USA: Navy medic pleads guilty to kidnap of Iraqi man in Hamdaniya as part of plea deal

A U.S. medic who helped kidnap an Iraqi grandfather, later killed execution-style by an American squad, was sentenced to 10 years in prison on Friday (October 6), but will end up serving a year under a plea deal. Military Judge Col. Steven Folsom gave the sentence after Petty Officer Melson Bacos, 21, said his patrol leader's anger at the release of a suspected "terrorist" from Baghdad's Abu Ghraib prison prompted the murder of the man's neighbour. Bacos agreed to a plea deal earlier on Friday in which he agreed to testify in exchange for a lesser sentence. The judge appeared surprised to learn the plea deal set a year limit on the sentence and also nullified his earlier sentencing that called for a dishonourable discharge. The judge learned the details of the plea agreement on sentencing only after announcing his ruling. In the Hamdania, Iraq, incident Bacos and seven Marines on an April patrol were charged with kidnapping 52-year-old Hashim Ibrahim Awad, a father of 11, killing him and placing an AK-47 and shovel next to his body to suggest he was trying to plant a roadside bomb. "I deeply regret being part of something like this, I feel like my honour is gone and I let people down. But testifying truthfully, I got it off my chest. Hopefully that family will forgive us for what we've done," said Bacos. The killing in the middle of the night in Hamdania was one in a series of incidents in which the conduct of American troops in Iraq has damaged the country's image worldwide.

ITN Source | October 7, 2006

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