Camp Pendleton Marine’s Murder Conviction in Hamdaniya Case Overturned

By Beth Ford Roth, KPBS

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces has overturned the murder conviction of ex-Camp Pendleton Marine Sgt. Lawrence Hutchins III.

Hutchins led an eight-man squad that kidnapped and killed unarmed Iraqi civilian Hashim Ibrahim Awad in Hamdaniya in 2006.

The Associated Press reports:

The judges agreed with Hutchins, who claimed his constitutional rights were violated when he was held in solitary confinement without access to a lawyer for seven days during his interrogation.

A military court in 2007 convicted Hutchins of murder, conspiracy to commit murder, making a false official statement, and larceny, according to The Jurist.

Hutchins' lawyer, Babu Kaza, told the AP he anticipates his client will be released from the brig in a matter of days.