http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/I/IL_MARINES_IRAQ_SHOOTING_ILOL-?SITE=ILKAN&SECTION=STATE&TEMPLATE=DEFAULTCAMP PENDLETON, Calif. (AP) -- A Marine convicted of kidnapping and conspiring to murder an Iraqi civilian who was killed by troops looking for an insurgent will not serve prison time, a military jury decided Friday.
Cpl. Trent Thomas was sentenced to a bad-conduct discharge and reduced pay. He could have received life in prison for his role in the April 2006 killing of the retired Iraqi policeman in the village of Hamdania.
Thomas, of Madison, Ill., was among seven Marines and a Navy corpsman accused of snatching 52-year-old Hashim Ibrahim Awad from his house, marching him to a nearby ditch and shooting him after they botched an attempt to capture a suspected insurgent.
Prosecutors said squad members tried to cover up the killing by planting a shovel and AK-47 by Awad's body to make it look like he was an insurgent planting a bomb.
A military jury of three officers and six enlisted Marines deliberated Thomas' sentence for less than an hour before returning its decision.
On Wednesday, the jury convicted Thomas, 25, of kidnapping and conspiracy and acquitted him of other charges, including the most serious, premeditated murder.
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