NORTH COUNTY -- Jury decisions and a powerful general's grants of clemency have signaled that Marines may be reluctant to jail service members accused of war crimes in Iraq.

Few saw it coming when the military justice system granted freedom to most of the eight Camp Pendleton troops who admitted to kidnapping and killing an Iraqi man in Hamdania last year. Former Marine prosecutor Thad Coakley was among those caught off guard.

"The sentences were well below what is expected for the guilty findings for a group that decide to kidnap and execute a guy," said Coakley, who has extensive experience in the military's rules of engagement.

Thanks to jury findings, plea deals and Lt. Gen. James Mattis' willingness to grant clemency less than two weeks ago, seven of the accused squad mates served less than 15 months in jail. Only the squad leader who crafted the plan remains behind bars.

Mattis also has dropped criminal charges against two of seven Camp Pendleton Marines accused in the killings of 24 Iraqis in the aftermath of a deadly roadside bomb in Haditha in 2005. He dropped the charges after pretrial investigations cleared the men.

The general's actions in two of the war's highest-profile criminal cases underscore one of the wild cards in the military justice system: the sweeping powers of a commanding general to decide the fate of those accused of war crimes.

Mattis, who commands the 1st Marine Expeditionary Force at Camp Pendleton in Southern California, decided who was charged, who got immunity, who would stand trial and, in the case of convictions, whether clemency should and would be granted.

His decisions were cheered by those who believe the troops were pursued unfairly by overzealous military prosecutors. But critics said the moves reflected how the justice system is tilted toward the accused, particularly in cases arising from battlefield actions. And they may be right.

General in unique position

Gary Solis, a former Marine Corps prosecutor and judge who teaches law of war at Georgetown University Law Center, said the general is uniquely positioned to understand Marines accused of crimes.

"Of course he has sympathy for them," Solis said. "The question is whether that sympathy extends to being a critical factor in releasing them."

Mattis' understanding of what happens on the ground in war may be welcome news for rank-and-file Marines who sink their boots into the sands of Iraq.

While waiting for a haircut in Oceanside Monday, Sgt. Paul Daly said he was satisfied with the outcomes in the Hamdania case.

"It would have been an issue if they had gotten hard time," the Iraq war vet said.

The cases also carry a lesson to the men patrolling Iraqi streets.

"It probably makes them think more about what they are doing," Daly said.

The two war crimes cases are unrelated and have few similarities. Hamdania was an execution plot, Haditha appears to have been a combat reaction to a bomb and gunfire.

That may explain why the Hamdania defendants found themselves in front of juries and the men involved in the Haditha killings may be exonerated of criminal wrongdoing.

When those juries, which were made up of Iraq war veterans, convicted but freed two of the defendants, the general let almost all of the remaining men -- minus the squad leader -- out of jail.

To the general, it was simple: fairness.

"It was a matter of equity and trying to level the playing field for the junior members of the squad," former prosecutor Coakley said in a telephone interview.

Even though most of the defendants are free men, they all remain convicted felons. All eight were knocked in rank to private.

Mattis is still considering whether to cut the sentence of the squad leader and chief architect of the plot, Sgt. Lawrence Hutchins. He's serving 15 years for a murder conviction by a jury. Speculation is widespread that the sentence will be cut to as few as five years.

'Shadowy enemy'

The Hamdania decisions may well influence the outcome of cases involving another group of Camp Pendleton Marines accused in the killings of 24 Iraqis in Haditha.

In that case, a convoy of troops was traveling through a residential neighborhood in Haditha on Nov. 19, 2005, when a roadside bomb exploded, killing a lance corporal. The Marines said they dodged gunfire after the explosion and raided nearby homes to chase their attackers.

In the end, 24 Iraqis lay dead, some of them children.

Earlier this summer, seven Marines faced criminal charges in the Haditha case: four junior Marines accused of pulling triggers and four officers accused of dereliction of duty for not having fully investigated the killings.

Last week, Mattis dropped that number to five by tossing out murder charges against one of the triggermen and one of the officers.

Mattis pointed to what he called the realities of the war, noting "our nation is fighting a shadowy enemy who hides among the innocent people."

There are more war crimes prosecutions to come, including one out of Mattis' reach. A former Marine who served with a group Pendleton troops was charged Thursday with voluntary manslaughter in the slaying of Iraqi detainees during the battle for Fallujah nearly three years ago.

Because Jose Nazario Jr., the defendant in the new Fallujah case, is no longer a Marine, he's been charged in civilian court, where Mattis has no power to intervene.

Solis described Mattis as "one of the finest combat leaders" in the U.S. military but said the general's recent actions could send a mixed message.

"On the one hand, he has been aggressive in prosecuting, on the other, he has been merciful in assessing the judgments that result from the prosecution," Solis said.

Generals frequently cut sentences, Solis said.

For instance, the general overseeing the prosecution of Army Lt. William Calley, who in 1971 was sentenced to life in prison for his role in the massacre of Vietnamese civilians at My Lai, reduced Calley's sentence to 20 years.

Calley ultimately served only six weeks in the brig and three years under house arrest.

The Associated Press contributed to this story. Contact staff writer Mark Walker at (760) 740-3529 or mlwalker@nctimes.com. Contact staff writer Teri Figueroa at (760) 631-6624 or tfigueroa@nctimes.com.