Sailor Testifies About Killing of Iraqi

Navy Petty Officer 3rd Class Melson J. Bacos, center, is escorted into his court-martial hearing by his defense attorneys, Marine Corps Lt. Col. Scott Jack, left, civilian defense counsel Jeremiah Sullivan, right, and Navy Lt. Jonathan Stephens, back left, held at Camp Pendleton Marine Corps Base, Calif. Friday, Oct. 6, 2006. Bacos, charged with killing an Iraqi civilian last April, was to give testimony Friday about the seven Marines' role in the incident in return for having charges against him dropped. (AP Photo/Denis Poroy) (Denis Poroy - AP)

Awad, 52, was taken from the home with his feet and hands bound, then placed in a hole, Bacos said.

"I felt I couldn't stop it any more that day," Bacos testified. "They were going to do it. They were going to carry out the plan, so I continued on."

Bacos said Hutchins fired three rounds into the man's head after checking to see if he was dead, then Cpl. Trent Thomas fired seven to 10 more rounds into his chest.

After the killing, Bacos said Hutchins called in to a command center and reported the squad had seen a man digging a hole and wanted permission to fire at him.

Bacos said he saw Lance Cpl. Robert B. Pennington put the victim's fingerprints onto an AK-47 and on a shovel to implicate him as an insurgent who had fired first. Bacos was told to fire an AK-47 into the air to simulate the sound of a firefight.

"Why didn't I just walk away?" Bacos asked before being sentenced. "The answer to that question was I wanted to be part of the team. I wanted to be a respected corpman, but that is no excuse for immorality."

After the killing, Bacos said, he was standing in the road when another Navy corpsman drove by.

"He asked me what happened, and I was very vague," Bacos testified. "I said, 'I want you to remember something. We're different. We're not like these men.'"

Bacos' wife and father sat in the front row of the courtroom during the court-martial. During a break, Bacos turned to her and mouthed the words, "I love you."

The tiny courtroom was still as Folsom repeatedly asked Bacos if he had been coerced into giving his account of the shooting.

Bacos said he was testifying voluntarily. He wore a white Navy uniform and a Purple Heart his wife said he had been awarded during a previous tour in Iraq.

Bacos was recently transferred from Camp Pendleton, where the Marines have been held, to Marine Corps Air Station Miramar for his own safety.

Military prosecutors had charged Bacos under the theory that he did nothing to stop the alleged crime.

Along with Magincalda, Hutchins and Thomas and Pennington, the other Marines charged are: Lance Cpl. Tyler A. Jackson, Pfc. John J. Jodka and Lance Cpl. Jerry E. Shumate Jr.

David Brahms, Pennington's lawyer, said Bacos' account will be subjected to intense scrutiny. "This is just one guy who is going to tell the story as he sees it," Brahms said.

Former Army prosecutor Tom Umberg suggested that others might follow Bacos' lead and strike similar plea bargains.

"You don't want to be the last guy standing. The first guy gets the best deal," he said.

After the proceedings, Bacos said he deeply regrets what happened in Hamdania.

"Hopefully, that family will forgive us for what we have done," he said.