SAN DIEGO – The military's highest court has denied a government request to reconsider the overturned murder conviction of a Marine who's served more than half his 11-year sentence in one of the Iraq war's biggest war crime cases.
The denial from the Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces allows for the release of Sgt. Lawrence Hutchins III from the brig at a California Marine base.
Defense attorney Maj. Babu Kaza tells U-T San Diego that Hutchins will be released Friday.
The Navy can appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court or retry Hutchins.
Last month, the appeals court found Hutchins' rights were violated when he was held in solitary confinement and interrogated without attorney access for seven days.
Hutchins led a squad accused of kidnapping an Iraqi man and killing him in 2006.
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