Marine withdraws guilty plea in killing

CAMP PENDLETON, Calif. – A military judge granted a Marine corporal’s request Thursday to withdraw his guilty plea to charges of murdering an unarmed Iraqi civilian, but warned the serviceman that he could be sentenced to death if convicted.

Cpl. Trent Thomas, 25, pleaded guilty as part of a pretrial agreement to several charges Jan. 18, including kidnapping and murder, in the slaying of 52-year-old Hashim Ibrahim Awad in Hamdania last year. But Thomas said Thursday that he no longer believes he’s guilty and was following a lawful order.

“Sir, when my country gives me an order, I follow it,” Thomas told the judge, Lt. Col. Tracy A. Daly, adding that the order came from his squad leader, Sgt. Lawrence Hutchins III, and higher up the chain of command.

“I believe I had justification,” Thomas said.

The judge warned Thomas that he could face the death penalty because he is no longer bound by the pretrial agreement. But the death penalty is a long shot because Lt. Gen. James Mattis, who is overseeing the case, has said he does not want Thomas or any of the other troops accused in the case to face execution.

Thomas, of Madison, Ill., was one of a squad of seven Marines and a sailor accused last year of hatching a plot to kill an Iraqi in the town of Hamdania. Four others pleaded guilty to lesser charges. Thomas, the squad’s second in command, could face life in prison.

Outside court, Thomas’ attorney, Victor Kelley, said his client had an epiphany Wednesday night and decided to withdraw his pleas. “Corporal Thomas has always wanted to fight it,” Kelley said of the charges.

Thomas testified last month about his role in the killing, saying he and three other troops grabbed Awad after scrapping plans to go after a suspected insurgent living next door to the man. When asked why, he said, “We would get someone else to make a statement that Marines, we were sick and tired of getting bombed.”

Thomas also said he helped bind Awad’s hands and feet and that he fired several rounds into the man after another Marine killed him.

John Hutson, a former top Navy lawyer who practiced military law for 28 years, said he could not recall a single military case in which a defendant withdrew a guilty plea after giving lengthy testimony detailing his involvement.

“It would be a good move if there is a substantial change in the evidence. If there is not, then it is probably not a good move,” said Hutson, now president and dean of the Franklin Pierce Law Center in Concord, N.H.

Thomas’ wife, Erica Thomas, said outside court Wednesday that her husband is a Christian and a good father to their 2-year-old daughter. She said he bears no anger toward his colleagues or the Marine Corps for prosecuting him.

“He’s got no animosity toward anyone,” Erica Thomas said. “He would re-enlist in the Marines if he could.”