Marines' lawyers had little time in Iraq
CAMP PENDLETON, Calif. --A hearing for a Marine sergeant considered by some to be the mastermind of a kidnapping and killing in Iraq was postponed Monday for at least 24 hours because bad weather grounded key attorneys on the East Coast.
Sgt. Lawrence G. Hutchins III was the leader of an eight-man squad accused of killing Hashim Ibrahim Awad, 52.
Four Marines and a Navy corpsman who have pleaded guilty to reduced charges in the slaying have said Hutchins, from Plymouth, Mass., masterminded the killing last year and several said he fired the fatal shots. One Marine who initially pleaded guilty to murder later withdrew the plea, saying Hutchins ordered him to participate.
Hutchins' attorney, Rich Brannon, recently traveled with other attorneys to Iraq to try to investigate the area of the April 26 killing in the town of Hamdania, on the outskirts of Fallujah.
Prosecutors say Hutchins' squad, unable to find an Iraqi insurgent they suspected of planting bombs, kidnapped Hashim Ibrahim Awad and killed him to "send a message."
The lawyers' trip to Hamdania and comments suggest a potential trial strategy -- that of convincing a jury that Awad, 52, was an insurgent and the Marines were justified in their actions.
"I went to Iraq to see if I could gather additional evidence so I could have proof that the judge would allow me to bring into court as to Awad's past terrorist activities," said Joseph Low, attorney for Cpl. Marshall Magincalda, who faces murder and kidnapping charges.
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