Defense team of Marine being retried in Iraq war crime says charges not valid
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}
Defense lawyers say the Marine Corps should not be retrying a Marine sergeant whose murder conviction in a major Iraq war crime case was overturned by the military's highest court after he served half of his 11-year sentence.
Attorney Chris Oprison said he will argue that point during the two-day hearing for Lawrence Hutchins III that begins Thursday at Camp Pendleton, north of San Diego.
The military ordered a retrial for Hutchins last year after the Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces found his rights were violated by interrogators and overturned his conviction.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}
Hutchins' squad was accused of kidnapping an Iraqi man from his home in April 2006, marching him to a ditch and shooting him to death.
Hutchins has said he thought the man was an insurgent.