Court-Martial Trial Practice Blog
Army reduces soldiers’ murder sentences
By Seth Robson, Stars and Stripes
Mideast edition, Saturday, August 15, 2009
GRAFENWÖHR, Germany — The life sentence of a U.S. soldier convicted for the execution-style killings of four bound and blindfolded Iraqi detainees has been reduced to 40 years, military officials announced Friday.
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Hatley is the third soldier implicated in the killings to be granted clemency. In June, JMTC’s then-commander, Brig. Gen. David R. Hogg, reduced the sentences of Sgt. Michael Leahy Jr. and Sgt. 1st Class Joseph P. Mayo to 20 years in prison.
Leahy was initially sentenced to life in prison while Mayo, who had pleaded guilty to premeditated murder and conspiracy to commit premeditated murder, had received a 35-year sentence under a pretrial agreement. Both men are now eligible for parole in seven years.
All three cases are continuing through the appellate process, officials said.