Accused Marine wants jury to hear classified info in murder trial
By: TERI FIGUEROA - Staff Writer | ∞
CAMP PENDLETON -- A Marine sergeant accused of being the architect of a plot to kidnap and kill an Iraqi man was in court Tuesday as his attorneys battled for permission to let his jury hear classified military information they say is related to his case.
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At issue is not the classified nature of the material -- if necessary, the jury could be made up of Marines with security clearance. Rather, the question before a military judge is whether the classified information is relevant in the case of the defendant, Sgt. Lawrence Hutchins against charges that include murder, kidnapping and conspiracy.
It was unclear which pieces of military intelligence defense attorneys want the jury to hear. The discussion of the classified information happened behind closed doors Tuesday afternoon and will continue today.
On Tuesday morning, during an open portion of the pretrial hearing, an intelligence officer took the stand and spoke against public disclosure of the documents.
"There's a plethora of items there that would threaten national security," the officer said in a strong voice. Prosecutors asked that the man's name not be revealed to protect his safety.
The officer testified that disclosing the classified information in Hutchins' case would reveal "our capability to find the enemy," particularly with regard to the way the military gathers intelligence.
Hutchins is one of eight Camp Pendleton troops accused of snatching 52-year-old Hashim Ibrahim Awad from his home in the rural village of Hamdania in the early morning hours of April 26, 2006. After marching him a mile or so up the road, the men allegedly shot him and staged the scene to make him look like an insurgent planting a bomb.
Five of the accused men have pleaded guilty to reduced charges in exchange for testifying against the others. Four of them received less than two years in jail; a fact that Hutchins' attorneys want to share with the jury. The fifth man was sentenced to eight years in jail.
-- Contact staff writer Teri Figueroa at (760) 631-6624 or tfigueroa@nctimes.com.
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Don't understand wrote on Jun 13, 2007 3:18 PM:This is a military court right? The man is charged with murder, kidnapping and conspiracy. The entire event had to do with decisions on intelligence on Awad. I'd think that would be a pretty important piece of information unless the government wanted to actually cover something up...especially if they could get a jury with a security clearance. What are they afraid of? Can't make this a media circus if they have to close the doors to the press?
AW4cryinoutloud wrote on Jun 13, 2007 4:22 PM:To NCT: Where did the comments go on a couple of articles? They were there earlier. Feels like the Twilight Zone goin' on!
AW4cryinoutloud wrote on Jun 13, 2007 4:36 PM:Shucks! I got it! Same story; two separate titles. Need to put that in my memory bank...such as it is!
to don't understand wrote on Jun 13, 2007 8:22 PM:you wrote -- "The entire event had to do with decisions on intelligence on Awad." Actually Awad was not the 'target' and it is not likely that even if awad was a known insurgent it would justify kidnapping and shooting him while he was gagged and bound hand and foot, after concocting a story and lying to cover it up.
John1 to "to dont understand" wrote on Jun 14, 2007 3:51 AM:Well, let's hear that intelligence on Awad to determine what it says.
AW4cryinoutlod wrote on Jun 14, 2007 8:48 AM:How the heck does anyone know Gowad from Awad? Awad's own brother couldn't even identify him until later. Then he shows up and says, oh yeah, that's him! (Not verbatim but to the point). If the military wants to keep something quiet couldn't they just have "debriefed" the accused and saved "everyone" a lot of grief?
dont understand wrote on Jun 14, 2007 12:04 PM:If it were me facing those charges you bet I'd want everything in court. Sure it would make finding a jury harder with a top secret clearance. I still think there is more to this story than what it appears to be. Its too cut and dry. There are some things that dont make sense. Just because the govt got some guys to roll over because they were scared does not mean they are not lying.
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