Marine Convicted of Killing Iraqi Civilian

A military jury at Camp Pendleton, Calif., convicted Sgt. Lawrence Hutchins of killing an Iraqi civilian in 2006. The Marine had been found guilty at his first trial in 2007, but the sentence was remanded on appeal for a rehearing. Under the new sentence, the jury determined that the seven years Hutchins has spent in the Pendleton brig and U.S. Disciplinary Barracks at Fort Leavenworth, Kan., were sufficient punishment – in addition to reduction in rank to E-1 and a bad-conduct discharge. The original charges and conviction centered upon an incident in which Hutchins killed an Iraqi police officer, the Los Angeles Times reported June 18. Hutchins, a squad leader, was described in court as disillusioned and distrustful of all Iraqis at the time of the incident.