http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2601361/Royal-Marine-guilty-murdering-injured-Afghan-fighter-appeal-conviction.html
A Royal Marine jailed for life for executing a severely wounded Taliban captive ‘lost his head’ amid fears he would be ‘skinned alive’ if caught by insurgents, a court heard. (Answer me this, how does shooting an injured, unarmed man ensure that you won't get "skinned alive" by his mates? it doesn't, in fact it's guaranteed to make it much more likely!)
Sergeant Alexander Blackman, 39, blasted the Afghan prisoner in the chest at close range with his 9mm pistol in a ‘moment of madness’ on the battlefield. (A moment of madness doesn't have you turn around to your mates when you murder someone and say "Obviously this doesn’t go anywhere, fellas. I just broke the Geneva Convention".
Blackman – known as Marine A at his trial – is serving a minimum of ten years in prison after becoming the first UK serviceman to be found guilty of murder in a warzone since the Second World War.
Yesterday he launched a legal bid for freedom by having his conviction quashed or sentence reduced.
The experienced commando and his men lived in daily fear of being blown up by IEDs or, worse, captured and mutilated by inhumane enemy fighters, senior judges were told. (Lets face it, if this 'experienced commando' "lived in daily fear of being blown up by IEDs or, worse, captured and mutilated by inhumane enemy fighters" he wasn't much of a bloody asset to the British Army was he? That description sounds more like what you would hear of from a Hostage, not an active battle hardened Soldier)
Anthony Berry QC, representing Blackman, told the Court Martial Appeal Court the Marine had succumbed to ‘extreme stress’ after a gruelling tour of Helmand.
He said: ‘There was a cocktail of circumstances which led this brave and modest man, to whom loyal duty and allegiance to the corps was second to nothing, briefly to lose his head.
‘The task and stress of leadership is considerable when you hear and see your comrades (Comrades...again?) being killed (It's a fact then that this guy has ACTUALLY witnessed his Army pals KIA?)… and how they fear being caught by Taliban insurgents and knowing what they would do, namely skinning them alive, cutting off their testicles and displaying body parts in trees as a warning to other forces.’
Mr Berry said the conviction was ‘inherently unsafe’ because a seven-man military board was permitted to find him guilty on a simple majority.
The judge at his court martial had not
taken into account his patrol ‘remained in hostile territory and knew
of further insurgents in the immediate vicinity’.
As well as being jailed, Blackman was dismissed with disgrace from the Marines after he had served with distinction for 15 years, including tours of Iraq, Afghanistan and Northern Ireland. (So we can be confident in the presumption that after 15 years in the Army, and various 'Theatres of War' that he was 'Battle hardened' then?)
Urging the three judges to reduce the ten-year term, Mr Berry said: ‘His career is over. (Well what a bloody shame, but he MURDERED someone, someone who didn't get the pleasure of 'a day in court' to prove what was claimed about him was true!)
His reputation and standing is lost and the loss of the comradeship is perhaps the most significant punishment for him to bear.
‘He is a normal citizen, tainted only by the impact of war.’(He is far from a 'Normal citizen' a previous sentence cleared that up)
Blackman, from Taunton, Somerset, killed the injured insurgent following a fierce firefight on September 15, 2011.
The captive had been hurt by cannon fire from an Apache helicopter after an attack on a British base in Helmand.
Recordings from a helmet-mounted camera worn by a comrade captured the moments when Blackman shot the prisoner and told him: ‘Shuffle off this mortal coil, you ****.’
He then told his comrades: ‘Obviously this doesn’t go anywhere, fellas. I just broke the Geneva Convention.’
In November, he was convicted of murder.
Sentencing Blackman, who served with Plymouth-based 42 Commando, Judge Advocate General Jeff Blackett said he had ‘tarnished the reputation’ of the Armed Forces.
But the severity of the sentence sparked a massive wave of support with more than 100,000 people, including MPs and senior military figures, calling for leniency. (A massive waive of support?...really?...not that bloody massive given there are over 60 million bloody people in the UK <puts that into perspective a little doesn't it?>)
Blackman’s wife Claire, 42, was at the hearing but said she would not comment until after the court gives its decision.
Lord Chief Justice Lord Thomas, Sir Brian Leveson and Lady Justice Hallett are expected to rule after Easter on whether or not the conviction can stand.
What really gets my 'juices flowing' is not just the 'piece' published by the Mail, but the seriously deluded idiots that leave comments such as:
"Give that man a Royal Pardon and a Medal. It is because of people like Alex Blackman that fight battles on our behalf, that we can live in Peace."
The comment poster must be a fully paid up member of the Government, or a complete fool.
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2601361/Royal-Marine-guilty-murdering-injured-Afghan-fighter-appeal-conviction.html#ixzz2ydDAZBYr
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I feared Taliban would skin me alive, says Marine fighting jail for murder of injured Afghan prisoner
- Sergeant Alexander Blackman's case heard at Court Martial Appeal Court
- 39-year-old convicted last November at court martial in Bulford, Wiltshire
- Was also dismissed from Marines, which he had served with for 15 years
- Killing was in 2011 while he served with Plymouth-based 42 Commando
By
Mark Duell
Published:
13:07, 10 April 2014
|
Updated:
03:45, 11 April 2014
A Royal Marine jailed for life for executing a severely wounded Taliban captive ‘lost his head’ amid fears he would be ‘skinned alive’ if caught by insurgents, a court heard. (Answer me this, how does shooting an injured, unarmed man ensure that you won't get "skinned alive" by his mates? it doesn't, in fact it's guaranteed to make it much more likely!)
Sergeant Alexander Blackman, 39, blasted the Afghan prisoner in the chest at close range with his 9mm pistol in a ‘moment of madness’ on the battlefield. (A moment of madness doesn't have you turn around to your mates when you murder someone and say "Obviously this doesn’t go anywhere, fellas. I just broke the Geneva Convention".
Blackman – known as Marine A at his trial – is serving a minimum of ten years in prison after becoming the first UK serviceman to be found guilty of murder in a warzone since the Second World War.
Yesterday he launched a legal bid for freedom by having his conviction quashed or sentence reduced.
The experienced commando and his men lived in daily fear of being blown up by IEDs or, worse, captured and mutilated by inhumane enemy fighters, senior judges were told. (Lets face it, if this 'experienced commando' "lived in daily fear of being blown up by IEDs or, worse, captured and mutilated by inhumane enemy fighters" he wasn't much of a bloody asset to the British Army was he? That description sounds more like what you would hear of from a Hostage, not an active battle hardened Soldier)
Anthony Berry QC, representing Blackman, told the Court Martial Appeal Court the Marine had succumbed to ‘extreme stress’ after a gruelling tour of Helmand.
He said: ‘There was a cocktail of circumstances which led this brave and modest man, to whom loyal duty and allegiance to the corps was second to nothing, briefly to lose his head.
‘The task and stress of leadership is considerable when you hear and see your comrades (Comrades...again?) being killed (It's a fact then that this guy has ACTUALLY witnessed his Army pals KIA?)… and how they fear being caught by Taliban insurgents and knowing what they would do, namely skinning them alive, cutting off their testicles and displaying body parts in trees as a warning to other forces.’
Mr Berry said the conviction was ‘inherently unsafe’ because a seven-man military board was permitted to find him guilty on a simple majority.
He
said the odds were stacked unfairly against the Marine at the court
martial which meant the conviction failed to ‘satisfy the criminal
standard of proof’, and argued the sentence was ‘manifestly excessive’.
As well as being jailed, Blackman was dismissed with disgrace from the Marines after he had served with distinction for 15 years, including tours of Iraq, Afghanistan and Northern Ireland. (So we can be confident in the presumption that after 15 years in the Army, and various 'Theatres of War' that he was 'Battle hardened' then?)
Urging the three judges to reduce the ten-year term, Mr Berry said: ‘His career is over. (Well what a bloody shame, but he MURDERED someone, someone who didn't get the pleasure of 'a day in court' to prove what was claimed about him was true!)
His reputation and standing is lost and the loss of the comradeship is perhaps the most significant punishment for him to bear.
‘He is a normal citizen, tainted only by the impact of war.’(He is far from a 'Normal citizen' a previous sentence cleared that up)
Blackman, from Taunton, Somerset, killed the injured insurgent following a fierce firefight on September 15, 2011.
The captive had been hurt by cannon fire from an Apache helicopter after an attack on a British base in Helmand.
Recordings from a helmet-mounted camera worn by a comrade captured the moments when Blackman shot the prisoner and told him: ‘Shuffle off this mortal coil, you ****.’
He then told his comrades: ‘Obviously this doesn’t go anywhere, fellas. I just broke the Geneva Convention.’
In November, he was convicted of murder.
Sentencing Blackman, who served with Plymouth-based 42 Commando, Judge Advocate General Jeff Blackett said he had ‘tarnished the reputation’ of the Armed Forces.
But the severity of the sentence sparked a massive wave of support with more than 100,000 people, including MPs and senior military figures, calling for leniency. (A massive waive of support?...really?...not that bloody massive given there are over 60 million bloody people in the UK <puts that into perspective a little doesn't it?>)
Blackman’s wife Claire, 42, was at the hearing but said she would not comment until after the court gives its decision.
Lord Chief Justice Lord Thomas, Sir Brian Leveson and Lady Justice Hallett are expected to rule after Easter on whether or not the conviction can stand.
What really gets my 'juices flowing' is not just the 'piece' published by the Mail, but the seriously deluded idiots that leave comments such as:
"Give that man a Royal Pardon and a Medal. It is because of people like Alex Blackman that fight battles on our behalf, that we can live in Peace."
The comment poster must be a fully paid up member of the Government, or a complete fool.
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2601361/Royal-Marine-guilty-murdering-injured-Afghan-fighter-appeal-conviction.html#ixzz2ydDAZBYr
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