Updated

Oklahoma's attorney general says he acted on his own in asking for a presidential pardon for a former U.S. solider convicted of killing an Iraqi prisoner.

Mike Hunter said Friday he believes former Army Lt. Michael Behenna's conviction was unjustified. Hunter said the jury got erroneous instructions and that prosecutors failed to turn over evidence supporting Behenna's claim of self-defense.

A military appeals court in 2012 agreed the errors were made but ruled they did not affect the trial's outcome.

Behenna says he was surprised to learn this week that Hunter sent a letter of support to President Donald Trump. Behenna was convicted in 2009 of unpremeditated murder in a combat zone after killing a suspected al-Qaida terrorist. He was paroled in 2014 and has asked for a pardon.