SERVED MORE THAN SIX YEARS OF 11-YEAR SENTENCE
by Sharon Rondeau
(Jul. 22, 2013) — Sgt. Lawrence Hutchins, III, who was convicted in 2007 of murdering an Iraqi man in the city of Hamdania the year before, has been released from a military prison and reunited with his family.
A July 19 email sent to interested parties from a person close to the case said:
Sgt Hutchins was released from the Miramar Brig earlier this afternoon (Friday, July 19, 2013). He then checked in to Headquarters and Support Battalion at Camp Pendleton. His wife, Reyna, told the children that she was going to the store, but instead picked up Sgt Hutchins, and then brought him home to the children as a surprise. The attached picture is of the reunited family.
Semper Fi,
The photo referred to appears at right.
The Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces ruled on June 26 that Hutchins’ constitutional rights were violated when he was kept in isolation and interrogated without an attorney present after his arrest in 2006.
Hutchins has been released twice before, and the military has the option to appeal the latest court’s decision to the U.S. Supreme Court. He spent the first four years of his sentence in Ft. Leavenworth prison.
The appeals court overturned Hutchins’ conviction late last month. At the time, he had been incarcerated at the Marine Corps Air Station in a jail known as the Miramar Brig.
A Massachusetts native, Hutchins, his wife and two children are living in San Diego, and Hutchins will be assigned duties at Camp Pendleton.
Others in Hutchins’ group who were convicted of war crimes did not serve more than 18-month sentences, and all have been released. Together, the defendants were labeled “the Pendleton 8.”
A Judge Advocate stated that with the overturning of his conviction, Hutchins should receive not only reinstatement in the Marines, but back pay and benefits “worth more than a quarter million dollars.” The attorney admitted that military members do not enjoy “the same due process” as civilians when charges are brought against them.
In view of the amount of time and all the bogus legal actions taken to keep Sgt. Hutchins incarcerated, it’s too bad he can’t get punitive damages from Uncle Sam. Somehow, backpay and reinstatement, as meaningful as it may be, just doesn’t quite do it.
Over 5 years in prison ? Why should he have to return to active duty ? Was his 4 years not up while in prison ? It is past time for the military to give the same rights to the enlisted as civilians. So if his conviction was overturned due to his rights being violated then so should Lt Col Terry Lakin’s conviction be overturned because he was not allowed a defense. Col. Denise (Kiss ***) Lind should be convicted for denying him a fair trial. I would love to see her spend at least a couple of years in Leavenworth and loose all of her pension and rank. Our Government and Military have become so corrupt within this illegal administration, we should all be embarrassed before the whole world. To think that America was once the one country setting the example for the rest of the world for fairness and justice and now it is the country setting the example for one of the most corrupt governments in the world.