THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 19, 2009
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NEWS
9A
LEGAL
Marines ordered out of military
ASSOCIATED PRESS
SAN DIEGO — Three Marines and a Navy man convicted of aiding the kidnapping and murder of an Iraqi man have been ordered removed from the military, the Navy said Wednesday.
Navy Secretary Ray Mabus issued the ruling more than two years after the accusations were aired in a Camp Pendleton courtroom.
The men had been allowed to stay on active duty after serving short jail terms for charges linked to the death in the village of Hamdania.
"To allow these individuals to remain on active duty after planning and participating in kidnapping and murder sends absolutely the wrong message as to how the nation and Department of the Navy view this incident." Mabus said in a statement.
"It degrades the actions of thousands of Marines and sailors who, under the stress of combat in Iraq, performed honorably," he said.
Capt. Beci
Brenton, a
spokeswoman for Mabus, said he was unavailable for further comment.
murder and other offenses.
The secretary found the killing was deliberately planned and not conceived in the heat of battle or the stress of war, Brenton said.
Seven Marines and a Navy corpsman from the 3rd Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment were charged in June 2006 with kidnapping and murdering Hashim Ibrahim Awad, 52, two months earlier. They were accused of taking him from his home, marching him to a ditch and shooting him to death.
"It degrades the actions of thousands of Marines and sailors who ... performed honorably."
Hutchins, of Plymouth, Mass., was the only defendant convicted of murder and the only one currently in prison.
Marine Lance Cpl. Tyler A.
Mabus also ordered the Marines to explain why the lieutenant who oversaw the Camp Pendleton unit, 1st Lt. Nathan Phan, should be allowed to remain in the service. Phan was not charged in the case.
Navy corpsman Petty Officer 3rd Class Melson J. Bacos of Franklin, Wis., pleaded guilty to kidnapping, conspiracy to kidnap and making false official statements. Marine Lance Cpl. John J. Jodka III, of Encinitas, Calif., pleaded guilty to aggravated assault and conspiracy to obstruct justice.
The secretary denied dency for Pvt. Lawrence G. Hutchins III, who is serving an 11-year prison sentence for unpremeditated
RAY MABUS Navy secretary
snee Cpl. Tyler A Jackson, of Tracy, Calif., pleaded guilty to aggravated assault and conspiracy to obstruct justice. Marine Lance Cpl. Jerry E. Shumate Jr., of Matlock, Wash., pleaded guilty to aggravated assault and conspiracy to obstruct justice.
All will get either an honorable or general discharge, Brenton said. They have no recourse to appeal.
Three other defendants left the military after their prison terms ended.
Mabus launched his review at the request of members of Congress, including Rep. Bill Delahunt, D-Mass., who were seeking clemency for Hutchins.
Attorneys for two of the four men ordered removed from the military said the decision amounted to second-guessing officials who considered the case.
CRIME
Man accused of killing 15-year-old son
ASSOCIATED PRESS
HIGHLAND PARK, Mich. — A 37-year-old father irate over hearing his 15-year-old son had sexual contact with a 3-year-old girl made the teen strip at gunpoint, marched him to a vacant lot and shot him to death despite pleas from the boy and his mother, a relative said.
Michigan authorities filed a first-degree murder charge Wednesday against Jamar Pinkney Sr. in the shooting death Monday of Jamar Pinkney Jr. in the Detroit enclave of Highland Park.
Defense attorney Corbett O'Meara said prosecutors should consider evidence of the father's
state of mind over the sex abuse report.
"If something were to happen that would cause a reasonable person to lose control of himself, that is something the prosecution would have to take into account," O'Meara said outside Highland Park District Court.
Tensions were high in the courtroom Wednesday as the hand-cuffed suspect was led into the room for the arraignment.
Judge Brigette Officer entered a not guilty plea for Pinkney, who's also charged with assault, and ordered him jailed without bond until a preliminary examination Dec. 1.
Caldwell said the sexual misconduct allegation that led to the confrontation wasn't part of the police investigation.
The shooting happened Monday night in a vacant lot in the onceprosperous city of 16,000, where decay, abandonment, fires and demolition have eaten away at many of the sprawling
recently exited years of state financial oversight.
Visitors built an impromptu memorial with candles and stuffed animals at the shooting site.
The boy's mother, Lazette Cherry.
told the Detroit Free Press that her,son told her he had improper sexual contact with the girl.
"I called and told his father. This isn't something you sweep under the rug," she said.
Cherry said the elder Pinkney arrived at the home with a gun, ordered his son to strip and marched him outside despite her protests.
"He got on his knees and begged, No, Daddy, No,' and he pulled the trigger," Cherry said.
Cherry did not immediately respond to a phone message Wednesday.
'Mary'melody
Tanner Grubbs/KANSAN
KU Chamber Singers harmonize to "Mary Had a Baby" Tuesday night at Murphy Hall, conducted by Dr. Paul Tucker. Tuesday night's performance was part of the 2009 fall concert series organized by KU Choral.
NATIONAL
Company won't rename ship
ASSOCIATED PRESS
PHILADELPHIA — The company that owns the Maersk Alabama, a freighter targeted by pirates twice in seven months, did not heed a request to rename, repaint or reroute the ship after the first attack off the coast of Africa in the spring, former crew members say.
Ex-crewmen John Cronan and Shane Murphy said in separate interviews Wednesday that they feared and anticipated another attack after the ordeal in April when their captain was taken hostage but eventually fired by U.S. Navy SEA1S.
Mariner John Cronan was a crewman aboard the Maersk Alabama when pirates attacked in April near Somalia. He is suing Maerk and alleges the it was negligent in sending the crew into pirate territory with inadequate protection The ship was attacked by pirates again Wednesday.
The American-flagged ship was targeted again Wednesday, but private security guards thwarted the attempt by firing guns and blaring a high-decibel noise device. The ship is proceeding under American surveillance to its destination on the Kenyan coast.
"Obviously she's a hot target," said Cronan, of suburban Philadelphia. "The bad guys were laying in wait for her."
Cronan and several other crewmen have filed suit in Texas against Maersk Line Ltd. and Waterman Steamship Corp., alleging the companies were negligent in sending the ship into known pirate territory with inadequate protection.
ASSOCIATED PRESS
The men are seeking compensation for physical and psychological damage they say they suffered during the spring hijacking, and for loss of income.
Dennis McElwee, a lawyer for Cronan, said crewmen shared their safety concerns in meetings with Maersk before the ship was attacked in April, but the company did not take sufficient security measures.
The suit was filed in Houston because it is the nation's second-biggest port and judges there have a sophisticated understanding of maritime law, said attorney Brian Beckcom, who represents six crew members.
Officials for Maersk Line Ltd., which has offices in Madison, N.J., Norfolk, Va., and Houston, did not immediately return calls seeking comment on the allegations. Officials at Waterman Steamship, a company based in Mobile, Ala., that supplies crew members to Maersk, declined to comment.
Cronan and Murphy were on the Maersk Alabama when pirates hijacked it the first time and took Capt. Richard Phillips, of Underhill, Vt., hostage. Navy SEAL sharpshooters freed Phillips while killing three pirates in a daring nighttime attack.
"Maersk made a conscious decision, despite going into pirate-infested waters, not to provide any meaningful security for its workers," Beckcom said. "Instead they'd just rely on the taxpayers and U.S. military to bail them out after the fact."
Murphy, speaking Wednesday at a news conference at the Massachusetts Maritime Academy in Bourne, said he told Maerks officials that the Alabama should be renamed, repainted or sent to ply another route because pirates would continue to target it.
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