CHARLOTTE wrote on Jun 19, 2008 9:00 PM:WHAT HAPPENED TO ALL'S FAIR IN LOVE AND WAR? THOSE ROTTEN PEOPLE OVER THERE COULD CARE LESS ABOUT ALL THE AMERICANS THEY KILLED, EN CONTRAIR, THEY REJOICE IN OUR SUFFERING. I FEEL TERRIBLE FOR THIS POOR MAN AND HIS FAMILY, I COULD CARE LESS ABOUT THE IDIOTS THEY KILL WHO, BY THE WAY STARTED THIS HELLISH WAR, AND IN MY OPINION, ASKED FOR THIS.

Mom of A Marine wrote on Jun 19, 2008 9:57 PM:This makes me SICK! Hang in there Hutch...there are people thinking of you and praying for you. And of course NCTimes couldn't wait to gloat about it.

AWcryinoutloud wrote on Jun 19, 2008 10:29 PM:Mark, why is it that with all the knowledge you have of this case, you fail to include the fact that the one who initiated the shooting (without orders) is free today? Why do you fail to report the fact that squad members made a "deal" to "say" they sat and planned to kidnap someone, rather than the truth that there were orders for a sanctioned mission? Why do you continually give only one side of the story? You report that "Prosecutors" repeatedly said Awad had no known ties to the insurgency. Why didn't you focus on the fact that Awad was on the list of known and suspected insurgents? You failed to follow through on that for months. Teri Figueroa still reports that an innocent named Awad was killed yet that was NOT proven by the prosecution, so why is it still reported as fact? If any of you had focused on the defense and the way Sgt. Hutchins was screwed over by this so-called system of justice, perhaps the public would at least have been informed of what was really transpiring in that courtroom. Even when Sgt. Hutchins was sentenced, the only thing Figueroa could focus on was the defendant's physique and his daughter's "little pink fingernails". This is about a young man's life yet it was treated like a day of Paparazzi following Paris Hilton or some assinine celebrity. Frankly, none of you at NCT "earned" the right to have that interview with Larry. One day someone will, and it will not be NCTimes.

Ed wrote on Jun 19, 2008 10:37 PM:the people in that village didn't start this; our American morals, beliefs and laws do not support the wholesale massacre of innocent bystanders..

ONCE AGAIN wrote on Jun 19, 2008 10:56 PM:Mark Walker....it was NEVER proven that this was an innocent civilian! Just more smear to go along with your gloating. YOU are unscrupulous and should be ashamed!

WHY wrote on Jun 19, 2008 11:28 PM:Do you keep printing this garbage..."During the court hearings, prosecutors repeatedly said Awad, a retired Iraqi policeman and father of 11 children, had no known ties to the insurgency." Why don't you KEEP printing over and over and over how the PROSECUTION could not prove who the man is and that the judge made them STOP using that name in court proceedings!!! For all those who believe what is construed as "news" to be truth...you are naive! Just ask the writer of this article.

Robyn wrote on Jun 19, 2008 11:30 PM:It makes you wonder what's really going on when only one person out of eight is still in custody and getting yrs of his life taken away, while the rest are free. Makes you wonder who choose him to be the scapegoat for everyone else. Stay strong, semper fi

John wrote on Jun 20, 2008 12:14 AM:We live under the rule of law, and we prosecute war under rules of engagement. Both were violated. These are two of our strengths, not weaknesses. At some level, we all become victims of our willingness to act according to the intentional distortions of the truth we're told by the media, the government and our neighbors.

AWcryinoutloud wrote on Jun 20, 2008 8:02 AM:To John: The "intentional distortions of the truth" told by the media, to which you refer, is NOT a "strength" for anyone but our enemy and a "weakness" of the government that crucified an innocent Marine. Ask Sgt. Hutchins what "he" thinks of "intentinal distortions of the truth". God knows he's been well-aware of it for the past two years. Ask his family what they think of "intentinal distortions of the truth", and while you're at it, ask Lt. Col. Chessani, his family, and thousands of Marines what they think of it. We live under the rule of law? We live under the rule of Power held by a mere few; a power that has become abusive, corruptible, is held unaccountable, and is destroying the lives of innocent Americans. You might want to rethink you're comment on intentional distortions of the truth because, if not for the Enemy, Sgt. Hutchins and many Marines and Soldiers wouldn't be facing unjust persecutions by their own government. I quoted this on another article: "Ayman al Zawahiri, Bin Laden's second in command, to al Zarqawi" "...I say to you that we are in a battle and that more than half of this battle is taking place in the battlefield of the media." It's pathetic when Americans buy into the enemy's propaganda and allow their own to be sacrificed. NO Marine or Soldier who has fought for your freedom believes that "intentional distortions of the truth" are anything more than the enemy's weapon against us. It's insulting for you to suggest that there's any moral or just strength to be found in its use against our troops.

What wrote on Jun 20, 2008 10:06 AM:Why are we over there?

Old Timer wrote on Jun 20, 2008 10:48 AM:One slight mistake, one slip in judgement or one episode of depression or irrational response and our system finds you guilty of being a human being and sentences you to prison. Every defense for these brave Soldiers and Marines should be for temporary insanity because that is what years of war does to our Soldiers and Marines.They did the same in Viet Nam. Everyone of those in combat should be given a Medal of Honor and for any that has kept up with the news, the pentagon won't even issue medals earned or provide treatment for PTSD. We treat out military and their families terribly.

DESERT BUG wrote on Jun 20, 2008 11:46 AM:Some of us have delved into the truth and found that the real facts of Sergeant Hutchin's case are mostly distorted and twisted and falsified ad nauseum. Personally, I don't give a hoot whether Awad (whoever he is) was an insurgent or not. (He was one.) What happened was incidental to combat and a byproduct of it. Good grief, will we now go back and dig up fallen heroes and try them posthumosly because during some war their actions killed civilians in a combat zone? How about trying air corps pilots from World War II who bombed Japanese cities with atomic bombs or who fire bombed German cities killing thousands. Sergeant Hutchins was reacting to the insidious and evil planting of roadside bombs by insurgents; he felt he was doing the right thing; if in a combat situation he was wrong: SO BE IT. As
General Sherman famously said, "War is hell." Sergeant Hutchins is a young guy with NO criminal record who was serving his country ~ PERIOD. If there is any justice at all left in this world, Larry Hutchins will be set free. This horrible injustice makes those of us who see the case in perspective not only angry, but frustrated and depressed. Larry, you aren't forgotten, and won't be. You have many friends and supporters.

AWcryinoutloud wrote on Jun 20, 2008 1:39 PM:To DESERT BUG: Thanks Bug. I don't know who you are or whether Larry does but I can assure you you're speaking for many, many retired Marines who know this to be a total abuse of power and a result of command influence out of control. I wrote to Larry a few days before he was transferred and told him that change of residence does not mean change of heart and that all of us who know the truth, believe in him, and love him, whether it be as a friend, a son, a brother, or as an American and honorable Marine; we're all there for him and will be until he's free. He may or may not know who you are but I tell him about you and others like you who have stood by him from the start. It may not set him free but it keeps his spirit strong. God Bless you and everyone who stands by this young man. AW4.

Beth wrote on Jun 20, 2008 5:31 PM:Sometime it seems like people print what they want and to hell with the truth. Hang in there, son. Hang in there...

JJsDad wrote on Jun 20, 2008 10:58 PM:To AW4: Of course it was a sanctioned mission, but the men did sit and plan it. All fire and ambush missions are planned. There was no deal to say that. Of course, they planned. And of course, Awad(pseudo or not) was hitched at the hip with Gowad.
To Ed: you're an idiot
To John: You're misinformed.

To Aw wrote on Jun 21, 2008 7:34 PM:You Rock! Thanks for being Semper Fi!

FREE SGT. HUTCHINS wrote on Jun 21, 2008 7:36 PM:FREE SGT. HUTCHINS!!!

DevilDog wrote on Jun 22, 2008 9:58 AM:I was proud to know Hutch while him and i were still new to the Corps. He was a damn good Marine then and he's a damn good Marine now. We did things over there that we don't tell our Moms and Dads because we don't want them to have the knowledge, you do the job anyway you can because the fact of the matter is this: My life and my Brothers lives are more important than there's.

Hutch your a Brother, Keep your head high, and your ass low! Miss you bro.

CommandaRanda wrote on Jun 23, 2008 8:43 PM:This poor guy is a scapegoat for a whitewash!!!!!

Mom Of Two Marines wrote on Jun 24, 2008 6:29 AM:My Prayers go out to Hutchins and his family. Huthins doesn't deserve to be in the brig at all. Stay strong, you will be in our prayers always.

AWcryinoutloud wrote on Jun 24, 2008 10:17 PM:To JJsDad: Tell it to someone else, not me. JJ must stick to his story or he's back to square one. I don't know why you try to convince me that there was no deal to say they planned it themselves. To quote you when interviewed about your son in August of 2006: "...he was placed in a room for 7 to 7.5 hours - no food, no water, no sleep -- and he was told that he was a murderer. They hammered away at him to give statements of what it was they wanted to hear." Well, JJ's Dad... it worked.

Get Real wrote on Jun 25, 2008 1:06 PM:AW4, Where is your proof that the CP8 was placed in a room for 7 to 7.5 hours without food/water and bathroom breaks. (Defense attorneys word) You have none because it never happened period. If this would have happened with the number of judges involved in the trials/hearings or motions I would think the statements would have been thrown out. It does not matter a wrong is a wrong even if you are in the Service that is why there are rules...

DevilDog wrote on Jun 25, 2008 11:11 PM:Get Real-what rules? The UCMJ follows the your guilty till proven innocent method. We face an entirely different set of rules than Civies. There's an old saying "what happens behind closed doors, stays behind closed doors". Maybe it happened maybe it didn't. So unless you have served in WAR (which follows an entirely different set of rules than peace time) don't judge us. We use tactics for information gathering thats different than what civilians are used to.

Mom of A Marine wrote on Jun 30, 2008 4:18 PM:Regarding YOUR comment to JJ's Dad...what you are reffering to here...("...he was placed in a room for 7 to 7.5 hours - no food, no water, no sleep -- and he was told that he was a murderer. They hammered away at him to give statements of what it was they wanted to hear.") Does NOT equal "deal." It constitutes "cohersion" and has NOTHING TO DO WITH A DEAL. Since you continue to bash those Marines that "took deals"...it shows that you don't know all there is to know.

Mom of A Marine wrote on Jun 30, 2008 10:19 PM:I'm sorry...my last comment was for AW4. I didn't specify that. And by the way, no deals were made during interrogations....These guys didn't even have lawyers until weeks after they were back in the states and in the brig. I know that you know quite a bit about Hutchins case...but you don't know everything, trust me. If you did...you would NOT say alot of the things you say.

AWcryinoutloud wrote on Jul 1, 2008 5:36 PM:To Mom of a Marine: Hi Mom! I didn't say deals were made in Iraq during interrogations, although I'm not so sure about Bacos. Any way, I guess I should have thrown in there about coercion. Just took it for granted it was understood. I was upset with JJ's Dad acting like no "deals" were made. They were made unwillingly through coercion that began in Iraq and continued in the brig, but they "were" made. I was also upset that he omitted the FACT that there were orders given to Larry. Phan admitted in court he "inserted" Larry and the others into the area of the mission and that he had several "discussions" with Larry about it but he would not admit to giving orders. The judge and panel at Larry's GCM knew about Commander's Intent and so did NCIS and the prosecution. Let's face it; Phan got out of facing 10 years imprisonment was promoted after being reprimanded, sent back to Iraq, all went free, and Larry got to pay the price for doing what he was ordered to do. I quoted Jodka to remind him that he knew, as did the other parents, that these Marines were forced to deal with the government. Sorry if I wasn't clear. AW4.