CAMP PENDLETON - Defense attorneys for the only Marine who has pleaded guilty to murder in the death of an Iraqi civilian last April want him to be given credit for four years already served because of what they contend have been overly restrictive confinement conditions.

Even though Cpl. Trent Thomas has only been in custody since May, his attorneys argued Tuesday that his placement in maximum custody was improper and can only be remedied by multiplying the number days he has already spent behind bars.

His attorneys called several witnesses to explain why Thomas has been kept in a one-man cell at the Camp Pendleton brig and why he was shackled when out of his cell during his first three weeks of confinement.

A jail counselor, Gunnery Sgt. Kenneth Elkins, testified that Thomas has been a "outstanding" inmate who has never violated any regulations and never shown any disrespect or any kind of bitterness.

The attorneys contend that behavior, coupled with the restrictive confinement, deserve additional credit when it comes to his term of sentence.

"It rates relief," Maj. Dale Saran, one of Thomas' attorneys, argued to Lt. Col. Tracy Daly, the judge presiding over the court-martial of the 25-year-old St. Louis native.

Thomas pleaded guilty Jan. 18 to murder, kidnapping, conspiracy and related offenses in the April 26, 2006, abduction and shooting death of Hashim Ibrahim Awad in Hamdania, Iraq.

Seven Marines, including Thomas, and a U.S. Navy corpsman from 2nd platoon of Kilo Company from the 3rd Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment were charged in June with the killing.

Four Marines besides Thomas have pleaded guilty to lesser offenses than murder and received sentences ranging from 12 to 21 months.

Thomas is the only one of the group - dubbed by supporters as the "Pendleton 8" - to plead guilty to each of the charges as they were originally filed.

Tuesday's court session was the first phase of what will be at least a four-day sentencing hearing in which Thomas' attorneys say they will call at least 27 witnesses.

Thomas testified briefly, telling the court that he wants out of his single cell.

"I'd have more chance of rehabilitation," he testified, saying he would be able to get a job and earn additional credit for good behavior. "It's hard for someone to rehabilitate themselves when their sitting in a cell by themselves."

Defense attorneys also argued during the daylong session that prosecutors should be limited on the length of sentence they can seek.

That motion was made in response to a practice in the military court system in which the judge hands down a sentence without knowing what is contained in the negotiated agreement.

Thomas' plea agreement was reached with Lt. Gen. James Mattis, the convening authority over the case as commander of Marine Corps Forces Central Command and the I Marine Expeditionary Force.

But in the military court system, the defense and prosecutors will present their cases to the judge, who will then pronounce what he believes is the proper sentence. After that sentence is rendered, the actual sentencing terms reached with Mattis are unsealed and whichever is lesser will be the sentence that Thomas will serve.

Victor Kelley, Thomas' lead attorney, argued the motion against allowing prosecutors to seek a sentence other than what they recommended to Mattis during the plea negotiations.

"Justice is not done when the government talks out of both sides of its mouth," Kelley said.

Quizzed by the judge about the lack of case law to support that motion, Kelley acknowledged there is none, but urged that it be considered because of what he contended was essentially a double standard.

"Is it a lawful sentence recommendation to the court when the government has previously made a recommendation on sentencing," Kelley asked in reference to what prosecutors recommended to Mattis.

The lead prosecutor, Lt. Col. John Baker, told the judge that the military justice system is fundamentally different than that in civilian courts and the practice of recommending a sentence before the terms of a plea deal are unveiled is deeply rooted in the Uniform Code of Military Justice.

Despite the plea agreement, prosecutors use the sentencing phase to argue why they believe the acts committed by a defendant who has pleaded guilty warrant a stiff sentence. Their recommendation, and that ultimately handed down by the military judge, usually call for much longer jail terms than what is contained in the plea agreement.

The hearing resumes at 1 p.m. today with prosecutors expected to call Petty Officer Melson Bacos, the corpsman who was the first to plead guilty and the first man in the squad to give investigators a detailed account of what led to the killing of Awad.

Bacos, who got a 12-month sentence in his plea deal, has testified that Awad was seized from his home and killed after the squad hatched a plan to kidnap and kill another man who was a suspected insurgent.

When a "snatch team" didn't find that man at home, they went immediately next door and seized Awad, a 52-year-old retired police officer with no known insurgent ties.

Some of the men who have pleaded guilty said that even if the original target couldn't be found, the squad planned to kill someone in the early morning hours of April 26 to send a message to the village that the Marines were not going to tolerate insurgent activity.

After Bacos, prosecutors plan to call a Naval Criminal Investigative Service agent who interviewed Thomas in Iraq before he and his squad mates were ordered to return to Camp Pendleton.

Thomas' wife, Erica, attended Tuesday's session along with other family members. She often smiled at her husband and talked with him during breaks in the small courtroom.

- Contact staff writer Mark Walker at (760) 740-3529 or mlwalker@nctimes.com.