington a "brother in arms" and was uncomfortable testifying against him, told the court that Pennington helped plan the April 26 slaying and did nothing to try to prevent it.
Pennington also took a bandage used to dress wounds and formed a makeshift cravat for use as a gag and attempted to stuff it into Awad's mouth as the squad prepared to shoot the Iraqi, Bacos testified.
"He was laying on top of him so he couldn't get up and shoving the cravat inside his mouth," Bacos said, adding that Awad was "fighting back and struggling when he was getting gagged."
At one point during the gagging, Bacos said that Pennington exclaimed, "this (expletive) is trying to bite me."
As Bacos testified, Pennington took notes and occasionally glanced at the Wisconsin native. Pennington's parents, Deanna and Terry, and other family members also watched Bacos intently as he testified. His mother, who has been very vocal in protesting the prosecution of her son, took notes throughout the testimony.
Also testifying for the government was James Connolly, a Naval Criminal Investigative Service special agent who interrogated platoon members in Iraq.
Connolly testified about having met with family members of Awad and learning that within a day or two of the slaying, a flier had been handed out in Hamdania by members of the platoon with a threatening message that if anyone was caught digging a hole for a roadside bomb they, like Awad, would be killed.
Pvt. John Jodka III, another of the Marines who has pleaded guilty, testified briefly that the platoon was responsible for distributing the flier.
Prosecutors have repeatedly said that Awad had no known ties to insurgents and no testimony tying to him to attacks on U.S. forces has been heard in any of the cases.
Pennington's lead attorney, David Brahms, challenged Connolly's methods in preparing a sworn statement attributed to his client. Connolly testified that he interviewed Pennington while another agent took notes. He then prepared a written version of the statement from his memory and her notes. The session was not recorded.
Prosecution and defense testimony is expected to end today or Saturday. Each side will then argue what they believe is an appropriate sentence, after which the judge, Col. Steven Folsom, will render a decision.
The terms of Pennington's plea agreement with the convening authority over the case, Lt. Gen. James Mattis, won't be revealed until after the judge pronounces what he believes is an appropriate sentence. Whichever sentence is lesser ---- the one in the plea agreement with the general or the one that Folsom orders ---- will be the one that Pennington serves.
His pleas were the result of a negotiated deal with prosecutors that require the government to withdraw murder, larceny and housebreaking charges if he follows its terms as he serves out his sentence. Pennington joined the Marine Corps in October 2002 and served two tours of duty in Iraq.
Facing trial later this year are three remaining defendants: the squad leader, Sgt. Lawrence Hutchins III, and Cpls. Trent Thomas and Marshall Magincalda.
Thomas pleaded guilty to murder and six other felonies on Jan. 18, but was allowed to withdraw those pleas last week and proceed to trial. Each remaining defendant has pleaded not guilty or had their attorneys express their innocence.
Contact staff writer Mark Walker at (760) 740-3529 or mlwalker@nctimes.com.
Well, all that concern evaporated when Petty Officer Melson Bacos took a plea deal.
But what did anyone expect at least one of the eight caged and shackled serviceman would do? Wasn't it clear that there was a POINT to the chains and the slow torture of caged for weeks on end?
Bacos agreed to follow the prosecution's script. In exchange, he received 10 months in the brig and a general discharge. He'll have to live with it.
In the Hamdania case thus far: exculpatory evidence has been destroyed, investigators have falsified statements, the accused have been abused and coerced into plea deals.
Personally, I don't know whether Bascos is telling the truth or not, or whether Pennington is innocent or not. But it's clear that our Marines are facing show trials where confessions and deals are their only way out.
And that ought to be a bigger scandal than handcuffs and leg irons.
ping
If you weren't pinged, let jazusamo or me know if you want on the Hamdania Marine Ping List.
It's not like Bacos made the poor man put panties on his head.
But it's clear that our Marines are facing show trials.
Marines,Border Guards, everybody but terrorists and drug dealers.We have met the enemy, and they are the bureaucrats in charge of our government !!!
Bacony bacos makes every bite better.
Sounds like some of these troops were scumbags. Just because someone fights for our country doesn't mean that they can't be a psychopath. There are likely serial killers in the military just like there are in society at large. They should all be treated the same.
Even if the testimony is true, I see no crime.
We train them to kill.
We send them to war.
They experience war where any civilian at anytime could be the enemy.
We expect them to act like Mr Rogers? BS!
War is war.
Oh, for heaven's sake! These statements are getting ridiculous. What's next?
That is obviously a true statement.
American soldiers, while defending the country, are not infallible superheroes. They are about the same as any other human creature. There are some 130,000 troops in Iraq. Based on the American population in general (as if 130,000 random Americans were gathered up and their behavior observed), at least a few would probably be jerks.
"Just because someone fights for our country doesn't mean that they can't be a psychopath."
True, but there are good psychopaths and bad ones.
"There are likely serial killers in the military just like there are in society at large."
Since the military is representative of the population at larged that could also be true. However the military is certainly above average in many many areas. The behavior of a serial killer would be hard to miss. Your attempts to paint the military with a broad negative brush are interesting though.
"They should all be treated the same."
Yeah, Al Queda and the Marines, they are the same, sure... anything else negative you want to say about the troops?
Ideally, it would be good if every single troop (and every single American) was polite 24/7. Obviously in this world, that is probably not going to happen--especially in a war situation. Kidnapping and murder are not the same as disrespect. This slapping a corpse with his hand is just the dressing on top of a great, rotting thing (if that makes any sense).
"War is war."
No war is a surgical instrument where only the non-PC ugly people are killed and only when its politically expedient for the liberals.
not sure if I'm being sarcastic or realistic.
"When some troops do something such as murder (at least hypothetically), they should be called on it. "
I don't believe the military should be used for a police force. The military should be used to kill and destroy. Expecting people to kill and destroy one minute and then be a cop the next minute will only result in problems.
The ways the guys were treated defies the laws you are trying to hold them to. They were forced to plead guilty.
His comment did not seem to use a "broad brush" (opinion). He used some to qualify his statement.
Just exactly why was he hitting himself?
The freepers here are wanting these Marines and the Haditha Marines to get a fair trial.
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