CAMP PENDLETON -- The Marine Corps on Tuesday announced it had refiled criminal charges against a corporal who last week withdrew guilty pleas he had entered in connection with the slaying of an Iraqi civilian last year.

Cpl. Trent Thomas is now charged with premeditated murder in the April 26 slaying of Hashim Ibrahim Awad in Hamdania, Iraq. He faces life in prison if a jury convicts him and he is sentenced to the maximum penalty.

Lt. Gen. James Mattis has decided not to pursue a death penalty case against the 25-year-old St. Louis native. Mattis is the convening authority over the case as commander of Marine Corps Forces, Central Command.

Thomas also has been recharged with conspiracy, housebreaking, larceny, kidnapping and making a false official statement. An aggravated assault charge that had been dropped for his alleged role in the beating of an Iraqi civilian April 10 also has been refiled.

On Thursday, Thomas withdrew the guilty pleas he entered Jan. 18 to charges that included non-premeditated murder, the equivalent of second-degree murder in the civilian justice system.

He told the military court on the third day of his sentencing hearing last week that despite having earlier admitted his role in the killing, he now believes he was acting within the law because he thought he was following an order given by his squad leader, Sgt. Lawrence Hutchins III.

Hutchins has pleaded not guilty and faces trial later this year. He and Thomas were among eight men from a 3rd Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment platoon charged in the Awad slaying. Both also were charged in the assault case.

Thomas is now set to go to trial in mid-March, but that may change if a new judge is appointed as the defense has requested.

Military law specialists say the plea withdrawals should not prevent Thomas from getting a fair trial, but it could make it difficult to seat a jury.

Gary Solis, a former Marine Corps attorney who now teaches law at Washington's Georgetown University, said last week that a key challenge will be finding an untainted jury pool.

Allowing Thomas to withdraw the guilty pleas is evidence of extreme caution being exercised to make sure Thomas gets a fair trial, according to Eugene Fidell, president of the National Institute of Military Justice in Washington.

Thomas' attorneys plan to try the case before a jury and his earlier statements of guilt will not be admissible at trial. Under military law, Thomas can demand that one-third of the panel be drawn from enlisted ranks.

In an exclusive interview with the North County Times on Jan. 17, the day before he entered his guilty pleas, Thomas said he knew he was facing an extended jail sentence but still loved the Marine Corps.

"Through a bad situation, so much good could come out of it," Thomas told the newspaper. "A father is going to discipline his son, but he still loves him. I love the Marine Corps, even if someone else in my shoes would be down."

In an interview with CNN taped last week and broadcast Monday, Thomas told the network that the killing stemmed from the pressures of combat.

"At the time, I felt that I was doing what I had to do," he said. "Now that I'm back here, I know that it was wrong what we did, and for that I am truly sorry."

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