Marines, corpsman refuse to testify against sergeant at retrial in Iraqi killing
Despite offers of immunity from prosecution, four ex-Marines and a former Navy corpsman have refused to testify against Sgt. Lawrence Hutchins in his retrial in the 2006 killing of an Iraqi.
The five — all of whom were convicted in the killing and served time in the brig — asserted their 5th Amendment right against self-incrimination during the court martial last week at Camp Pendleton.
Hutchins' attorney, Christopher Oprison, said the squad members' confessions and later testimony were coerced and falsified by Naval Criminal Investigative Service (NCIS) agents.
"Every single one of them was browbeaten," Oprison said in his opening statement....
