CAMP PENDLETON, Calif. – A Mukilteo Marine charged with kidnapping and murdering an Iraqi civilian will proceed straight to court-martial. He was scheduled for a hearing Monday but waived that right.
The mother of Lance Cpl. Robert B. Pennington, 22, said Monday the stress of going from combat to the brig has taken a toll on her son’s mental health.
The defendant’s parents were at Camp Pendleton to attend a hearing for squad leader Sgt. Lawrence G. Hutchins. He and Pennington are among seven Marines charged in the killing of Hashim Ibrahim Awad on April 26 in the town of Hamdania.
An investigating officer delayed a ruling on whether to order a court-martial for Hutchins until he reviews written evidence in the case.
On Oct. 6, Petty Officer 3rd Class Melson J. Bacos, a Navy corpsman on patrol with the Marines, pleaded guilty to kidnapping and conspiracy under a deal with prosecutors in which he agreed to testify at his court-martial and during upcoming proceedings about what he witnessed.
Bacos testified he saw Hutchins fire three rounds into Awad’s head after checking to see if he was dead. Bacos also said Pennington put the victim’s fingerprints onto an AK-47 and on a shovel to implicate him as an insurgent who had fired first.
Bacos said he was told to fire an AK-47 into the air to simulate the sound of a firefight.
Deanne Pennington said her son has become withdrawn, paranoid and depressed since he was placed in custody in May.
Before his three deployments to Iraq, Robert Pennington was an energetic, happy-go-lucky young man who enjoyed reading and video games, she said.
“You see him shut himself down,” she said. “He sleeps more than he’s awake, that’s his defense.”
Deanne Pennington said her son had done nothing wrong and decried conditions in the brig.
She said Pennington is strip-searched every time he sees a visitor, and guards routinely read his journal, even when it is supposed to be protected by attorney-client privilege.
“Everything is done to create a level of total paranoia,” she said.
The Marine Corps said it ensures prisoners are treated with care and respect. In an e-mail, Marine spokeswoman Capt. Carrie Batson said that all prisoners are subject to strip search to prevent them from bringing contraband into the brig. Batson said guards have the right to screen phone calls, but had not listened to any of Pennington’s conversations.
With regard to private notes, Batson wrote: “Guards may search privileged correspondence and journals for contraband; however, guards are not authorized to read this material. The fact that this material is searched may lead inmates to believe the material was read.”
Terry Pennington said he wanted his son to be released from the brig so he would be in the best mental state to get ready for the court-martial.
“Unless they get out of the brig to prepare for the defense, it’s going to be a much bigger hill to climb,” the Marine’s father said.
Attorney David Brahms said he would file a motion seeking Pennington’s release. A similar motion filed earlier on behalf of another Marine was rejected.
Talk to us
> Give us your news tips.
> Send us a letter to the editor.
> More Herald contact information.
