Sgt Lawrence Hutchins III sits in the U.S. Disciplinary Barracks at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, wrongfully convicted of manslaughter. His case is one that made worldwide headlines in 2006, and continues to set records for the amount of corruption and dishonor involved in putting this amazing Marine away for over a decade–all because he did his job. There are those who have worked to free him, and continue to do so even now, almost three years after the incident in Hamdania when seven Marines and a Navy Corpsman ended the life of a terrorist responsible for many deaths. There was to be a lawsuit filed in federal court regarding the practice of attainder (pre-trial incarceration), and addressing the Feres Doctrine (the reason the government cannot be sued by private citizens). A former Marine officer and defense attorney was to represent certain concerned parties involved with the Hutchins case. He was forced to retire by the Marine Corps after his outspoken condemnation of the treatment of the Pendleton 8, Haditha Marines, and the corruption so rampant in the military justice system. For those trying so hard to free Sgt Hutchins, the last of the Pendleton 8, the idea of a day in court was the ...

Tonight (9/4/08) at 2100 EST/1800 PM PST, I'll be talking to Colby Vokey, a former Marine officer and high-ranking JAG attorney about his recent retirement from the Marine Corps.  Tim Harrington will be on as well, and we'll be discussing the following: - Why the recent "not guilty" verdict for Nazario was so important, and what it means for the future of the military legal system. - What 'attainder' is, and why it affects our fighting men in uniform. - What goes on behind the scenes in the military legal system. - Why the Marine Corps retired Vokey, a long-time servant of his country, against his wishes. - MUCH MORE! Don't miss this show!  We'll be taking your calls at 646-915-9926. You can listen to the show live at http://blogtalkradio.com/frontline so make sure to tune in!  TONIGHT, 2100 EST, on The Front Line.

Note: The following is Part 1 of a series explaining why the military justice system needs to be abolished, and the Armed Forces judged based on Constitutional law instead of the Uniform Code of Military Justice. Last week marked the "end" of a two-year ordeal for former SGT Jose Nazario and his family.  I use quotes there because in reality, the nightmare is not over.  Charged with executing prisoners during the Battle of Fallujah, Nazario was the first former service member to be tried under the 2000 Military Extraterritorial Jurisdiction Act.  It's a common misconception that once a "not guilty" verdict or plea agreement is reached, that everything suddenly "poofs!" back to normal, back to the way things were before all of the insanity tore it apart.  In reality, Jose Nazario is still without employment, as he was fired from his position as a police officer.   Whether he will get his job back remains to be seen. It's another common myth that the government screwed up by putting Nazario's case before a civilian jury, that the idea of asking non-military personnel to judge the actions of Marines in combat is asinine.  However, if past track record of the last few years is ...

A retired Marine officer has denied charges that he spoke with Hutchins case convening authority Lt. Gen. Samuel Helland regarding the disposition of Sgt Larry Hutchins. In an email to me that was copied to several other parties, Major Herbert W. (Bill) Donahue, Jr., vehemently denied any involvement with Gen. Helland, and threatened legal action against me for "libel/slander and defamation of character." Donahue did not stop there, however, and went on to accuse me of "impugning the integrity of several ethical attorneys," among other things. The email basically degenerated into a personal attack, including several false accusations that are easily disproved if I can be bothered to go back two years in email and post the truth--which by the way, I would have already done if I wasn't moving to Washington State tomorrow. Donahue wrapped up with yet another legal threat--certain, I'm sure, that I would cower in fear and immediately retract everything I've posted. Maybe weak-minded men with no honor do that sort of thing, but I don't. While Donahue's threat is far from the first I've received, it rivals the ones I get from the Pakistani Islamics for its sheer humor potential--and the Pakistanis threaten me with ...

A retired Marine officer advised convening authority Lt. Gen Samuel Helland regarding the disposition of Sgt Larry Hutchins' case, resulting in undue command influence, revealed a source involved in Hutchins' defense today. In addition, there is evidence that the appeal of his case is being engineered by the same retired major. Retired Major Herbert W. "Bill" Donahue, Jr., head of an organization called United American Patriots, had at least one private, off-the-record conversation with Helland regarding the general's then-pending decision on Hutchins' case. In this behind-the-scenes and highly unethical conversation about the case, Donahue advised Helland that he "already had" three potential attorneys lined up for an appeal. Their names–Culp, McDermott, and Applegate–were given to the general at least two weeks prior to Helland making a decision as to how much, if any, prison time Sgt Hutchins would serve. Helland, armed with the knowledge that there was an appeal waiting to begin, simply reduced Hutchins' sentence by a few years and washed his hands of the affair. However, this is not where the machinations end. Major Donahue then retained attorney Kevin McDermott for the "appeal" of Hutchins' case. The retired officer claimed that he would, through monies he says his organization can raise, ...

ANN ARBOR, MI – Military prosecutors are expected to call as their witness General James N. Mattis, a highly respected Marine officer and one of only a handful of four-star Marine generals, to testify in the court-martial hearing against LtCol Jeffrey Chessani on June 2, 2008, at Camp Pendleton, California. Gen Mattis, recently given his fourth star, was the previous convening authority for the Haditha cases and the officer responsible for referring LtCol Chessani’s case to a general court-martial. Prosecutors are relying on him to rebut previous findings of the Military Judge that there is evidence of unlawful command influence. So let me get this straight. When the defense asks for Mattis' sworn deposition, they're denied. Yet the prosecution can call him as a witness with no problems at all? And what will Mattis say? Well, of course he'll say there was no undue command influence, and the judge will nod and say, "Oh, okay. Wow. Good thing you came on the stand and set that straight. Thanks, guys. Let's all go get a brewski now." Am I the only one who thinks this fish smells worse than a two-dollar hooker? ...

Interesting developments in the Camp Lejeune case today. RALEIGH , N.C. - Two Marine officers in a unit that was accused of killing as many as 19 Afghan civilians in 2007 will not face criminal charges, the military said Friday. Lt. Gen. Samuel Helland, the commander of U.S. Marine Corps Forces, Central Command, made the decision not to bring charges after reviewing the findings of a special tribunal that heard more than three weeks of testimony in January at Camp Lejuene. The tribunal investigated allegations that as many as 19 Afghan civilians died when a unit of Lejeune-based Marine special operations troops opened fire after a car bomb targeted their convoy on March 4, 2007 in Nangahar Province. This decision is very significant for several reasons.  First, it's a small victory for those of us advocating on behalf of Marines and soldiers accused of "war crimes" while doing their job--which is primarily, by the way, killing the enemy last time I checked. What makes the decision interesting is that General Helland just happens to be the same officer who served as the convening authority in the SGT Lawrence Hutchins case.  Hutchins is better known as the squad leader of the Pendleton 8, a group of ...

The following letter was sent to Lt. Gen. Helland and others last night regarding the continued imprisonment and wrongful conviction of SGT Lawrence Hutchins. I am currently writing a definitive account of the Hutchins case from beginning to end. I am incorporating all the documents I have in my possession, including the Ronin diaries, autopsy report, record of trial, NCIS work product, combat logs, interviews, and much more. After two years of research in this case, as all of you are already aware, I can and will prove well beyond a reasonable doubt all of the following: - There was a casual familiarity between the prosecution and the convening authority that crosses the line well into undue command influence. This was not an exception, but the modus operandi, as evidenced by recent rulings in United States v. Chessani and other examples in related cases such as United States v. Girouard. - This familiarity between the convening authority and the prosecution extended to the defense attorneys, as they "played along" with the government's script, ultimately failing in their duty to represent their clients, and denying them a fair trial. - The six remaining Marines and Navy Corpsman lied on the stand. ...

This is a HUGE, HUGE victory in the Haditha case...and possibly a huge victory for SGT Larry Hutchins as well, as the door is finally open to show undue command influence in the Pendleton 8 case. Today is a great day for Chessani, his attorneys, and for all of us whose mission is to end these charades of "justice." The case is far from over, but it's one giant leap toward righting this incredible wrong. My prayers are with the attorneys, Lt Col Chessani, and SGT Hutchins as we keep fighting for the end of this madness. ANN ARBOR, MI – Prosecutors yesterday hit a major speed bump in their rush to convict Marine LtCol Jeffrey Chessani when the Military Judge ruled that he found evidence of unlawful command influence. Courts consider unlawful command influence the “mortal enemy of military justice.” Although the case is far from over, yesterday’s ruling now forces prosecutors to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that: (1) the facts upon which the unlawful command influence is based are untrue; (2) those facts do not constitute unlawful command influence; or (3) the unlawful command influence will not affect the proceedings. The Unlawful Command Influence motion (click ...

The LA Times blog at least has .000001% of a clue, which is more than I can say for the Patriot Ledger, North County Times and the AP. Lawrence Hutchins, convicted as the ringleader in the execution of an Iraqi suspected of insurgent ties, is set soon to be transferred from the Camp Pendleton brig to the military prison at Ft. Leavenworth, Kan. Points for not calling the terrorist a "victim" or characterizing him as the next Nobel Prize candidate. Of course, these points are deducted for their refusal to consider the evidence they've been provided with.

I read the following screed about Sgt Lawrence Hutchins this afternoon and was so disgusted I had to sit down and write a counterpoint to it. This could get long, so grab a cup of coffee and have a seat. We're going to go through this line by line, so the holier-than-thou folks at the Patriot Ledger who wrote this trash can figure out just how stupid this article is. I'd name the article's author, but he was too much of a coward to put his name on it. This editorial is actually the only one currently on the Enterprise News Opinion page without a name on it. Interesting, isn't it? But let's get started. Compassion is an essential element of justice, but U.S. Rep. William Delahunt’s plea to free a Plymouth Marine convicted of murdering an Iraqi civilian is beyond mercy and sends a horrible message about what we will allow our military members to do in the name of combat. With this opening statement, the author throws any fairness, truth, or even interest in justice out the window. Actually, what sends a horrible message is training Marines to do a job, then prosecuting ...

By now it's fairly well-known news that the final sentence for Marine SGT Lawrence Hutchins III is in. He received 11 years--four less than the original sentence of 15. Over the last 24 hours, I've watched the same tired AP story from Thomas Watkins get regurgitated all over the internet by "news" organizations too lazy to do the objective research required of their profession. "Marine who killed Iraqi gets sentence cut, rank reduction" reads one misleading headline. One bloviating idiot (who happens to be chief editor of the Atlantic Free Press) had the nerve to call his article "Shoot, Kill, Lie, Repeat: America's New Moral Universe." Chris Floyd complains at the idea that Hutchins' sentence be reduced at all, and makes it blindingly obvious that he has no idea what the facts of the case even are. "When even the scapegoats escape justice," pontificates Floyd, "what possible hope can there be that the perpetrators and abettors of the Nazi-like war crime in Iraq will ever pay the price -- or even suffer the slightest trouble -- for their monstrous outrage?" Allow me to use this article to educate both Mr. Floyd and Mr. Watkins--the first of whom ...

I first learned about this a few days ago but had to wait for the official news reports to come out. Sgt Lawrence Hutchins, the squad leader of the Pendleton 8 and one of my personal heroes, had his sentence reduced from 15 years to 11 this week. Before you start cheering, let's all remember that he was wrongfully convicted by a corrupt system, a faked investigation, fraudulent and misleading practices, and a governmental coverup that smells worse than my dog after a rainstorm. (Don't believe me? Take the time to read about the case. It's all here at ER, and has been for two years.) I am also being told that Hutchins is being moved from Camp Pendleton to Fort Leavenworth, KS, to spend the remainder of his sentence. This is interesting because SSG Ray Girouard, of the Iron Triangle Case, is also there, spending his sentence. You may remember SSG Girouard as the highly decorated Army Ranger who was also wrongfully convicted of murder during combat operations. I have been highly involved in his case as well, and it is my hope that Larry and Ray can find some common ground that ...

Much has been made about the media's grisly casualty benchmarks. They feel the need to point out every time we reach another thousand troops killed, even though it takes months for this to happen. It's been said before, but the bottom line--still--is that casualties in the Iraq War are nowhere near that of previous wars. In fact, the last time we formally declared war and lost less than 4,000 men and women, it was 1812. Let's take a look at actual figures. Vietnam: 58,195 in 12 years, or an average of 4,850 per year (not accounting for the bell curve of actual casualties over peak time). Korea: 54,246 in four years, or 13,561 per year. WWII: 408,306 in four and a half years, or 90,735 per year. WWI: 116,708 in five years, or 23,340 per year. Civil War: some estimates are at 625,000, or 156,250 a year. Now let's look at Iraq. 4,531. In five years. That's less than 1,000 per year. We lost that in an hour on some battlefields, and no one flinched. It is the price of freedom. When will we stop hearing the tired old argument about casualties?  Liberals need to shut up about casualties.  I've lost friends, my friends have lost friends.  ...

In the Lt. Phan case, defense attorneys submitted this memo to the presiding judge, who had engaged in unethical and improper conduct throughout the proceedings. From: David Sheldon To: Investigating Officer Subj: Article 32 hearing ICO United States v. Phan Date: 28 January 2007 Sir, 1. On behalf of my client, I wanted to state for the record the following: (a) The defense believes a classification review should be undertaken without delay. We ask you to make this recommendation; (b) Your recommendation that an investigation into the testimony and conduct of both certain NCIS agents and the three Marines at issue should be initiated and is appropriate. These matters are important as you well recognized; (c) Your recommendation regarding counsel should include the trial team as well. It became abundantly clear that Major Plowman and Captain Gannon became witnesses when as Major Plowman said "I believe this witness (LCPL Kraus) is lying regarding whether or not he met with me in August of last year." I should note that Lance Corporal Kraus testified that he did not remember meeting with Major Plowman. Additionally, I have concerns about the testimony of two junior, enlisted Marines who testified that two members of the prosecution team, a Captain and a Staff Sergeant ...