The VC was armed, and hadn't surrendered already. This prisoner had surrendered and was unarmed. Of course, the Marine didn't seem to realize that at the time he shot. It seems to be a mistake with tragic consequences, as it will be a black eye on a great job done by the troops. :-(
Is treason still a crime in this country?
Will the government ever find the guts to try somebody for it again?
Not so. Here's the account from another thread:
A second group of Marines entered the mosque on Saturday after reports it had been reoccupied.
Footage from the embedded television crew showed the five still in the mosque, although several appeared to be already close to death, Sites said.
He said one Marine noticed one of the prisoners was still breathing.
A Marine can be heard saying on the pool footage provided to Reuters Television: "He's fucking faking he's dead. He faking he's fucking dead."
It is not accurate to call him a prisoner. The marines were attacking a mosque that they thought had been reoccupied.
The wounded terrorist was therefore not a prisoner. And because he was either playing dead or unconscious, he had not surrendered.