US Marine sentenced to time served for role in Hamdania Iraqi civilian murder News
US Marine sentenced to time served for role in Hamdania Iraqi civilian murder

[JURIST] A military jury sentenced US Marine Cpl. Marshall L. Magincalda [advocacy website] to 448 days confinement [press release] and demoted Magincalda to private Friday for his role in the April 2006 kidnapping and murder of Iraqi civilian Hashim Ibrahim Awad [Wikipedia profile] in Hamdania [USMC timeline; JURIST news archive]. Magincalda, who was convicted [JURIST report] Wednesday of conspiracy to murder, larceny and housebreaking, and acquitted of more serious charges of premeditated murder, kidnapping, and making a false official statement, will not serve any additional time in detention as he has been in pre-trial confinement for the last 450 days.

Five defendants have pleaded guilty [JURIST report] in the death of Awad, who was removed from his residence and killed, then arranged with a shovel and firearm to appear as if he were planting an improvised explosive device. On Thursday, a military jury convicted Sgt. Lawrence G. Hutchins, III [JURIST report] of murder, conspiracy to commit murder, making a false official statement, and larceny. Hutchins could face life in prison. AP has more.

THIS DAY @ LAW

38 Santee Sioux hanged by US for rebellion

On December 26, 1862, 38 Santee Sioux men were hanged in a mass execution for their roles in a rebellion against US authorities in Minnesota which left hundreds dead and made refugees of some 40,000 white settlers. Government annuities promised under a treaty with the Sioux had failed to arrive on schedule and credit for purchases was not advanced in the meantime, threatening the tribe with starvation. The Santee Sioux Tribe's members were deported first to South Dakota and ultimately to Nebraska, where they remain today. Learn more about the 1862 Minnesota Sioux Rebellion.

Louis XVI put on trial during French Revolution

On December 26, 1792, Romain de Sèze, a defense attorney for deposed King Louis XVI, presented a defense of his client. The former King was on trial before a French Revolutionary court on thirty-three charges, including treason and other crimes against the state. He was convicted on January 15, 1793 executed by guillotine on the following January 21.