No Death Penalty for Charged Marine

In this copy of a photograph made available to the Associated Press on Wednesday, July 19, 2006, a hole on the side of a road is seen in Hamdania, Iraq, on May 8, 2006. Naval Criminal Investigative Service agents claim that on April 26 seven Marines and a Navy medic, without provocation, went into the rural Iraqi town of Hamdania and kidnapped and murdered 52-year-old Hashim Ibrahim Awad. They allegedly tied him up, put him in the hole shown in this photograph and shot him. After the killing, the troops allegedly placed an AK-47 in Awad's hands and put a shovel in the hole to make it appear Awad was an insurgent planting explosives, investigators say. Starting Wednesday, Aug. 30, 2006, four months after Awad's death, the Marines charged with his murder are set to start pretrial hearings. It will be the first time the facts have been explored in public. (AP Photo) (AP)

Chester said he would tell prosecutors by Friday whether he had questions about any of their evidence.

Prosecutor Capt. Nicholas L. Gannon urged Chester to focus on statements by three members of the squad, including an alleged confession by squad leader Sgt. Lawrence G. Hutchins III.

The hearings held under Article 32 of the Uniform Code of Military Justice are equivalent to civilian preliminary or grand jury hearings.

Both defendants have been held in the Camp Pendleton brig since returning from Iraq.

The Marines have the opportunity to mount a defense, call witnesses or even testify themselves. Their lawyers were expected to challenge use of the defendants' pretrial statements by contending they were subjected to heavy-handed inquiries with threats of the death penalty.

The other defendants, all members of the Camp Pendleton-based 3rd Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment, are expected to have separate hearings in coming weeks. The charges include kidnapping, murder and conspiracy.

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Associated Press writer Thomas Watkins contributed to this report.