[JURIST] The US military has reduced the sentence of Marine Corps Sgt. Lawrence G. Hutchins III [JURIST news archive] handed down after following his conviction [JURIST report] last August for killing an Iraqi civilian, AP reported Thursday. Hutchins' attorney said he learned Tuesday that Hutchins will now serve only 11 years in detention at Fort Leavenworth and will have his rank reduced to Private before being dishonorably discharged. Under the Uniform Code of Military Justice [UCMJ], he is still entitled to an additional appeal. AP has more.

In August a military court-martial jury sentenced [JURIST report] Hutchins to 15 years in prison for his role in the April 2006 kidnapping and murder of Iraqi civilian Hashim Ibrahim Awad in Hamdania [USMC timeline; JURIST news archive]. Hutchins was convicted of murder, conspiracy to commit murder, making a false official statement, and larceny.